By Weronika Lecka, First Year, French and Spanish.
As women’s football increases in popularity, its indoor counterpart futsal is also experiencing the same growth in demand at Bristol. As a result, the university and B:Active have created free weekly sessions for female students to play futsal and test their skills. Here is why you should take part and why you should follow the growth of women’s futsal at UoB.
Every Friday 5-6pm, free-for-all-levels welcome Futsal!!
If anyone at Bristol wants to play futsal, then currently there are B:Active sessions held for female students every Friday at the Indoor Sports Centre 5-6pm. They are completely free and all that participants need to do is sign up on the UOB Active app and provide their U-Card at reception. Of course, since the sessions take place indoors, then indoor shoes would be required, but there is no need to purchase the newest Joma’s – any indoor shoes will be fine as the sessions welcome all abilities and levels of experience.
The sessions are led by Milen Harris and India, who set up different drills and matches for participants to test their skills. These usually consist of dribbling, passing and receiving the ball in a more futsal way – with the sole of the foot rather than the side. This helps participants understand the key differences between the style of play in futsal, as the gameplay is a lot faster, the pitch is smaller, and the ball is smaller and heavier compared to football. Also in these sessions there is support from UoB men’s 1s futsal captain, Max Cuello-Wolffe, who uses his experience playing regular futsal with the university to demonstrate different skills to participants with less experience in the game compared to football. There is also a use of the different sized goals, similar to handball goals, that help get players used to shooting at a smaller target.
So far there have been three sessions, with the next being Friday 11th November, but they have been successful with many participants coming each week. The first session on the 19th September was an introductory session to meet the session leaders, but also to learn and understand the different skills needed to play futsal. In the two sessions after that, the group has been doing passing and shooting drills in order to fully practice and improve match skills. However, the structure of the session is mainly focused on having small sided 3v3 games, which involves splitting the group into four small and equal teams of three people and splitting the sports hall in half - which helps players understand the fast pace and smaller space that futsal has. This also allows for the sessions to be welcoming for all, as again the group is split evenly, regardless of ability or experience level in the sport. Near the end of the session, the full width and size of the sports hall is used, alongside the bigger goals, in order to play a larger and more realistic futsal match. The group is split into two, and usually Milen Harris and India play on each team in order to provide some support for the less confident or less experienced players. During the match, when I would get tackled or my pass was intercepted then India would say ‘Don’t worry’ or ‘It’s okay’, helping me and the others feel encouraged to try their best regardless of our skill level.
‘Good job guys, thanks for coming!’
By the end of my first session, the leaders were very supportive and encouraged others to come back next week or let their friends know about the sessions. 1s captain Max Cuello-Woolfe encouraged me to come back next week and even let me know about some futsal refereeing opportunities available in Bristol – BUCS or Futsoul360 etc.
I found out about this opportunity through the Freshers’ Fair 2024, where UoB Futsal organised a Give-it-a-Go session in the sports activity corner. Members of the club set up two cones either side and organised a panna match for people to take part in – to use skills such as rolling the ball or passing it quickly in order to move the ball through the opponent’s legs and into the goal. My friend Emily (UBWFC 2s) and I took part in these matches against some members of UoB futsal and really enjoyed it. We were encouraged to use our best skills, and when we were able to effectively defeat our opponent, there were cheers from the club members and people watching around. We were told that there is no official women’s futsal team at the moment, but if futsal were to become more popular with female students over time, then they can consider creating a women’s team alongside the already two BUCS male futsal teams available. Therefore, if you have ever thought of playing futsal during your time here at Bristol, now is the time to take part!
UBWFC 2s goalkeeper and 1st year Emily Kemp has been going to these sessions regularly and has told us that 'they have been really enjoyable so far' and 'have been a great way to develop footwork in a very relaxed environment, whilst meeting lots of people'. She has also stated that the futsal sessions 'can be very useful in football too'.
There are regular updates about futsal sessions on the UBFC Women’s 24/25 WhatsApp chat, where there are polls created asking ‘who’s coming today?’ and links provided to book the session for the next week on the UOB Active app. This makes the group very interactive and welcoming for everyone.
There are also a few opportunities for those looking to officiate futsal. After completing the FA Futsal course, trainee referees can officiate BUCS matches or Futsoul360 league games at Cotham School. The BUCS matches are affiliated with the FA, meaning that they can help you complete your 5 matches in order to officially qualify as a Futsal referee with the FA. On the 13th October, I officiated the match between Bristol 1s and Hertfordshire 1s, which ended 5-3 to Bristol. It was my first time officiating a professional futsal match, but the coach, captain and players were very supportive throughout. If you are interested in officiating futsal, get involved as more referees are always appreciated!
It is very exciting to see that futsal is growing at UoB and is being made more widely available, especially for female students. The sport itself can have many benefits, such as being played indoors, helping to develop quick thinking and reactions, and of course giving opportunities to show off street-style skill moves that are otherwise only seen on FIFA Street by Brazilian legends Ronaldinho or Neymar! There is a possibility that the timing may change to Thursday afternoons as not everyone (mostly myself) cannot attend the Friday timings, so the only thing left to do is keep an eye out for more futsal opportunities at the University of Bristol.
Will you be playing futsal this year?
Featured images: University of Bristol Futsal Club, Weronika Lecka
