Courtesy: The FA.com


The FA Umbro Futsal Cup


The FA is looking for League organisers throughout the country prepared to run Futsal leagues to produce qualifiers for The FA Futsal Cup 2007.

Generally these leagues run in the period between January to June 2007 but League Organisers are welcome to run longer and larger competitions should they so wish.

The Finals will be held at the prestigious English Institute of Sport, Sheffield 6-8 July 2007. The Finals Weekend will also incorporate school and club tournaments as well as for the first time an invitational Women’s Senior Futsal competition.

Why Futsal?

Futsal is a format of Small Sided Football that is played extensively throughout the world and as a consequence is recognised and supported by UEFA and FIFA.

What does running a League involve?

Running a Futsal League will require you to;
Identify a suitable facility
Devise a promotional strategy that will recruit the required number of teams. As Futsal is new to this country it can be hard work persuading players to try something different. You’ll need to target your potential teams and then spend time promoting and introducing the game to them. The FA will make available posters, postcards, leaflets, balls and videos to assist in promoting the game
All leagues will need to be affiliated to the County Football Association
League Organisers will need to work with the County FA to stage a training evening for interested referees. This needs to take place prior to the League commencing
Use of Futsal Equipment. The FA will support Leagues in the provision of start up equipment
Devise a basic business plan that balances the cost of pitch hire, Referees, affiliation, equipment and promotion against the fees of participating teams
Organise Fixtures and inform Teams and Referees of this schedule. Ensure all teams are in a position to complete their fixture each week
Collect and collate team sheets for the participating teams to ensure that the teams progressing to The FA Futsal Finals are made up of those players that took part in the qualifying competition
Produce and update League tables using The FA’s ‘Full Time’ System
Ensure the League programme is completed by 17 June 2007

Who will the leagues provide for?

The Leagues will run a male or female adult competition in order to qualify teams for the FA Futsal Cup.

National Composition of Teams
In order to promote the development of the game in England all participating teams are strongly encouraged to include in their squads players who are eligible to play for England.

Although this cannot be a legal or formal requirement – team managers that derive their players exclusively from non English communities are urged to seek the inclusion of players of English nationality. A voluntary target of 4 players in a squad of 12 is desirable. This will assist the England Futsal team and accelerate the growth of the game in this country.

Senior Women’s Competition
2007 will see the introduction of an invitational women’s senior tournament. The make up of this competition is still to be decided but any Organiser running a senior women’s qualifying tournament will be guaranteed entry.

What does The FA require to be in place in order to run a League?

The FA’s essential criteria for operating a league are as follows;

The pitch must be rectangular, have fixed Futsal markings and its dimensions must fit into the following criteria:

Width: minimum 15m, maximum 25m
Length: minimum 25m, maximum 42m
The goal posts must measure 3m wide x 2m tall. Futsal, Hockey or Handball goalposts can be used
A Futsal ball should be used for all fixtures
The pitch should provide a firm and consistent playing surface. An indoor wooden or plastic surface would be ideal. Synthetic surfaces are also permissible. Grass is not an appropriate surface on which to play Futsal.
A training seminar for interested referees must be organised prior to the commencement of a League
Ideally 2 referees should be used for each game
There must be a minimum of 8 competing teams. Depending on the length of the league each team can play each other once or twice.
Games should last two equal periods of between 15 and 20 minutes in length with 1 time out per team per half. Note that matches do not have to be played ‘real’ time - i.e the clock is stopped everytime the ball is out of play.
The league must be affiliated to the County FA
All league fixtures must comply with the competition rules for the National Championships and be completed by 17 June
Qualification to FA Futsal Finals

Once the number of Leagues is agreed The FA will identify the qualification process for the The FA Futsal Finals. Leagues that are well established and have a large number of competitive teams may be offered direct qualification to the finals for one or more teams. Other Leagues may be required to be involved in play off games to secure a place in the Final. League organisers will be informed of the qualification process prior to the commencement of League programmes.

UEFA Futsal Cup

Doncaster Deaf College are England’s representatives in the 2006 competition. Winners of the The FA Futsal Cup 2007 will take part in the UEFA Futsal Cup in September 2008 unless a National Futsal League is introduced in the interim period. If this takes place the UEFA Cup spot will revert to the Champions of the National League.

What support will the FA offer to Futsal Leagues?
To assist new Futsal league operators The FA is prepared to offer equipment, promotional support, seminars for referees some financial support is available to assist with initial promotion and match official. This grant is paid retrospectively after the satisfactory completion of a qualifying league to the required criteria.

Coaching Support to Participating Teams
In order to improve the overall standard of teams qualifying to the The FA Futsal Finals the FA will be offering two free coaching workshops (North and South) to team managers/officials involved in qualifying leagues. Dates and venues to be announced.

Application Form
All League organisers should complete the attached application form and return it to The Football Association by Wednesday 13 November 2006. Applications after this date should be forwarded to the address given below.

Meeting of Potential League Organisers
All League organisers expressing an interest in staging a FA Futsal League will be invited to attend a meeting at FA HQ, 25 Soho Square on Tuesday 21 November 2006 – 11.00am to 3.00pm.

Further Information?
Queries should be emailed to Dermot.Collins@TheFA.com

Dermot Collins
The National Manager – Small Sided Football
The Football Association, 25 Soho Square, London W1D 4FA.

Potential League Organisers should be prepared to attend a meeting at FA HQ Soho Square on Tuesday 21 November 11am-3pm.

-> Click here to download the Registration Form pdf






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com