Warrington Futsal Club ready for Women's Super Series debut

For the first time ever, the town will be represented at national level when the team takes to the court in the FA National Futsal Series live on BT Sport.

Their first game sees them take on Loughborough Students Futsal Club at the University of Wolverhampton’s Walsall campus on Saturday, with the game kicking off at 3.15pm and being shown on BT Sport 1.

Playing as part of the Women's Super Series against elite futsal clubs from across the north of England, this season is the first taste of competitive action for much of the squad.

However, despite the tough start against strong opposition, there is reason to be optimistic for the season ahead.

"We are really looking forward to this weekend,” Warrington Futsal Club head coach Colin Powell said.

“To play on this stage is a massive day for our young club and for our new women’s team.

"We entered the Women’s Super Series this season almost a year ahead of schedule.

“Considering we started the project in the atmosphere of post lockdown and all the additional uncertainty surrounding participation in every sport, we attracted fantastic numbers.

"For us the season is one of exploration. Firstly, as a team we need to gel together.

“Secondly, the players are working on basic knowledge of the fundamentals of futsal. We have a lot of footballers who are converting to futsal whilst playing at the highest possible level.

"Despite the obvious lack of experience, we are so proud of our squad. Their attitude, conduct and teamship is second to none.”

As Powell says, the project is a long-term one as the club finds its way at the top level of the sport, a small-sided, indoor version of football played with a heavier ball to place more emphasis on technical skill.

With the TV deal between the FA and BT to broadcast games live, it is a golden opportunity to put themselves on a national stage.

"We are really looking forward to the season ahead especially this weekend,” team captain Olivia Moore said.

“This is massive for us as a team and on a personal level. We are very fortunate for the opportunity as we might not get this very often.

“We wanted to enter the women’s series as soon as we could. You can say we thrown ourselves in at the deep end which is certainly true.

“I’d say personally it’s the best way to learn.

“This helped us and still helps us gel as a team – every single matchday is an intense challenge.

“It shows the true mentality of every person in this team who has stuck the journey out and not gave in no matter the score or the performance.”

Beyond this season, the aim is to create a legacy for the sport in the town having started pretty much from scratch.

The foundations are in place and Powell is excited to watch it grow.

"We regard the very existence of a womens futsal team in Warrington as a significant victory for us as a club and for the sport in our area,” he said.

“It's a long-term project – we want to inspire local females and recruit them into the club.

“We aim to have a full female section of junior, youths and senior teams in the future.

“We have formed relationships with the local county FA, school sports programmes and colleges and universities to establish a framework of player recruitment and futsal participation.

"We know it will take a while for us to be truly competitive at this level, but we want our project to be impactful and transformational for our current squad and to continue to learn and play with character and joy."