Wales to Host UEFA Futsal Cup

Wales will welcome teams from across Europe this summer for a preliminary round of matches in the 2013/14 UEFA Futsal Cup after debutants Wrexham Futsal Club were drawn as hosts for their group in this year’s tournament.

Wrexham earned their place to represent Wales on the European stage after being crowned champions of the third annual FAW Futsal Cup, beating title holders Cardiff City Futsal Club in the final of the competition held in Cardiff earlier this year.

The side from north Wales will begin their European campaign in the preliminary round of the UEFA Futsal Cup, commencing the 27th of August and running until the 1st of September. This early stage of the tournament will consist of 29 teams competing over 8 groups with the winners of each advancing to the main round where they will face higher ranked opposition within the competition.

Progress for Wrexham past this early round could see them face some of the biggest clubs in European futsal while awaiting teams further still in the latter stages of the draw include many renowned names such as Dynamo Moscow, Sporting Clube de Portugal and FC Barcelona.

After discovering their position as hosts of their preliminary group, Wrexham Fustal Club will have their attention firmly focused on Nyon in Switzerland, where the draw will be made at 13:00GMT on Wednesday the 3rd of July to determine which teams Wales will be welcoming to its capital Cardiff in late August when the country will become a focal point for the futsal world.

Being chosen as hosts has been greeted positively by the club who believe they can only benefit from the exposure it will bring to the game here in Wales, sentiments echoed by Richard Gunney, Futsal Development Officer for the Welsh Football Trust.

“I think it is fantastic news and fantastic progress for the game of Futsal in Wales,” Gunney explains. “Three years ago there was very little in terms of structures and provision for futsal in Wales. Now the country has coach education with over 500 qualified coaches, referee education, an FAW Futsal Cup going into its fourth season, a national squad, a national league to be launched in October and thousands of boys and girls playing the game to support their development in football.”

Gunney also emphasised that the country will get to witness first hand futsal on a European level and experience how the game is played by other teams from the continent while expanding the knowledge and understanding of futsal for coaches, players as well as spectators here in Wales.

Wrexham Futsal Club’s European preparations have been well underway over the last months since lifting the FAW Futsal trophy as the team aim to be in great form ahead of their clashes with some of Europe’s best teams. Yet while progress in the competition is of course the squad’s main focus, on a wider scale; simply their involvement has already witnessed a positive effect on the development of futsal here in Wales while also gaining a number of new fans of the game in the process.

It is hoped by the club and all those involved with futsal that such a highly recognised tournament on home soil will become a catalyst for further growth as well as leading to success in this year’s tournament for Wales’ representatives, Wrexham Futsal Club.