SHEFFIELD REFS LEAD FUTSAL WAY

Sheffield referees are leading the way in the FIFA approved format of five-a-side football - Futsal.

Derek Stillwell, Geoff Heath and Craig Grundy, from the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA, make up three of only five English referees to have officiated at international level in the sport.

Futsal is a version of five-a-side football, which is fast, skilful and encourages the development of technically gifted players.

Some of the world's leading footballers such as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Figo and Roberto Carlos played the game as youngsters and Futsal sustains professional leagues in Spain, Portugal, Russia, Italy, Brazil and Japan.

Sheffield will be hosting the FA national Futsal Finals between 8 - 10 July at the English Institute of Sport - Sheffield and Derek and Geoff will be officiating at the tournament.

Both refereed England's first ever game on home soil when the national Futsal side played a friendly against Belgium last year and they were the first officials from this country to take part in the UEFA Futsal Cup.

Derek was also the senior official for the Final of the partially sighted World Futsal Championships in Manchester and the 35-year-old has now set his sights on becoming the first English referee to join FIFA's accredited list.

"It shows that if referees take up Futsal they can reach the highest level," said Derek. "It would take you 10 years to be the official at an 11-a-side international game, but it took me just six months to achieve it in Futsal.
It's a real fast-track promotion to the top.

"We have been encouraging more referees to join as this is a great opportunity for them. It is a very exciting time for Futsal and we can see the game growing from strength to strength.

"Having the National Finals in Sheffield for the second-year running is a great achievement by the city and we hope it will persuade more people to play Futsal."

The FA National Futsal Finals will involve the best 16 teams from around the country, with the winners representing England in next season's UEFA Futsal Cup.

Around a dozen local referees are currently involved with the Sheffield qualifying league, which takes place at the Goodwin Sports Centre and will decide who will represent the city in the Finals.

For more information about becoming a Futsal referee, please contact the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA on 0114 2414 999. Alternatively, you can visit thefa.com

Picture Caption: Geoff Heath (left) and Derek Stillwell (far right) at last year's FA Futsal Finals with Richard Caborn MP.