A DETERMINED team of talented teenage girls are jumping for joy after being crowned the best futsal team in their age group in the country.
Tameside-based Sala Futsal Club’s Under 13s/14s girls team have become national Under-14s champions in the 2024 England Futsal FA Youth Futsal Cup.
The club reached the national finals at Repton Sports Centre in Derby after winning the northern regional finals in April – pitted against teams from across the north such as Newcastle and Liverpool – and, before that, the North West round in Manchester.
There were two semi-final games featuring the winners from the four regions of England, with all games broadcast live on TNT Sports.
Sala were drawn against Worthing and ran out 1-0 winners, before the girls played an epic final against City of Peterborough Futsal. They went 2-0 up at half-time and, after Peterborough pulled a goal back early in the second half, extended their lead to win 3-1 to be crowned the competition winners.
After a second-placed finish in 2022 and third spot last year in younger age groups, it was a case of third time lucky at the finals for the Sala squad.
Sala Futsal Club puts on weekly training sessions at St Damian’s RC Science College in Ashton-under-Lyne and Wright Robinson College in Gorton, as well as running teams that play in local leagues and competitions.
More information can be found at www.salasoccerschools.com or on the Sala Futsal Club social media pages.
Futsal is FIFA’s official form of small-sided indoor football – a five-a-side game played on a basketball size court – which is well known for being a development tool for footballers.