In this blog we spoke to Neil Lucas, head coach of Sala Futsal Club and futsal coach at Manchester United Girls' Regional Talent Club, to hear how futsal is being played in the female talent pathway.

Frequency

Firstly, it was interesting to hear how often the girls at Manchester United play futsal.

Rationale

One of the reasons futsal is a significant part of the programme is that the returns align with the style of football they are trying to develop. Neil shared the Redprint of the club and how futsal is an ideal game for players to develop mastery of the ball, be positive, competitive and make effective decisions under high intensity.

This means the sessions are focussed on these areas:

Futsal techniques

When discussing the differences between delivering football and futsal sessions, Neil was clear that he taught futsal techniques while the players were in those sessions.

The impact

Neil shared some great examples of individuals who have benefited in specific aspects of their game across the 4 corners.

Womens futsal

Towards the end of the discussion, the conversation moved on to whether it was too late for adult womens' football teams to reap the benefits of playing futsal.

Clearly, the suggestion was that it’s not too late for adult teams to give it a go and now that there are opportunities to play in futsal leagues, why not give it a go!? 

For the latest on women’s futsal check out https://nationalfutsalseries.com/womens-super-series-south