Futsal Cup qualifying leagues to begin

The FA are looking for organisers who wish to run local Futsal leagues that produce qualifiers for the 2010 FA Futsal Cup Finals. 

Any Futsal leagues that wish to be run as a qualifier for The FA Futsal Cup needs to register with The FA now!

What is the FA Futsal Cup?

It sounds obvious, but The FA Futsal Cup is the 'FA Cup' of Futsal. It is the flagship cup competition for Futsal in England, providing opportunities for local Futsal teams to progress through the competition to the national finals to take on the leading clubs from The FA National Futsal Leagues. 

The FA Futsal Cup is run for both Men and Women’s teams, from local qualifying leagues, through to regional finals and then on to the national final – offering a competition structure to rival that of the actual FA Cup!

What is Futsal?

Futsal is the format of small-sided football that is recognised by both UEFA and FIFA with World and European Championships for club and national teams. Futsal is a more technical and skilled version of five-a-side football played indoors on marked pitches, with hockey-sized goals, a smaller heavier ball with a number of rule variations. The FA are keen to develop and promote the game across England.

The FA Futsal Cup Structure

The FA initially advertises for Local Qualifying Leagues across the country. Each Local League should look to recruit a minimum of six teams. For 2010, these Local Leagues need to have been completed by 28 June.

The winners of each Local Qualifying League progress on to the Regional Finals in July, at which point they are joined by clubs from The FA National Futsal Leagues (the top English Futsal leagues). The winners of each Regional Final progresses onto the National Finals in September.

What is a Local Qualifying League?

A Local Qualifying League may already be a Futsal League that is running in a local area that wishes to put forward the winning team into The FA Futsal Cup.  More commonly, the Local Qualifying Leagues are set up with the sole purpose of supporting The FA Futsal Cup. Either is fine, but the leagues need to run over a period of time with teams competing against each other for the right to progress to the Regional Finals. The Local Qualifying Leagues must have a minimum of six teams competing.

The FA are looking for organisers of these local leagues to come forward to run both male and female leagues for this season’s FA Futsal Cup. These leagues need to be completed by 28 June 2010.

What does running a Local Qualifying League involve?

Organising and running a Local Qualifying League will require you to:-

1. Identify a suitable venue

2. Devise a promotional strategy that will recruit the required number of teams. The FA will make available promotional material to support your recruitment drive.

3. Devise a basic business plan that balances the cost of pitch hire, referees, affiliation and equipment against the fees of participating teams.

4. All leagues will need to be affiliated to the appropriate County Football Association.

5. League Organisers will need to work with the County FA to identify trained Futsal referees.

6. The FA will support leagues by providing Futsal balls.

7.  Organise fixtures and inform teams and referees of this schedule. Ensure all teams are in a position to complete their fixtures each week.

8. Produce and update league tables – The FA’s “Full-Time” online system can be used.

9. Ensure that the league programme is finished by 28 June 2009.

What does The FA require to be in place in order to run a League?

The FAs essential criteria for operating a league are as follows:-

• The pitch must be rectangular, have Futsal markings and must fit in the following dimensions: Width: minimum 15m, maximum 25m. Length: minimum 25m, maximum 42m.

• The goal posts must measure 3m wide x 2m tall.  Futsal, hockey or handball goalposts can be used.

• A Futsal ball should be used for all fixtures.

• The pitch should provide a firm and consistent playing surface. An indoor wooden or plastic surface would be ideal.  Synthetic surfaces are also permitted. Grass is not an appropriate surface on which to play Futsal.

• Ideally two referees should be used for each game.

• There must be a minimum of six competing teams.

• Games should last two equal periods of between 15 and 20 minutes in length.  Note that matches do not have to be played on a stopping clock.

• The league must be affiliated to the County FA – no exceptions.

For a downloadable version of the full Futsal Laws of the Game then visit www.FIFA.com.

What about Equipment?

The FA is prepared to offer Futsal balls and promotional material to league organisers running Local Qualifying Leagues. Requests for this should be made in the attached application form.

Application Form

All Local Qualifying Leagues need to register with The FA by 31 March 2010 if they are to be included as contributory league for The FA Futsal Cup 2010.  The attached application form needs to be completed and returned to Lisa Williams at The Football Association (Lisa.Williams@TheFA.com)