<![CDATA[Manchester Futsal Leagues

<![CDATA[Manchester Futsal Leagues - News]]>Sun, 21 Dec 2025 06:16:40 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015 ]]>Mon, 24 Aug 2015 14:18:23 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/manchester-international-futsal-tournament-2015

Two days of high drama and entertaining international futsal were witnessed this weekend at the National Cycling Centre as we welcomed FC Cosmos from Estonia, FC Victoria Buiucani from Moldova and Doncaster Deaf Futsal from England.

The event also staged an U10 and U12 boys tournament with 8 clubs taking part. This included representation from Dublin Futsal Academy, Oxford City Lions, Bolton Futsal Club, FC Sports, Soccertechnix, and Manchester Futsal Club. Over the weekend we had over 400 people in attendance. Manchester International Futsal Tournament is the only international futsal to be staged in the UK. The event returns in 2016 with a youth, adult men's and women's tournament.

Men's Champions: Manchester Futsal Club
U10 Boys Champions: Bolton Futsal Club
U12 Boys Champions: Manchester Futsal Club

For further information on Manchester International Futsal Tournaments go to www.manchesterfutsaltournaments.com
or follow on twitter @FutsalMcr

]]><![CDATA[Introducing the youth teams]]>Fri, 14 Aug 2015 13:31:22 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/august-13th-2015

This year’s Manchester International Futsal Tournament will bring together a host of youth futsal clubs from the North West of England alongside guests from Dublin and Oxford and host Manchester Futsal Club.

The U10 and U12’s tournament promises to be a great opportunity for the future players of futsal to take centre stage at this event.

Here’s a little background information on our visiting youth futsal clubs. Enjoy the event guys!

Bolton Futsal Club

Bolton Futsal Club was established in late 2014, and was the brain child of Sam Holden and Ryan Hartwidge.
The club were aware that Mic Parish had been running futsal skill sessions in the Bolton and Preston area for some 6 years, and he was approached to come on board. Mic agreed to take charge of youth development for the club and so it began.

The first junior sessions took place on Friday 23rd January 2015 and now sessions are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Bolton Futsal Club also caters to teams wishing to run in-house sessions.
Bolton Futsal Club has grown rapidly in its first six months of operating, running teams aged from u7-14, who play regular organised friendlies.

The work we are doing has been recognised by many professional football clubs and the quality of our players has attracted considerable interest. This lead to Blackburn Rovers FC approaching us to become an official development partnership club, an offer the club gladly accepted.

We have also recently embarked on the development of a senior team, which is comprised of players aged 20-21 years. At the time of writing they have played 3 matches and show tremendous potential with lofty aims of joining the national league in the appropriate time frame.

Bolton Futsal Club feel privileged to have been invited to take part in this prestigious event and we hope it is only the beginning for the sleeping giant that is futsal.

FC Sports

FC Sports JFC were formed in 2009 by Little Sports Coaching to give children from all over Manchester and Stockport a professional learning environment within a junior grassroots set up. With 16 children signed on to the under 8s age group in the first season the club has gone from strength to strength and for the coming season will have over 250 children signed on over 9 age groups.

The current u10s squad have won everything in their path including the East Manchester Primary cup and the first ever Nou Camp Tournament in Barcelona.With the great success of the Football club FC decided to form their first ever Futsal centre in October 2014 where the boys and girls from all age groups could come and learn the arts of the small sided game.

The children took to the game really well and the coaches could see confidence seeming through the children both at Futsal sessions and their football matches. The players have come a long way in such a short space of time, currently sitting top of the Oldham futsal Centre summer league and winning their first ever tournament they competed in.

Soccatechnix

Founded in the summer of 2008, Socatechnix soccer school started life as just extra training for 6 kids whom loved nothing more than playing football and learning new skills. Stephen Moth; then coach of a local junior team put on extra sessions that soon captivated the attention of many children of the local community.

Today, 7 years on Socatechnix is thriving with kids over two venues in Failsworth and Blackley of Manchester with over 200 on their current register with a team of 6 coaches and many volunteers.

