Leicestershire Futsal League Celebrates 10th Anniversary With Thrilling Festival

Leicestershire Futsal League celebrated their 10th anniversary with a festival featuring 40 teams from across England organisation.

On Saturday 8^th June, 40 teams from across England came together at Loughborough University’s Sir David Wallace Sports Hall to celebrate Leicestershire Futsal League’s 10^th year with a Futsal Festival.

Futsal was founded in the 1930’s in Uruguay and was originally created to be played in YMCA sports halls. It rapidly gained popularity through the YMCA network and has since evolved into a global sport with an estimated 12 million players worldwide. Today, Brazil, Portugal, and Spain lead the rankings as the top national teams in both men's and women's futsal.

Futsal draws its origins from various sports, including traditional football, basketball, water polo, and handball, while incorporating many standard football rules. Unique aspects of the game include the absence of an offside rule, a limit on the number of fouls, and the use of a smaller, heavier ball. Primarily played indoors, futsal is celebrated for its technical, skill-based nature, emphasising control and creativity.

Founded by Ian Bannister in 2014, the league has seen unprecedented growth in its first 10 years, becoming one of the largest futsal leagues in the country, welcoming teams from Under 8 through to Under 15 with a men’s Open Age division for adults.

They currently have over 100 teams registered with each age group playing roughly once a month at central venues including Crown Hills Community College, Judge Meadow, and Beauchamp College.

The festival attracted teams from Bristol, London, Peterborough, Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Kettering to complement local teams currently playing in the league, ranging from Under 9 through to Under 15-year-olds.

A representative from PSA Futsal Club commented on the success of the festival, they said: “Thanks for all your hard work, the Futsal Festival was a really well-run event.”

The event was a roaring success with some incredible talent showcased across fiercely competed matches, watched over by NFS Tier 1 team Loughborough Students Futsal’s Head Coach and players and a fantastic group of spectators.