Newry hosting international women's futsal tournament as part of first-ever UEFA Euros
Keith Gibson's side face Belgium in opener tonight
Northern Ireland women’s futsal team are gearing up for a series of top games as part of the inaugural UEFA Euros, kicking off today (Tuesday) at Newry Leisure Centre tomorrow (Wednesday).
Keith Gibson’s side will be taking on Belgium (7pm kick off) followed by Sweden tomorrow night (again 7pm kick-off).
The third and final day of competition is on Friday (24 August) when Sweden take on the Belgians at 3pm and Northern Ireland face Netherlands at 7pm. There is free admission to all games.
Futsal is FIFA’s only official five-a-side game and more and more people are playing it. Newry Leisure Centre is the only sports facility in Northern Ireland with a futsal court.
Northern Ireland team manager Keith Gibson said: “We are excited at the prospect of being part of such a great group in the first ever women’s European futsal qualifiers.
“The squad have been working really hard and we look forward to getting on court and testing ourselves against these great teams.”
The matches in the preliminary round will be the Northern Ireland senior women’s team’s first ever international matches. The squad, formed only recently, have played several times against club sides - mainly men’s teams - to date but not against international opposition.
Team captain Nadene Caldwell added: “We would love to see lots of fans in Newry to lift the team and also to see what a great game futsal is.”
A total of 23 nations have entered the competition which will culminate in a four-team knockout final tournament next February.
If Northern Ireland do progress from Group A in the preliminary round they would then face Russia, Slovenia and Croatia in the main round (Group 2) from 11-16 September with a place in the finals up for grabs.
UEFA first announced the launch of its inaugural women's futsal competition for national teams in 2017. It will be held every two years with initially a four-team knockout final tournament. The first women’s Euro futsal finals will be held in mid-February 2019 and will be hosted by one of four eventual qualifiers.