The winners of the Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup, by England Football have been announced, following a season which saw over a thousand teams from 32 counties participate in the competition.
Following four fiercely contested Regional Finals across weekends in May and June, as well County Final competitions earlier this year, the 2023 edition of the competition came to a close on the 8th and 9th July, with 32 teams from across the country vying for futsal glory at this year’s finals at the University of Wolverhampton.
The following teams were crowned champions of their respective age groups following a weekend filled with competition and displays of scintillating skill:
- Girls U10: Atalanta Sports (Hampshire FA)
- Boys U10: Norwich City (Norfolk FA)
- Girls U12: Fareham Town Youth (Hampshire FA)
- Boys U12: Chelsea Academy (Surrey FA)
- Girls U14: Haringey Girls (Middlesex FA)
- Boys U14: Chelsea Academy (Surrey FA)
- Girls U16: Sala Soccer School (Cheshire FA)
- Boys U16: Durham County (Durham FA)
The Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup, in partnership with England Football gives young players across the country the chance to get involved in this energy-packed game, compete against other teams and go all the way to the national finals.
Peter Murphy, Senior Director of Marketing at the Pokémon Company International, commented: “The Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup Finals concludes what has been a highly exciting and successful 2023 competition. This season has once again been thrilling from start to finish, with England’s top age-group futsal players battling it out for silverware in the final weekend of the tournament. Congratulations to this year’s winners and thank you to all teams which participated this season.”
Louise Gear, Head of Development at The FA added: “As expected, this year’s Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup finals did not disappoint, with all teams displaying fantastic skill and passion across the past weekend in Wolverhampton. Thank you to all the players and coaches who took part in this year’s competition and congratulations to the winners of the respective age groups.”
Former England Footballer Kelly Smith who attended the event added: “I was so impressed with the performance of all the players today. I think the speed of the play, their vision, passing and moving were all at a very high level and a joy to witness. Small-sided games like Pokémon Futsal are brilliant for growing confidence and preparing the players for the 11-aside game.”
Pokémon is the title partner of the England Football’s Youth Futsal Programme which aims to work with boys and girls aged eight–sixteen. Alongside the Pokémon Futsal initiative in schools, youth football clubs across the country took part in this season’s Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup by England Football, with the competition beginning in November 2022 and culminating at the national finals in July 2023.
To find out more about this season’s Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup head to mastertheball.com
About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, please visit www.pokemon.co.uk.