Futsal’s reputation as a fun, family-friendly sport for all will be further underlined when hundreds of the country’s budding young players come together in the capital from today for the Youth Futsal Championships.

Around 700 futsal-mad youngsters will feature in the tournament over the next three days and there are close links between many of them with numerous siblings, and even some sets of twins, taking part.

At the forefront of the family ties are identical twins Rachel and Jessica Brown, who are set to star for the Auckland U-16 girls team and will be joined by many others sets of brothers and sisters.

For example, there are a pair of twins among the teams representing the Central federation with Christina and Rebekha Trewhitt lining up in the U-14 girls category while Eve and Tessa Barry will do likewise in the U-16 girls.

Many parents also have more than one child involved across all the teams, making the tournament a real family affair.

With futsal having broad appeal and experiencing rapid growth in recent years, New Zealand Football Futsal Development Manager Josh Margetts says it’s no coincidence that whole families have fallen in love with the game.

“Futsal is such a fun, exciting sport to play for all ages and across both genders,” he says.

“Young people enjoy the challenge of playing a fast-paced, skill-based game that tests their abilities and there is a real close-knit, family feel amongst the futsal community,” he adds.

“So I’m not surprised to see so many families involved and I can’t wait to see all the players in action in an enjoyable yet competitive environment over the next few days.”
 

Nearly 60 teams are set to converge on the ASB Sports Centre in Wellington and will compete across six categories – U-14 Boys, U-14 Girls, U-16 Boys, U-16 Girls, U-19 Boys and U-19 Girls.

Margetts says the tournament is a highlight of the futsal calendar and the high participation numbers are a sign of the scale of progress achieved in the small-sided code.

“It really is one of those events where you have to sit down for a few minutes just to appreciate how far we have come in the futsal space,” he says.

“The enjoyment of the players throughout the three days makes all the hard work behind the scenes worth it.”

It’s not just on the playing side where there are a number of interesting storylines.

The family feel continues among the coaching ranks with brothers Jack and Sam Coyle teaming up to take the Northern U-14 boys while several of the best senior players in the country will be passing their skills and advice on.

For example, Futsal Whites star Dylan Manickum is coaching the U-14 boys for Auckland while Ollie Walsh will lead the Northern U-16 boys after playing for the Comets in last year’s national league.

In addition to providing opportunities for players and coaches, the event is meanwhile an important part of the Futsal Referee Development Pathway with promising young match officials from several federations honing their skills by both refereeing games and receiving high-class coaching.

For all the draws and results please click here

To view the live streaming please click here

For updates and content throughout the championships please visit the NZF Futsal Facebook page

Article added: Thursday 11 July 2019