The weather has certainly changed! These are the days when I’m so happy to be coaching indoors. That said, sometimes the sports hall at York St John University is absolutely freezing! 🥶

Today, we had some fun with a game that really gets the players thinking! Every outfield player starts with a cone. When they make a successful pass, they drop their cone. The team cannot score until all the cones are on the floor! If they lose the ball, they must pick up a cone before trying to win it back.

Why do we love this game? It encourages teamwork, movement, passing and decision-making. Everyone has to get involved, use their teammates and think about their next action rather than relying on one player to do everything.

There was a bit of confusion at first, with players forgetting to drop or pick up their cones, but soon we were seeing some fantastic passing, great movement and brilliant futsal! Well done to everyone for sticking with it, learning and putting it all together. That’s what coaching is all about! 👏

1st Hour – Iris P

Super hot-shot goalscorer this morning! Iris just couldn’t miss! She was smashing them into every corner of the net, and Coach Suzy just couldn’t get near any of them! An absolute fab person to coach, Iris never stops smiling and always gives absolutely everything. Her attitude, effort and quality are a joy to see! Top job, Iris! You were on fire this morning! 🔥👏

2nd Hour – Ania G

What an absolute pocket rocket Ania is! She covered every inch of the court today and seemed to be everywhere! Fantastic feet, a great passer and a real eye for goal — what a future prospect! Ania, absolutely awesome! What a little superstar! ❤️⚽

3rd Hour – Agnes C

An absolute Rolls-Royce on the court! Calm, composed and brilliant at moving the ball around, she reminds us of one of our England players! Today we also saw her ability to get forward and cause real problems in the opposition’s half. Keep developing like this and who knows where it could lead? A future place in the ladies’ squad could be on the cards! Top job today! 🙌

This week saw the elite qualifying round of the Women’s Futsal European Championship, the stage that determines the final eight teams competing in Croatia in 2027. Unfortunately, England won’t be there, having lost out to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this year.

So, what do we need to do to get England to the next stage?

The answer is simple: more investment, more players, better coaching and, above all, more support for the game. We need more opportunities for girls to play, stronger grassroots and club structures, better futsal-specific coaching and greater investment from the FA, clubs, sponsors and the wider futsal community.

And this starts at home. Bootham has five girls in the England performance pathway. These girls are working hard, developing their skills and representing the future of our game. They need your support!

Come along and watch them play. Get behind them, create an atmosphere and show them that their efforts matter. Let’s make them feel valued, inspired and excited to keep playing futsal. We cannot expect England to compete with Europe’s best without building the foundations for success.

If we want England to succeed on the European stage, we all have a part to play. Support your local players, come and watch futsal, and help us grow the game.

Coach Chris

A few images from today…