Last Saturday, the Hertfordshire FA delivered the 5th annual boys Hertfordshire Youth Futsal Festival. The event was hosted by Gosling Sports Park in Welwyn Garden City and involved an incredible 26 teams, 6 referees, 40 coaches & 200+ youth players from around the County.

The festival took place across 6 Futsal courts with U10, U12 & U14 boys’ teams battling it out to progress from the County festival to the regional phase of the FA National Youth Futsal Festival.

Please click here to see photos of the day from the day.

All teams involved in the festival displayed some outstanding futsal and really illustrated Hertfordshire’s ever improving pool of youth Futsal players & teams.

England Futsal international James Webb was also on hand on the event to watch and inspire the next generation of stars. Webb, who was present throughout the festival watching games, then stayed around to hand medals out to the finalists!

Hertfordshire FA Development Officer for Futsal & Small Sided, Adam Jones, said:

"It is great to see the enthusiasm for Futsal across Hertfordshire; the ever increasing level of Futsal being played and the increase in standards from all participants, players, referees, volunteers, coaches, parents.

"All seem to have a better understanding and support structure than from previous years which is only going to benefit player development."

"Also a massive thank you to James Webb for attending the Youth Futsal Festival, and talking to teams to inspire a new generation of players."

What’s Futsal?

Futsal places a large emphasis on technical ability in situations of high pressure, and is seen an excellent development tool for football talent, with skills that can be translated into the 11-a-side format of the game.

This is why Futsal is the recognised format of 5-a-side by FIFA & UEFA and is the fastest growing indoor sport in the world. Futsal is a sport in its own right with its own FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, & FA National League.

Many of the top world class footballers played Futsal in their youth and credit it with supporting their footballing development. Players of the calibre of Pele, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo & Andres Iniesta to name but a few have played Futsal to develop their skills.

Hertford Town Youth FC Warriors U10, ProFutsal Academy Wizards U12, & Hertford Town Woodside U14 were county champions of their respective age groups and will now represent Hertfordshire FA in the Regional Finals.

Hertford Town Woodside U14 goes into the Regional Finals having won the FA National Youth Futsal Cup twice in previous seasons.

Jones also added his congratulations to the county winners, and his hopes for Futsal in the County saying:

"Congratulations to the County Champions who we wish all the best for the next round. Hopefully they will qualify for the national finals to showcase the strength of Futsal across the county as well as the numbers playing the game.

"One day we hope all Hertfordshire Clubs can get involved to offer an opportunity for their players to try Futsal in the future."

The Regional Finals will be held on Saturday 3^rd June & Sunday 4^th June at Hertfordshire Sports Village, Hatfield & The Copper Box Arena, London respectively.

How can you get involved in Futsal?

Email adam.jones@hertfordshirefa.com to:

• Register for our Futsal mailing list,
• Add your team to our Futsal Club directory,
• Gain a Futsal coaching qualification – the next Level 1 Futsal course will be in Stevenage Saturday 8th July 2017.