Carlisle United and Carlisle Futsal Club foundation phrase partners

Carlisle Futsal Club and Carlisle United Football Club are pleased to be able to announce a formal partnership has been created between the Clubs foundation phase Academy programmes.

The main objective of the partnership is for both Clubs to work together to create a joined up development pathway for young players in Carlisle and the surrounding areas. The ambition is to provide young players opportunity to develop in both Futsal and Football whilst maximising learning experiences during the fundamental stage of learning – the foundation phase (age 5-11).

Al Tindall Chairman of Carlisle Futsal Club believes the partnership will lead to more opportunities for young players and will play a big part in helping deliver one of Carlisle Futsal Clubs long term ambitions ‘We want to be competing with the best in FA Futsal Super League competition and qualifying for the UEFA Futsal Champions league. We need to have big talent pool to draw on to achieve this and that’s why we have our academy programme in place. However, we have found over the last 18 months a high percentage of our players have also been offered places in Football academies and it’s vitally important to us that we don’t lose them into the football system. They can and should be playing both sports at a young age. Its testament to Carlisle United that they agree with us on this and their openness to exploring Futsal marks them out as innovators as they join a growing number of Football Academies here in England that are embracing Futsal.’

Mark Birch Head of Foundation Phase at Carlisle United’s Academy is looking forward to building a link between both Clubs programmes ‘This is a new partnership so initially, it’s all about learning for us. We want to understand Futsal and how it can benefit the players in our Academy programme. We have heard good things about Carlisle Futsal Club and its great to now have this formal link up in place. We’ve heard that when coached properly and played frequently at a young age Futsal naturally creates attributes in players that can help them develop as footballers and that’s what we are interested in. We are looking forward to learning more and building on the partnership over the coming season.’

For those not already in the know, Futsal is FIFA and UEFA’s recognised format of 5-a-side football that in recent years has been embraced by The Football Association. Played inside on a futsal ‘court’ with size 4 ball that has reduced bounce, it encourages ball mastery and ball control. The game is played with rhythm and speed that creates quick and controlled pass and move combinations. According to a Liverpool University study, futsal players benefit from touching the ball six times more often per minute than players playing football. The indoor surface means that the game is quick and intense, with limited time for decision making. Angles and spaces dominate the game helping young players develop creativity and vision as they pass and move as a team accelerating game intelligence. Futsal is a fully recognised sport independent of Football with its own World and European cups and professional domestic leagues around the world. Futsal is a passing game predominantly, however, players have to be fantastic in possession and in 1v1 situations as they are constantly under pressure, often right in front of their own goal.

The partnership will begin with Carlisle Futsal Club delivering some Futsal coaching sessions and presenting in the classroom to prepare CUFC players for some Futsal matches throughout the season. The partnership will not affect any of Carlisle Futsal Clubs training sessions. If any parents have questions please contact your team Head Coach.

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