Socatechnix is a technical coaching school first and foremost but they pride themselves on boosting the confidence of every ability in a positive environment whilst staying true to their values of skills for life not just in football.

Alongside their technical sessions, Socatechnix offers league football on a Sunday for individuals and is currently hosts 10 teams that feature in their Development Zone on a Monday night at Our Lady's Leisure Centre in Blackley, Manchester.

Socatechnix runs regular football tournaments with a fast paced format that promotes total football and technical ability which is a big hit with teams not just locally but nation wide.

The school has since made its mark in Europe also; realising the dreams of 22 children when they became Easter Champions of Hollands famous Easter Open Tournament 2015. Such was the impact the European experiences had on the local community that the school as booked trips to Paris and Spain for 2015/16 and will realise the dreams of another 50+ children.

Dublin Futsal Club

Established in 2014 Dublin Futsal Club are at the very beginning of their futsal journey as they look to develop greater awareness of youth futsal on the local football landscape in Dublin.

Not fazed by the challenge under the leadership and coaching of Alan Doyle the club has called upon the support of Manchester Futsal Club to help move futsal forward with the education of local coaches and parents in Dublin who wish to engage more with this small sided format.

The club runs development sessions on a weekly basis aimed at allowing the players to pick up and practice the key differences between football and futsal. There are plans to set up the first ever futsal mini league the September which will be the first of its kind to be run in Dublin and the perfect platform to grow the sport and increase awareness.

The club is embracing every learning opportunity it can grab for its young players and being involved in the Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015 will surely help their long term plans for futsal in Dublin.

Oxford City Lions Futsal

Oxford City Lions Futsal team was formed in 2011 is part of Oxford City Football Club. Oxford City FC has been in existence since 1882, and boasts Bobby Moore and Harry Redknapp amongst its alumni. The club’s senior team are part of the FA National Futsal Super League South.

The club has recently invested in its own 30,000 square foot arena, the Oxford City Indoor Arena in Berinsfield, with up to six courts for futsal or basketball, together with a café and teaching facilities. The club now sees more than 100,000 users a year, and not just for football and futsal. It has over 50 representative teams, including a futsal academy for 10-16 year olds. It has 17 representative basketball teams, as well as a number in a range of disability sports. Its facilities are also used for netball, rugby league, cycling. The club has received several awards for Community Club of the Year.

This weekend the club will be able to showcase the ongoing development work that the club has invested in with their youth development programme.

The U10’s boys and U12’s boys games get underway at 10am each day at the National Cycling Centre.

Why not come down and take a look at the games and see the kids enjoying their futsal! Tickets are available on the door for £5 per day or £7 for a weekend ticket. Children U16 can gain entry for £1.50.

]]><![CDATA[Cook and Manchester ready for international challenge ]]>Fri, 14 Aug 2015 05:42:58 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/cook-and-manchester-ready-for-international-challenge

Ahead of the inaugural Manchester International Futsal Tournament this weekend, we caught up with star player Stuart Cook to discuss this tournament, next season and the bigger picture of the growth of futsal in England.

How important is this event for the team to prepare for the new season?

In terms of preparation it will be a good chance to get the majority of last season’s squad together and get us on court and back into the swing of things. It will also be a chance for us to add some of the new players to the squad for the new season. It is still early in pre-season and primarily it will be a good physical test to see where players are at, we obviously want to perform well in what we hope will be a big crowd and another great event. There are some strong teams coming to take part and it is always nice to test yourself against unknown sides.

In the bigger picture, what can you see it doing for the development of the sport of futsal as a whole in England?

I think this is more important for this event than our preseason preparations . At Manchester we thrive off delivering high quality events and trying to ensure Futsal gets the attention and recognition it deserves. As a club we have a history of bringing clubs into to the city perform; the highlight a couple of season ago being UEFA Futsal Cup regulars Slov-Matic Bratislava. This was the logical next step and is great for futsal enthusiasts, both in Manchester and further afield to come and taste some high quality futsal and also how it is approached from different countries and cultures. I know there was a lot of interest in the tournament from teams abroad and staging it this year allows it to grow year on year.

