Courtesy: cambridge-news.co.uk


England futsal friendly honour for Cambridge United at St George’s Park

Cambridge United’s futsal team have been given the honour of taking on England in a friendly

by Michael Vaughton

18 Oct 2016

Cambridge United’s futsal team have been given the honour of taking on England in a friendly at St George’s Park on Sunday.

The city’s existing futsal side only merged with United in July 2015, but they have enjoyed a hugely successful time, gaining promotion to Super League North and reaching the last four of the FA Futsal Cup last season.

The England squad are preparing to take on Germany in a double header at the end of the month, with the matches in Hamburg being the host country’s first official international fixtures.

The U’s have been selected to play their part in England’s build-up and manager Luis Mendonca cannot wait for the challenge.

“It’s an honour for us to play England as we only started playing as a team a year ago,” said Mendonca.

“We got some great results last year and were promoted to the Super League, as well as getting to the final four in the FA Futsal Cup.

“For us, our biggest aim is to learn from the game and provide the England team with the best possible opposition. We want to help them in any way we can.

“We’re proud to represent Cambridge United and the aim of every futsal club in the country is to provide players for the national team and to help them be successful.”

As well as forming the new club, the U’s also launched a futsal scholarship programme and the long-term aim is for players developing their skills in that environment to represent the first team in the Super League.

Mendonca believes the connection with the U’s has worked excellently, with the rewards being evident.

“It’s been good for everyone,” he said. “We are now completely linked and integrated within the Cambridge United structure, and we are able to use all of the knowledge a professional football club has.

“The aim is to provide a pathway for the players coming from the scholarship scheme into the first team.”

United won the Midlands Division Two title last term thanks to 11 victories from 12 league matches, and the boss is impressed with the huge strides they have taken in a short space of time.

“The quality of the players has been key,” said Mendonca. “I gave the players some organisation and knowledge of the game and everything started from there.”




FP Staff --> info@futsalplanet.com