FA CHOOSE SHEFFIELD TO HOST MAJOR TOURNAMENT

Sheffield has been chosen to host the prestigious English FA National Futsal Finals.

The tournament, which produces England's national representative team for the UEFA Futsal Cup, will take place at Sheffield's English Institute of Sport, from 18-20 June.

Sheffield is a hotbed of the sport in this country. The Sheffield league, which is based at the Hallam FM Sheffield United Academy, has already produced:

* The English representatives in the 2004 UEFA Futsal Cup (Sheffield
Hallam University).
* Three players for the England team at the prestigious 'Kuala Lumpur
5s' tournament in Malaysia.
* The two finalists in last season's National League finals. Sheffield
Hallam University eventually edged out Thomas Rotherham College, 5-4, in an epic battle in Aldershot.

Dermot Collins from the FA explained why Sheffield has been chosen to stage the tournament and what people can expect from Futsal. He said: "We needed a venue that could house a number of pitches and provide room for spectators for the final.

"The English Institute of Sport is a superb facility that will be the
perfect setting for the cream of Futsal talent in this country. The game is very skilful. The players who excel are those who have a good technique, are quick, well balanced and have good football awareness."

Futsal is the most popular version of 5-a-side football played across the world. Millions of people from all continents regularly play the game and England now has its own national team. Brazil, Spain and Italy are the world leaders.

It is FIFA's official version of 5-a-side and is played on a pitch of
roughly 40m x 20m with a ball that is smaller than a standard one with a low bounce. Squads consist of 12 players with unlimited substitutions. There are no rebound boards and a match is played over two 20-minute halves.

To qualify for the national finals a series of regional tournaments are taking place around the country.

Qualifiers will come from events in Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, the Wirral, Suffolk, Derby, Sheffield, Pendle, Grimsby, Hull, Oldham,
Manchester, Stockport, Gloucestershire, London, Warwick, Oxford, Southampton and Cumbria.