The recent Kevin Davies vs Manchester Futsal exhibition game drew a good crowd and big media interest. How much educating do the public need about what futsal is?

I think anyone who has frequented an MFC game in recent years has an understanding of how futsal should be played. As a club we try to play the game in the right way and do this great sport justice on court. The exhibition game was great fun and entertaining, it undoubtedly drew some new faces into the Velodrome who were new to futsal.
Hopefully what they saw that day makes them want to return and see a faster, sharper more competitive game of futsal and this event is another great opportunity to do that.

Your skills have generated a real buzz online, with one of the papers featuring your video with a headline suggesting you are the best footballer in England. How much of a challenge and new way of thinking is this self expressionism with the ball, which is more typically associated with how Brazilians traditionally play than English?

I think even for a tabloid newspaper that headline may have been a little farfetched, but it is great that things like this are slowly hitting national outlets more regularly. Last season Luke Ballinger also appeared on Soccer AM’s Showboat section, so it shows it is starting to get noticed and is slowly filtering into the mainstream.

Playing futsal allows you to develop your ball control and thinking processes. Put yourself in tight situations more often and you will become better at getting out of them with various skills and techniques. A lot of traditional people would consider it to be showboating, but after years of playing and finding out what works in certain situations it becomes a natural part of a players thought process to use more advanced and difficult skills on a more regular basis. I wouldn’t paint a picture with just red, white and blue, if I had the ability to use green yellow and orange.

The reality is that people want to be entertained. Who doesn’t like watching Brazilians master the ball and occasionally embarrass an opponent? There is no reason why we can’t do it as well.

In countries like Spain and Brazil, futsal is a professional sport. You are also a senior member of the national team so have seen first-hand where the game sits in some of these countries. What potential lies in the game in England do you think?

I think the level of competition has improved in recent years. The emergence of Baku Utd has certainly raised the profile in England which can be a doubled edged sword. It is good in that we have attracted some high class players and coaches for everyone to work with and learn from, however I believe it has hindered the development of young home grown players because of a lack of playing time. I can’t tell you how proud I am of the young lads at Manchester following last season. They were thrown in at the deep end once we got let down by a number of our playing staff, and we travelled to many games with a squad of 8 or 9 often including 5 of our u19s. Despite some bad results along the way they performed admirably and proved in the FA Cup Final they can perform against the best team in England. If they can do that after six months with us I can’t wait to see how they get on in a few years. The problem is I don’t see enough teams having the faith in young players and giving them the chance to learn through performance.

The potential in England is only limited by ourselves. As a country we have to buy into what futsal has to offer. Not only as a development tool but also as a sport in its own right. It has to be done the right way or as we’ve seen so often before in the beautiful game of football, potential can be wasted a lot easier than it can be fulfilled.

With the building of the profile of the game that these evens do, as a player, what does it mean to be creating a legacy and building a future?

I’ve been involved in futsal for almost six years now and I will openly admit I had no clue what it is was until I got asked to play for England in 2009. But I have never looked back and will continue to play as long as I can. I love the enthusiasm everyone in the sport has. It's infectious and these are the people who will build futsal and hopefully get it the recognition it deserves in the future. I’m just along for the ride and hopefully to entertain people along the way. Seeing the young kids come to our games and spending time with them afterwards teaching (and learning) new skills with them is great. Events like these that help just one more person get involved and hooked it makes it all worthwhile.

How involved are senior players with the club?

I think at Manchester we have tried a few different ways in recent years to get the best outcome for the club and primarily it has worked well. I think you only have to look at performances on court to see that. Simon (the Club Chairman) puts a lot of time into the running and organisational side of the club and the senior players like myself, Sam and Ilya appreciate all his work behind the scenes. The club is important to us all and none more so than on the playing side, we have a big input into the direction we want the club to go and the way we want to play on court and the atmosphere around the club, which is the most important. The atmosphere around training and games and the personnel is the most important. We are all friends off the court and that then carries itself on court and brings out the best of people. If players or coaches don’t buy into that, then it doesn’t work. A lot of last season was spent integrating the youth players into the first team squad and making them apart of that friends first philosophy.

