Courtesy: The Press




York City futsal coach Junior Roberti invites club's fans to watch new National League team

YORK City fans will have two new teams to support this season following the launch of the club's futsal side and the reintroduction of reserve football.

Both sides' seasons kick off next month and the first-ever York City futsal coach Junior Roberti has invited supporters to come along and cheer on his FA National League North Division Two outfit during their 2016/17 campaign.

Home fixtures will take place on Sunday afternoons from 2pm at the University of York's Heslington sports hall with City taking on Liverpool, Manchester, Tranmere Rovers, FS Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough United and Durham as they look to defend the league title they won last term.

The team, playing in their previous guise as the University of York, were only denied a place in the National Super League - English futsal's top tier - following a play-off defeat to Cambridge United.

But Brazilian Roberti, who played the sport professionally in his native country, Spain and Italy, is setting his sights high again as the side dons Minstermen colours.

Courtesy of the new partnership forged at Bootham Crescent, he also wants to welcome a new audience to the five-a-side sport, which is played with a heavier ball on a hard indoor surface.

"It would be great if some York City fans could follow us," he enthused. "I'm not expecting them to travel to away games, because some are quite far away, but I'd love it if anybody came to the University to watch us and admission would be free.

"The partnership will give futsal greater exposure in the city. We have tried to promote the sport in recent years but, having York City with us, will help us engage with more people.

"I want to take futsal to another level, not just in York, but in North Yorkshire as well. Last season was fantastic and we want to do the same by winning the league again.

"We also got to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, so we're looking to see if we can reach the last four now."

With no club operating from Leeds this season, York ply their trade higher than any other futsal team in Yorkshire aside from Super League outfit Sheffield and Roberti is hoping to establish a pathway from primary school to the senior international team in the region.

The cosmopolitan side currently boasts imports from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Bosnia and Brazil but, with futsal coaching camps planned as part of City's Foundation programme and an academy to be launched imminently for youngsters aged between six and 16, Roberti's ambition is to see the local community fully embrace the sport in coming years.

"I want to develop local players," he explained. "Like football in England, we have brought a lot of futsal players in from abroad, but I'd like to have more from York and North Yorkshire and then feed them into the national team, as we did with our former keeper Jonny Sim.

"I also want futsal to become a popular sport in York and be played in more schools, with new clubs forming and more qualified coaches putting on sessions, so there are opportunities for boys and girls to play the game and develop footballers at the same time because, in Brazil, we play futsal until the age of 11 or 12, before playing football. Maybe we can get the next Coutinho or Neymar coming out of York?"

A charity match against Jackie McNamara's first team is also in the pipeline, while senior squad members and academy players could be encouraged to attend futsal sessions.

On McNamara's interest in the new venture, Roberti added: "The manager likes it.

"He has taken interest in the Indian Futsal League, which Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Ronaldinho and Hernan Crespo are playing in. He also wants to know more and is really keen to help us as much as he can."

The new relationship will see York St John University pupils provide video analysis of every City game during the new futsal campaign, which will kick off with a trip to Nottingham on September 10.

Improvements to the University's sports hall means the first home match is scheduled against Liverpool on October 30, while a final trial for the team is to be held there on Tuesday at 7pm with any interested players over the age of 16 invited to attend.

York City futsal 2016/17 fixtures: Sept 10 Nottingham (A) 7.20pm; Sept 18 Manchester (A) 5.30pm; Oct 2 FS Derby (A) 5.20pm; Oct 9 Durham (A) 2pm; Oct 16 Tranmere (A) 2pm; Oct 30 Liverpool (H) 2pm; Nov 6 Loughborough (A) 2pm; Nov 13 Loughborough (H) 2pm; Nov 27 Nottingham (H) 2pm; Dec 11 Manchester (H) 2pm; Jan 8 FS Derby (H) 2pm; Jan 15 Durham (H) 2pm; Feb 5 Tranmere (2pm); Feb 12 Liverpool (A) 6pm.

City' Central League North East campaign, meanwhile, are due to kick off with a trip to Hartlepool on Tuesday, September 6.

The full fixtures, subject to change, are: Tues, Sept 6 Hartlepool (A) 2pm; Tues, Sept 27 Chesterfield (H) 1pm; Tues, Oct 11 Grimsby (A) 2pm; Tues, Nov 8 Mansfield (H) 1pm; Tues, Nov 15 Rotherham (A) 1pm; Tues, Dec 6 Rotherham (H) 1pm; Wed, Jan 25 Mansfield (A) 2pm; Tues, Feb 14 Grimsby (H) 1pm; Tues, Feb 21 Chesterfield (A) 1pm; Tues, Mar 7 Hartlepool (H) 1pm.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com