a day at St George's Park for the Premier League u9's futsal finals

The ball, the terrain and the footwear might be different but the passion for the game remains the same. The U9s futsal finals was a spectacle that brought together a host of elite clubs in competition at one of the hallmarks of the English game.

At St Georges Park Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Leicester City, Manchester City, Stoke City, Sunderland, and Wolves came together to compete at the U9s Futsal final 2022/23.

Before taking to the stage at the home of England, 24 different clubs took part in regional qualifiers, the eight clubs that progressed all had an eye on being named the best in the country.

At that age competition is far from the most important thing but for players and coaches alike it provided a whole different dynamic.

“It gives the boys a variety of games programmes, I enjoy it, I feel we should do it more at our club.” Said Obi Anoruo coach of Manchester City.

“I’m a big advocate of competition, I’d personally love us to do more competitions. It’s great to have the parents here and have the scoreboards too, it adds to the competition. And I love how welcoming the Premier League have been.”

Futsal holds all the same values as the traditional game. Whether, it is the lines, the goals or the team spirit, Futsal doesn’t differ greatly to what a lot of the boys involved are used to day to day. However, the differences from the 7-aside games that the U9s are used to, allows some boys to come into their own.

The 5v5 futsal, has different demands to the traditional game and the difference in demands provides the variety the young players need.

“In futsal the pitch is tight, the game is quick, you’ve got to make good decisions quickly.” Said Harris, who represented Chelsea’s U9s.

For boys like Harris, the “quick, exciting and tenacious” spirit of futsal allows them to thrive and play a game that has greater emphasis on technique and guile with less of a burden on physicality.

“Futsal is a leveller for physical mismatches,” said Ian Parkes, an FA Youth Coach developer.

“In traditional football, if I’m stronger, bigger quicker, I can kick the ball and run and it’ll get me past you. In Futsal, you can’t do that, it encourages you technically to find a way to get past a player.”

Futsal is a version of the game enjoyed largely on the continent and in South America and it inspires a more technical style that those regions have become synonymous with.

“It’s not about copying what they’re doing in Portugal, Spain or South America,” says Parkes.

“Giving the young players the opportunity to play Futsal is about giving our players another tool in their toolbox.

“We’re not trying to create a different type of player; we want to improve and make more rounded the players that we already have. We’re not trying to copy them, but we recognise the returns it could give to our players doing it our way”

Coming to St George’s Park was an occasion that allowed, family and coaches to watch their children and players respectively, in a different environment.

“Kids are young, they get bored quite quickly, so being able to test themselves in different scenarios is something they thrive and buzz off. Said Darnell Simpson, Coach of Chelsea’s u9s.

“It’s so big that these players play here on an occasion like this. If you’re going to be a professional, you’re going to play in front of crowds. This is like their Wembley. So, for them having this experience, it will teach themselves it’ll teach them how to handle pressure of crowds, so it’s very important that we have these competitions.”