It is difficult to find an outstanding candidate who has the knowledge and experience to come and take us to the next level on court. Between myself, Ilya and Sam we have a pretty good understanding of the game and the direction we want to go as a club. We believe that, for now at least, we can continue to move MFC forward and close the gap on Baku. Our Head Coach Keith Brady provides that much needed focal point and organisation you need at training and on match days. We have regular meetings where we discuss players, training sessions, game plans and also have introduced some individual and team video analysis as well. Between us, we form a management team, all pushing in the same direction.

You can watch Stuart and the rest of the Manchester Futsal Club squad as they take on Estonian side FC Cosmos on Saturday 15 August in the 6pm kick-off. Tickets are available via www.manchesterfutsaltournaments.com or you can pay on the door (£5 adults and £1.50 under 16s) Follow events from the Manchester International Futsal tournament via twitter @FutsalMcr or join the conversation #FutsalMCR

Written by Matt Fejos

]]><![CDATA[MIFT 2015 just days away]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2015 17:46:14 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/mift-2015-just-days-away

Manchester’s first ever International Futsal Tournament is taking place this weekend at the National Cycling Centre and we want you there to be part of it with us.
As well as getting an opportunity to get a look at the FA National Futsal League North champions ahead of the new campaign, you will be able to see how futsal is played by international teams.

FC Cosmos will travel in from Estonia and Moldovan side FC Victoria Buiucani will also be present alongside Doncaster Deaf Futsal.

“Personally I'm really looking forward to delivering the event,” said MFC Chairman Simon Wright. “We've been waiting a long time to get back into delivering international futsal events. The Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015 is the first step on this journey to develop and bring international futsal to Manchester and the UK.

“The club can benefit in many ways. Primarily the players will benefit from getting more tournament experience against international clubs – that is what this group of players need; to play against good opposition and to be tested and to have new experiences. That's part of our development plan; to help us reach a higher level with the group of players that we have in the squad this season.

“Off the court we can widen our friendship with meeting new futsal clubs and develop new relationships. This too is also the best way to develop the club. It's great to be able to look at the approach of other clubs and see how we match up or can make improvements to how we grow as a club both at youth and adult level.”

This year's event is a four team adult tournament, which will be staged with two semi-final games on the Saturday. The winners of these games will progress to the Grand Final on Sunday and there will also be a third place play-off staged on Sunday.

In addition to the main showpiece there will be a youth tournament running, so you could potentially catch a glimpse of some of the futsal starts of the future.

The U10 and U12 boys tournament will have four clubs is in tournament with teams playing each other once in the group games. The top two teams in the group will then proceed to a final game to decide who will become the youth champions.

“It's always exciting hosting live futsal events,” continued Wright. “Our job is to keep bringing the people in to watch the sport and to keep educating and entertaining the crowd. That way we will get an affinity with the sport and it will help build up a following both from local support in Manchester but also from around the world whereby people will know that Manchester is a home for futsal.

“We've set a development plan for Manchester International Futsal Tournaments. Next year we will widen our tournament programme to include an international youth tournament, women's tournament and a larger men's tournament. We'll be working hard to bring more international futsal clubs to Manchester and keep raising the profile of the event in the futsal community both in England and around the world.

“We will always be looking to reach out to established futsal clubs from around the world to continue to build the profile of Manchester International Futsal Tournaments. It takes time, but being based in such a high profile sporting city as Manchester we feel we have the perfect setting and backdrop to bring in clubs that will enjoy and make the most of their time here.”

