FA Cup in Sheffield - media advisory

Date:
Friday July 8 - Sunday July 10, 2005

Time:
All weekend (see schedule of events below)

Venue:
English Institute of Sport - Sheffield, Coleridge Road, Sheffield.

Event:
The FA National Futsal Finals

FA CUP ON SHOW AT NATIONAL FINALS

The FA Cup will be on show during the FA National Futsal Finals at the
English Institute of Sport - Sheffield this weekend.

Spectators will be allowed to take photographs of themselves with the famous trophy throughout the tournament on Saturday (July 9) and Sunday (July 10).

Futsal is FIFA's official version of five-a-side football, which is played by millions of people around the world.

The National Finals involves 16 teams from across the country, with the winner's going on to represent England in the UEFA Futsal Cup.

The media are invited to attend for pictures, filming and interviews at the tournament, throughout the weekend. Key people available for interviews are:
John Warnock - Tournament Director
Dermot Collins - FA Development Manager.

An itinerary of events at the Futsal Finals (July 8 - 10) is as follows:

Friday, July 8

6pm - To kick-off the tournament, media teams from across South Yorkshire are competing in a mini-exhibition tournament.

BBC Radio Sheffield, Hallam FM and Real Radio have all agreed to take part.

7:30pm - The league stage of the Finals begin with reigning champions Team USSR taking on East Riding Juniors in the opening game.

Saturday, July 9

9:45am - The league stage of the Finals continues into the second day.

Noon - The Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA has organised a selection of games involving county FA junior teams, schoolchildren and disability players.

Noon - Seminars for referees and coaches wanting an introduction to Futsal are also available. FIFA instructor Jyrki Filippu and England Futsal coach Graeme Dell will be leading the sessions.

Sunday, July 10

10am - Trevor Brooking, FA Director for Football Development will be attending to give his support to this growing game of FIFA five-a-side.

11am - A representative schools tournament involving Year 5 and Year 6 from six South Yorkshire schools. This will be run in conjunction with an U12s competition from three local county FAs.

Noon - The tournament reaches the semi-finals stage, followed by the third/fourth place games. The competition Finals start at around 2:30pm.