Northumberland FA proudly hosted the Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup - Local Qualifying Competition at Sport Central, Northumbria University.

The two day event took place on Monday March 27^th and Wednesday March 29^th and welcomed over 180 players from 18 different teams who all participated in safe, accessible and competitive futsal. A combination of mixed teams and girls teams participated in the exciting and fast-paced sport. The following clubs represented themselves and our county brilliantly well, showcasing respect towards opponents, officials and Northumberland FA staff throughout each night.

1. Whitley Bay Juniors
2. Killingworth Young Peoples Club
3. Futsal Partnership
4. Wallsend Boys Club
5. Walker Central
6. Whitley Bay Sporting Club
7. Tyneside Tigers
8. Wylam Rockets
9. Forest Hall
10. Throckley Magpies
11. Hexham Juniors
12. Morpeth Town Juniors
13. Newcastle East End
14. Blyth Town

With each category (U12 Mixed, U12 Female, U14 Mixed and U14 Female) boasting either 4 or 5 teams, teams competed in 60 minutes of futsal, in a round-robin format which saw the top placed team (based on points and goal difference), progress through to the Regional Round of the Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup. Congratulations to the below 4 teams for winning their respective categories.

U12 Mixed – Futsal Partnership

U12 Female – Tyneside Tigers

U14 Mixed – Throckley Magpies

U14 Female – Blyth Town

These four teams will now represent Northumberland County in the Regional Round of the competition amongst 8 other counties (Durham FA, North Riding FA, West Riding FA, Isle of Man FA, Lancashire FA, Liverpool FA, Manchester FA, Westmorland FA). The Regional Round will take place back at Sport Central (Northumbria University) a familiar setting for all of our teams, on Saturday May 27^th and Sunday May 28^th.

Lloyd Miller (Football Development Officer – Women and Girls) added “It has been a brilliant event to showcase futsal within Northumberland County. The event has demonstrated that there is an appetite amongst youth players locally to participate in futsal. We are delighted to have been able to host the event this season, creating opportunities for players and teams with minimal experience to develop a further interest in the sport whilst sparking further futsal playing opportunities within each clubs respective seasons. Northumberland FA are also extremely grateful to Northumbria University Sport Central staff who catered for the event brilliantly. A world class facility that only allowed players to access high-quality facility to maximise their playing experience. Also, we are extremely grateful to Pokémon UK for providing all of our teams with futsal equipment, a much needed resource for teams to continue playing the sport beyond the Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup. We are also excited for the 4 category winners to go on and represent Northumberland in the Regional Round amongst their counterparts from 10 other counties.”