For more information, please visit: www.manchesterfutsaltournaments.com

]]><![CDATA[Introducing FC Cosmos]]>Tue, 11 Aug 2015 04:40:48 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/introducing-fc-cosmos

Estonian club FC Cosmos were only formed in 2014 following an amalgamation with FC Raketa, which for several years had successfully played in Estonian Futsal Premier League.
In 2014-2015 season was the first season that FC Cosmos competed in the Estonian Futsal Premier League and took the bronze medal following competing in the end of season playoffs.

FC Cosmos have already travelled and competed in various international tournaments. The squad also boasts Estonian National team players in Pavel Rubel and Maxim Alekseyev who last season participated in all international fixtures for the Estonian National Squad.

In September 2014 FC Cosmos established the first Estonian children's futsal school that will support the young players’ future development in futsal.

Club Honours: Bronze medalist of the Estonian Futsal Premier League 2014/2015 Last 8 results: L W W W L L W W Player to watch: Maksim Aleksejev – Estonian National Team player.

Coach Background: The Head Coach for FC Cosmos is Arkady Belyy. Belyy is a highly rated and decorated Russian futsal player with Dina Moscow. The Russian is a European Championship Winner, UEFA Futsal Cup winner and an eight-time champion of the Russia Futsal League.

To find out more about our Estonian guests FC Cosmos head to www.fccosmos.ee and www.facebook.com/fc.cosmos.est

]]><![CDATA[Macron become Technical Partner for Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015]]>Mon, 10 Aug 2015 18:00:40 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/macron-become-technical-partner-for-manchester-international-futsal-tournament-2015

Manchester International Futsal Tournaments are delighted to welcome Macron Technical Sportswear (Manchester) as the official supplier for this year's event at the National Cycling Centre on 15-16th August.

Speaking of the announcement Peter Hickford from Macron Manchester stated;

"Macron are delighted to be supporting the Manchester International Futsal Tournament as Technical Partner for 2015. Macron Store Manchester is new to the city and will be opening later this month and it is our ambition to partner with sports clubs of all sports across the North West.

Futsal is becoming more and more popular across the country and Manchester Futsal Club are leading the way with it's development as is evident once more with this inaugural tournament. We hope that this will be the first of many events that you will start to see Macron supporting in the Futsal scene across the city of Manchester".

Tournament Director Simon Wright was pleased to tie up a leading sports brand to work alongside for this year's event;

"We're delighted to welcome this partnership with Macron. The Manchester International Futsal Tournament aims to be the leading international futsal tournament in the UK and we are already looking to the future with events already planned for 2016. It's great to have Macron on board at the start of this journey".

Macron will be present on site over the event weekend should you wish to speak to them about your team wear requirements. For more information head to http://www.macronstoremanchesternorth.co.uk/

]]><![CDATA[Introducing Doncaster Deaf Futsal Club]]>Mon, 10 Aug 2015 17:57:35 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/introducing-doncaster-deaf-futsal-club

Doncaster Deaf Futsal Club were founded in 2002 and were formed following their association with Doncaster Deaf Football Club. The club consists of deaf and hard of hearing players. The club is fully supported by Doncaster College for the Deaf.

Doncaster’s involvement in English futsal dates back to the early formation of the sport. Doncaster Deaf Futsal began competing in the inaugural Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Futsal league. In 2005 the club won the play-off final in the regional league after beating 2003 FA Futsal Cup winners, Sheffield Hallam, with a score of 8-4.

The club qualified to the FA Futsal Cup in 2005 and progressed all the way to the final to meet Baltic United. In the final Doncaster Deaf Futsal Club became the first disability team to win a major Futsal competition after beating Baltic 3-2. As a result of their famous win Doncaster Deaf qualified to represent England in the UEFA Futsal Cup.

In 2006, Doncaster Deaf took part of UEFA Futsal Cup along with three strong experienced teams from Switzerland, Moldova and the hosts Andorra. Doncaster lost all the games but came close with a 5-4 defeat against the Swiss team.

After a period when the club disbanded Doncaster Deaf Futsal Club reformed just over a year ago. In 2014 they took part of British Deaf Futsal Cup in 2014 where they lost to Glasgow Deaf Futsal in the semi-final.

