Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL

  • England Futsal is an independent futsal organisation working in partnership with the FA and other organisations to deliver and operate participation & performance level futsal. We are recognised as the FA’s licensed delivery partner for futsal in England.

    In late 2021, The FA approached England Futsal to explore a new partnership, leading to the development of a Service Licence Agreement (SLA). Following support from the FA Futsal Committee and approval by the National Game Board in August 2022, the SLA was drafted in November and formally signed in December 2022. Alongside the SLA, a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed, committing both parties to supporting the success of the new model over its five-year term.

    In September 2025, England Futsal took a significant step forward in its evolution by establishing a Community Interest Company (CIC). This new structure strengthens our ability to grow and develop the sport of futsal across England, while placing a stronger emphasis on harnessing its power for positive social impact.

  • The FA are the governing body of futsal in England and have partnered with England Futsal to operate the game on their behalf; to support the game and the community in order to develop futsal in England as a new, forward thinking operating body - the new ‘Home of England Futsal’. We describe ourselves as a Trusted Independent Body for Futsal in England akin to a National governing Body (please note the lower case ‘g’ of governing) - with responsibility for many aspects of the game and as custodians of FA investment.

    Outside of the National Teams, there are five discrete delivery areas in the SLA that England Futsal deliver on which include: Coaching & Coach Development; Refereeing & Referee Development; Talent Inclusion; Competitions and Schools.

  • There are various ways in which the community might get involved with us and as we continue to grow we hope to continue offering more opportunities for community engagement.

    Commissions: You can find out more about our commissions, the projects they are undertaking and how to register your interest in becoming a part of the commissions going forward by visiting our commissions page.

    Community Projects: England Futsal are committed to engaging with the futsal community in a wide variety of areas. You can find out more about the community projects we are currently working on, from school activations to engaging with diverse demographics, by visiting our community projects page.

    Are you an organisation or provider that wants to partner with England Futsal? Get in touch with us here.

    Youth Futsal Development: Following two successful seasons of running the National Youth Futsal Cup between 2023 and 2025, the next evolution of our youth competition offering for the grassroots community is the pilot of our Youth Development Partnership project, aimed at establishing an integrated, nationwide network of youth futsal partners growing the game together. You can find out more about this programme below and also at our Youth Competitions page.

COMMISSIONS

  • In January 2025, we established for the first time a set of four England Futsal commissions as part of our governance structure which supports our Environmental, Social and Governance commitments: Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI); Duty to Care/Welfare of ALL; People Development; Facilities.


    These commissions will support greater connection and communication between the EF Board and the futsal community. Each commission is supported by a number of volunteers who will work together over a two year term to support our targets and ambitions against each commission.

  • You can register your interest in joining any of our commissions by filling out this form. We are extremely grateful to all of our volunteers for investing their time into the projects and representing the wider views of the game.

TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

  • We are committed to building an inclusive, aspirational and high-performance pathway for the next generation of Lions and Lionesses. 

    For the 2025/26 season, we have expanded our programme to include U17 and U19 categories for both boys and girls. The programme will be based across two regional talent hubs and offer international quality training camps, online education, individual development plans and intra-hub games for selected players.

    The programme is supported by our suite of top-class futsal coaches and wider support staff. You can find out more about the Talent Development Programme here.

  • England Futsal works off of UEFA’s two-year cycle age banding. For October 2025 - April 2026 eligibility is as follows: U19 = Born between 1 January 2008 - 31 December 2009; U17 = Born between 1 January 2010 - 31 December 2011.

    While the recommendation window for this season is now closed, we will re-open nominations at the end of each season, typically in July.

    Players do not necessarily have to have previous futsal experience to be considered for the programme. Players are assessed before the start of each season at our regional hubs.

  • England Futsal welcomes coaches from both club and school settings to recommend high-potential players for assessment as part of each talent development cycle.

    Our emerging Pride DNA principles for player development can help to inform coaches in this process.

    NOTE: ONLY COACHES CAN RECOMMEND PLAYERS

PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME

  • Our performance programme operates as the senior training branch of our talent development programme.

    Since 2024 we have operated both a men and women’s programme which will continue to be built over time to support the success of the national teams, which we operate on behalf of the FA. You can find out more about our senior performance programme here.

    The programme is supported by our highly experienced and qualified performance staff, who you can read more about here.

  • The England Futsal performance programme is a bespoke environment for the highest-level futsal talent in the country to develop their technical, tactical, physical and mental profiles, by playing and training with the best of their peers.

    It is the next natural step in the performance pathway for our U17 and U19 athletes.

    Much like the Talent Development Programme, we are committed to creating an inclusive, aspirational and high-performance pathway for players to develop their potential.

  • Our performance staff select the senior performance group on a seasonal basis, based primarily on their performance in domestic futsal competition throughout the previous season but also on their attitude and attainment at previous training camps, if they have been previously selected.

    For newly selected players, club coach references, video analysis and character references will play a large part in decision-making.

    As with our Talent Development Programme, the attributes England Futsal looks for in our senior performance athletes are informed by our emerging Pride DNA principles for player development.

