England women head for futsal debut after ‘blood, sweat, tears’ and fundraising

Money raised for kit and camps after outsourcing by FAMen launch appeal to plug own gap before Uefa deadlineJamie FaheyTue 15 Oct 2024 03.00 EDTLast modified on Tue 15 Oct 2024 05.22 EDTShareEngland’s first women’s futsal team are celebrating hitting the target before a ball has been kicked. In the absence of Football Association funding, the squad of 14 history-making players will travel to Moldova to begin qualifiers for the long overdue inaugural Fifa Futsal Women’s World Cup on Wednesday after months of “blood, sweat and tears” raising funds to pay for kit, equipment and training camps.
The team have not yet played a match owing to cost constraints and have been sharing cheaper training venues away from St George’s Park with the resurrected men’s squad, who have resorted to their own urgent online appeals to help plug a more daunting £95,000 funding gap by 25 October to guarantee a return to competition in the Uefa 2026 Euros qualifiers four years after the team was scrapped by the FA.
Shahrzad Mozafar: Iran’s female futsal trailblazer who defied the odds Read more“The women’s team was a must,” said Sion Kitson, the head of performance at England Futsal, the company recruited as a “partner” by the FA to govern futsal in 2022. “It needed to be done to grow the game and participation for all. The women’s game is emerging across the world and we don’t want to be left behind.”
The FA allocates some funds to England Futsal – which was founded by the former England futsal coach and now Lincoln City manager, Michael Skubala – to pay for areas such as coach development but offers nothing for the national teams.
England Futsal attracted sufficient sponsorship to fund the women’s trip to Moldova for the four-team tournament, which starts against Finland. Players from both women’s and men’s teams have launched fundraising appeals to pay their way.
“It’s quite an achievement,” said Ali Miller, who plays club futsal for Birmingham Women and football for West Bromwich Albion. “Hats off to all the players and people at England Futsal for putting in blood, sweat and tears to get us to this point, ready to compete as an England team despite the funding challenges.”
Miller believes the debutants can cause an upset on court. “Qualifying for the first World Cup would be insane,” she said. “We’ve got to be realistic – we’ve not played a match. But we’re also an unknown, and we could go and wipe everyone out and reach the next round in March. We’d then have a load more fundraising to do … but we’d be up for that challenge.”
For Emma Tune, the impact will be felt beyond their attempt to reach the finals in the Philippines next year. “For young girls, seeing an England women’s futsal team gives them something to aim for,” said the London Helvecia captain. “Just like the football women, we can have a huge impact on the rise of futsal in England.”
Kitson said he was “confident we’ll be there or thereabouts” on fundraising for the men’s team to enter the six-match home and away qualifying group for Euro 2026 but appealed for potential sponsors keen to “build new partnerships with an exciting sport” to get in touch.
England Futsal face a €10,000 Uefa fine should the men’s team withdraw. The Guardian understands some senior figures in Fifa and Uefa are frustrated at the FA’s reluctance to commit to futsal, regarded as the dominant game in schools and a professional sport as well as a football development tool in places such as Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Russia, France and Iran.
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In England, Pete Sturgess, the former England men’s futsal coach, asked on X recently: “Why don’t we have a national association willing to invest in this incredible game? This can’t be right.”
View image in fullscreenRichard Ward, in action for England in 2019, remains part of the men’s international squad. Photograph: Francesco Pecoraro/Getty ImagesAn FA spokesperson declined to say whether it would step in to cover the shortfall should the men’s team fail to reach the £95,000 target, adding that since 2022 the FA had provided “support for England Futsal to run CPD for coaches and referees and a mentoring programme”. It said: “The launch of England Futsal has also seen the U19s men’s team compete in the Uefa Euros 2022, and FA approval and endorsement for them to enter the senior England teams in Uefa and Fifa competitions, based on the programme being funded and delivered by England Futsal. We look forward to continuing to work with England Futsal.”