This competition saw Doncaster Deaf finishing in 3rd place after beating Colchester 4-3 in the play-offs.
Earlier this year, Doncaster Deaf managed to reach to the final of British Deaf Futsal Cup 2015 where the club met rivals St. John Deaf Futsal. After a tough game against Bristol Deaf Futsal in the Semi-final where they won 4-3 AET, then team lost 9-2 to St. John Deaf.

By coming second in the British Deaf Futsal Cup, Doncaster Deaf now qualify to the DCL (Deaf Champion League) Futsal Cup which will be held February 2016 in Huelva, Spain.

Club Honours –

- Play-off Winners Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Futsal League

-  FA Futsal Cup winner 2005

-  British Deaf Futsal Cup Finalist 2015

Last 8-10 results: LWWWDWWWLW

Player to watch:

Daniel Hogan. One of the most skilful Deaf Futsal players in the UK. Captain that won the FA Futsal Cup in 2005. He had a short spell playing with Helveica Futsal and has played for England Deaf Futsal.

Coach Background –

Brian Green has been with Great Britain Deaf Football set-up for nearly 20 years as a player. Green set up Doncaster Deaf Futsal Club back in 2002 and went on to win the The FA Futsal Cup in 2005 both as a player and a coach. He was an assistant coach, behind former head coach Pete Sturgess for England Deaf Futsal between 2005 and 2007.

]]><![CDATA[Youth tournament fixtures announced ]]>Fri, 07 Aug 2015 21:12:11 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/youth-tournament-fixtures-announced

The waiting is almost over and with a week to go before the Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015 kick's off we can finally announce the Youth Tournament fixtures for the U10 and U12 Boys tournament to be staged on Saturday 15th August and Sunday 16th August at the National Cycling Centre.
Two groups of 4 will compete for the top two positions and a chance to make the Grand Finals on Sunday 16th August.

Tickets are still on sale for this showcase event. To buy your tickets now Click Here

Come and join us for what will be two days of top class futsal action in Manchester!

]]><![CDATA[Adult tournament fixtures announced ]]>Fri, 07 Aug 2015 21:03:08 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/adult-tournament-fixtures-announced

The waiting is almost over and with a week to go before the Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015 kick's off we can finally announce the Adult Tournament fixtures to be staged on Saturday 15th August at the National Cycling Centre.
Two semi-final games are scheduled with the winners meeting in the Grand Final on Sunday 16th August.

Tickets are still on sale for this showcase event. To buy your tickets now Click Here

Come and join us for what will be two days of top class futsal action in Manchester!

]]><![CDATA[FIFA Referees announced for Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015]]>Tue, 04 Aug 2015 20:11:51 GMThttps://www.manchesterfutsalleague.com/news/fifa-referees-announced-for-manchester-international-futsal-tournament-2015

With the Manchester International Futsal Tournament 2015 less than two weeks away the referee rosters can today be announced for the event’s adult competition.
The tournament organisers are delighted to confirm a referee team that consists of England’s leading futsal referee Marc Birkett alongside English colleagues Peter Nurse and Mike Harris.

Birkett’s high level experience will add to the event. Last year he was the third official for the 2014 UEFA Futsal EURO Final in Antwerp. His impressive international CV also includes a FIFA Futsal World Cup Final after officiating in the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup final in Thailand.

Birkett will be joined by his FIFA Futsal Referee colleague Peter Nurse who has also developed himself as one of England’s leading officials, taking charge of a number of England internationals and FA major finals during his futsal refereeing career.

Making up the referee team is one of England’s leading futsal referee prospects
in Mike Harris. Harris is well known being a local official who has progressed to
take his place in the select group of FA Futsal Referees. Harris was a regular in
last season’s FA Futsal Super League and was involved in the BUCS Futsal
Final 2015.

Adult Competition Referees: Marc Birkett, Peter Nurse, Mike Harris

Youth Competition Referees: Raymond Laughlin and Robert Martin

The referees are ready!

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