NATIONAL TEAMS

  • England Futsal operates the Lions, Lionesses and Young Lions national teams on behalf of the FA, as part of our SLA. Importantly, these national teams are separate to our Talent Development and Performance Programmes which is our training ground for player development, but are always selected from players who are on those programmes.

    With licence to use the Three Lions logos, kit and branding, the national teams are only in operation when we enter UEFA or FIFA futsal competitions.

    We have operated the men’s U19 ‘Young Lions’ since 2022 and, since 2024, have overseen the reintroduction of the men’s senior ‘Lions’ to international competition whilst establishing the first ever women’s futsal Lionesses squad at the start of the 2024/25 season. For more information on our national teams stories and results, visit our National Teams page.

  • The men’s U19s side have now competed in the last two UEFA Futsal U19 EURO Championship qualifiers - firstly in 2022 - travelling to Italy to play Czech Republic, Italy and Turkey in Group 7 and most recently in 2025 - travelling to Hungary to play Spain, Finland and Hungary in Group 2.

    In October 2024, the Lionesses made their international futsal debut - travelling to Moldova for the European qualifiers of the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup 2025 - playing Slovenia, Moldova and Finland in Group 4 and picking up their first ever win at international level, an 8-0 victory against Moldova. Their next competition will be in 2026, beginning qualification for the UEFA Futsal Women’s EURO 2027, which is being expanded to an eight-team final tournament.

    For the Lions, after nearly five years away from the court, they returned in December 2024 for the UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 Main Round qualifiers, being drawn in Group 8 to play home and away against giants Spain, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Switzerland. The Lions picked up their first ever main round win, 5-1 at home against Switzerland in December in front of 750 spectators at Loughborough’s Sir David Wallace Sports Hall, ultimately finishing third in Group 8.

    We await further information from UEFA regarding the establishment of international U19 women’s competition.

  • As part of our commitment to developing a high-performance pathway, our national teams will only ever be selected from our performance programme squads.

    These are designed specifically to support the national teams and create athletes who are mentally, physically and technically equipped for international futsal.

  • Yes!

    Our most recent UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 home fixtures took place at the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall, Loughborough University. We sold more than 2000 tickets across the Switzerland, Spain and Bosnia games, with a memorable and unique futsal atmosphere at each one.

    Keep an eye on our website and socials for details of our next international fixtures on home soil…

YOUTH COMPETITION

  • After solely running the National Youth Futsal cup over the last two seasons, for 2025/26, our youth futsal offering has evolved, as we pilot our Youth Development Partnership project.

    Over the next 3-5 years, England Futsal aims to establish a nationwide network of partner leagues and providers, offering accessible and relevant playing experiences from entry level right through to experienced, futsal-specific clubs.

    Partners can engage at three different levels: 1) ACTIVATE; 2) CHALLENGER and 3) PATHWAY.

    By providing structured, meaningful and memorable youth futsal experiences for players, partners will access exclusive development tools and resources from England Futsal - including coach and referee development, joint branding and social media promotion and bespoke operational support/advice.

    Where relevant, partners will also be able to connect their futsal leagues and players to our Talent Development Pathway, offering a direct path for players from grassroots futsal through to performance level.

  • Applications for Youth Development Partnership 2025/26 have now closed, but we will be accepting new partnerships on an annual basis as we aim to expand our network and improve our structure.

    More details on the eligibility, requirements and benefits of England Futsal Youth Development Partnership can be found here.

  • Coach education is among the most important elements of our futsal delivery in England.

    We see a connected, aligned and educated coaching community as crucial to moving the sport forwards and achieving success on both the domestic and international court.

    In partnership with the FA, England Futsal delivers a number of FREE in-person and online Coach CPD events every season - ranging from introductory content to more advanced coaching topics, all delivered by our nationwide team of coach developers.

    Alongside this, we also offer a wider range of exclusive England Futsal CPD content - for example our nine-part 2025 online Summer Series which, delivered by three of our senior performance coaches, welcomed more than 120 football and futsal coaches from around the country and beyond!

    All of our online CPD is recorded and available for purchase (with slides) after the session, for those who cannot make it to the live workshops.

    Visit our coaches hub for more information on coach education opportunities and free coaching resources to aid your development.

    Starting in 2024, we have also established the High Performance Coach Mentoring Programme - which allows a group of the country’s more experienced and ambitious futsal coaches to go on a personal development journey, guided and supported by our highly-skilled coach mentors. Find out more…

    Please note the FA continue to administer and deliver futsal qualifications, most notably the National Futsal Course and UEFA B Futsal Course. You can find out further information on the qualifications here.

  • As we develop our offering, we will continue to grow our bank of coaching resources which will begin to form our England Futsal membership offering.

    From early/discounted CPD access, to top of the range coaching resources, podcasts and exclusive access to content from England Futsal’s emerging partnerships, there has never been a better time to sign up with England Futsal. Visit our Coaches Corner to find out more and sign up.

    You can also check out our events calendar to register for upcoming CPD sessions.

COACH EDUCATION

REFEREEING

  • England Futsal work closely with FA Futsal Referees to provide referee training and development support for this crucial element of our domestic game.

    For more information on futsal referee courses and education you can get in touch with FA Futsal Referees via email -marc.birkett@fafutsalreferees.com or on X - @FAFutsalRefs.