Futsal Focus will be posting articles from Futsal clubs in the FA National Futsal League looking at development plans they have implemented ahead of the new season (2013-14) and what their plans are to bring their clubs development forward for the future. The last article posted looked at the University of Bath Futsal Club, today is: University of Gloucestershire Futsal Club By Alex Cheal The University of Gloucestershire has entered into a new era following its acceptance into the FA National Futsal League. As many of you know, we will be entering into Division 2 of the Midlands section and all involved with the club are looking forward to the challenge. As a Futsal Club, we are relatively established now. For the previous 5 years the University has been competing in the BUCS programme and followed by relative success we have decided to take the step up. A particular highlight has been the Mens 1st team, which has competed in the last two BUCS Trophy finals and although we have lost both, each year we have deemed the progress a success following 3 years of relative Futsal obscurity. Following the success of last year, as Head of Futsal, I had decided that we needed to grow the game further in our local area. This led to the development of a Futsal brand that people in the local community can relate to. ‘UNIversal Futsal’ is gradually establishing itself and becoming recognizable for everyone with the development of a web platform (universalfutsal) which hosts Futsal leagues, taster sessions and now a National League team. None of this could have been achieved without the support of the University. Futsal is now considered as a ‘Focus Sport’ here at UoG, which essentially means that it is one of the ‘elite’ sports. This also means the club has access to Scholarship Opportunities, Strength and Conditioning sessions and Video Analysis. We believe this provision will not only allow for better results on the court but also promote a professional attitude off the court. This aside, preparation for the new season has been going very well. The players that were part of the successful BUCS squad have all signed on and we have also agreed to allow for up to 10 ‘community players’ to join our squad. Not only does this enable us to handpick players from community trials, but it also provides a motivation to get involved in our UNIversal Futsal Leagues. Making the club self sustainable was the key reason behind pursuing this opportunity. Following club withdrawals from the National League we decided to give ourselves the best opportunity to be part of the league for the foreseeable future by setting up leagues, which in turn produces an income for the club and also a pool of talent. Therefore, we now have a player pathway from ‘grass roots’ turn up and play sessions, to community leagues, with the pinnacle being the National League side. Off the court, a pleasing aspect was managing to secure sponsorship from Medical Graphics UK, a Gloucester based Sports Science company, which allows for the initial costs of the club to be covered. We have also put in place a members board which is made up of key University figures and local businesses, that will act in the best interest of the club by publicizing league matches and all things UNIversal Futsal. We hope this can raise awareness of the game by getting more people along to matches. Coupled with our placement opportunities, which will provide a group of student volunteers the chance to provide a match day experience, we hope to create a fan base which will support our club. All of this work has happened in such a short space of time however it will last for a long time and allow the club to become self sustainable in the long term. With the season edging closer and the worry of having all of this in place nearly over, we can now begin to concentrate on life in the Midlands Division 2. It is pleasing however to see that Futsal is moving in the right direction here and to some extent it shows with the progress of our teams, with the men competing in the second tier of the National League and the women ranked 2nd in the country within the University game. Onwards and upwards at UoG.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 20:40:56 +0000
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