Today we speak to accomplished Futsal player, coach and Tune-in-2 Futsal Soccer Academy founder Emma Tune about the rise in the sport, and her transition from playing football for Gillingham Ladies among other clubs and to playing for South London ladies.
Speaking to Kent Sports News, Emma said: “The transition was easy for me as I’ve always loved Futsal and played a bit before, but just never really had the opportunity to play as much as I would have liked. Obviously it’s a lot quicker, different rules and you have a lot less time and space than you do in football, but that’s a big part of what I love about it.”
South London Ladies have had a great start to their Futsal careers, and Emma is hoping that does continue. She said: “Yes it’s been a fantastic start for us as a team, we won our division having not lost a game and finished with a goal difference of 195. We also made it to the semi finals of the Nationals.
“But the highlight has to be winning The FA Futsal Cup in June after an emphatic comeback against Bath in the semi finals, we were 3-0 down at half time and came back to win the game 4-3! We then faced Preston on finals day who had beat us just two weeks earlier in the semi final of the Nationals and after a change of tactics and a much improved team performance we ran out 8-3 winners.
“It was a fantastic weekend for us and we continued our good form as we flew out to Portugal the next day to compete in the Futsal Nations Cup. We had narrow defeats to teams from Japan and Argentina who train 4+ times a week. That was another highlight and very valuable experience for me and the girls.”
People may not be familiar with Futsal yet, but as it grows in popularity in the coming years people will be bound to become more familiar with it, luckily Tuney was able to provide us with an explanation of Futsal.
“Futsal is an exciting, quick paced small sided game of technique, skill and tactics. It is usually played indoors on a small court which challenges players to take risks and become comfortable on the ball in tight areas. Futsal is not just about skill, it’s about awareness, decision making and execution. Players learn quickly that creating overloads with quick passes and exploiting space are key to success.
“Despite its’ challenges, I definitely think Futsal can take off in the UK. There’s a lot of very passionate and hard working people doing very good things to make it work. It has the potential to flourish if we all embrace it and the benefits it has to offer player development.
“Obviously, The Football Foundation and The FA have just launched £300,000 fund aimed at developing the sport which will be a big step in growing the game.
“Last week was the start of the men’s season and they follow a new structure with the new National Super League. The women’s league will also run similar to the men’s which is great, we are just a little further behind, but again it’s a big step.”
She added: “Things are going really well at the moment. My aim is to keep providing players with the opportunity to play and learn Futsal. I want players to have more exposure to competitions and games so that their motivation to progress in the sport continues. I absolutely love Futsal and I know it’s the same for my players now, once you have watched or played, it really is hard not to love what the game brings.”
“I know only too well how important it is to keep active and if I can encourage young players right up to adults to lead an active lifestyle through playing Futsal then that’s a bonus.”
“I try and make sessions as fun as possible and with there being a smaller number of players on each team it’s a lot more interactive. The game also allows flexibility with roles as players are constantly rotating positions so you don’t get the same player stuck in defence and the same player scoring all the goals. The kids and the big kids (adults), haha, love this part of the game!”
“I have just started my Uefa B in Futsal, I have lots to learn about it and lots of work to get done, so it will certainly be a challenge but one I’m looking forward to.”