Courtesy: Oxford Mail


Oxford City Lions ready to roar into Europe in UEFA Futsal Cup

OXFORD City Lions take their place among Europe’s elite this week as they make their UEFA Futsal Cup debut in Andorra.

After a dream campaign last season, which saw them crowned FA National Futsal League and FA Futsal Cup double champions, the Berinsfield-based club will make their first appearance in the sport’s top European competition.

They open their preliminary round Group H campaign tomorrow evening against highly-fancied Kosovan champions FC Feniks at Centre Esportiu Serradells in the Andorran capital Andorra la Vella.

For manager Enrique Guillen it marks the fulfilment of a long-held ambition for the club.

“We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time and the players can’t wait to get started,” he said.

“We’ve always done very well in the league and every year we’ve reached the finals of the cup, but we’ve always fallen one step short in the past.

“This is what we’ve been aiming towards for several years, so it’s very exciting and hopefully we can be competitive at the highest level.”

Lions are top seeds in a group which also contains hosts FC Encamp (Andorra) and ASA Tel-Aviv (Israel), as well as their Kosovan opening opponents.

Guillen believes his side are good enough to top the group and earn a trip to Macedonia in the next round.

He said: “Our aim is to get through this preliminary round and qualify for the main round.

“That’s where the very top teams in Europe are and we want to join them.

“It will be very difficult, but to reach that level is our main aim and if we do that we’ll see just how far we can go.”

Lions face Tel-Aviv on Thursday and finish their group campaign against the hosts on Saturday evening.

However, it is likely Lions’ hopes of qualification will hinge on the result of their opening match.

The Kosovan champions are the first team to represent their nation at the competition and Guillen expects them to be the team to beat.

He said: “They’ve got some very good players, including some World Cup winners with Brazil, so it’s not going to be easy.

“This is the highest standard that we can reach and it’s going to be tough.”

“I’m expecting some very difficult games, but if you want to play at the top level these are the kind of teams you have to face.

“I expect a really difficult challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”


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