Inaugural women's futsal league kicks off

The Gibraltar FA’s inaugural women’s futsal league kicked off in May, with five teams registering to take part in its opening season. The league is being played at the end of the regular domestic women’s football season, giving all Gibraltar’s female players the opportunity to develop their overall footballing skills by taking part in both disciplines (football and futsal) if they wish to.

The new league follows straight on from the national women’s futsal team playing their first-ever international fixtures when they hosted Northern Ireland for two friendlies in April.

Futsal (and in its various previous versions, such as five-a-side) has always been a very popular sport in Gibraltar, and thus forms a major part of the Gibraltar FA’s new women’s football strategy, which is to be rolled out very soon.

Masterminding the growth of women’s football in Gibraltar is the Gibraltar FA’s women’s football manager, Laura McGinn, who just under a year into her role is delighted to have been able to get the new women’s futsal league up and running. As she says: “The league is a great opportunity for existing players in Gibraltar and has also helped to grow female participation by attracting newcomers to the game as well as bringing older players back who have dropped out of 11-a-side football. We hope to be able to keep growing the league each year, attracting more players into the game and, in turn, also helping to strengthen our national futsal team.”

This article originally appeared in UEFA Direct 185