London calling for Futsal Cup

Domestic success
The club won the right to represent the Football Association after winning the FA National Futsal Finals in Sheffield in June 2004. They had qualified from a London regional tournament to play in the three-day finals, and once there they triumphed with a 10-1 victory against Tranmere Victoria FC.

Cosmopolitan flavour
London were known as Team USSR during the English finals and, as their former name suggests, they have a truly cosmopolitan flavour. The side are based around players from eastern Europe, where Futsal is increasingly popular and professional. At the heart is 35-year-old Oleksandr Saliy, who moved to London from his native Ukraine six years ago.

'Very difficult'
Saliy does everything at the club who were only formed in March 2004, from organising September's mini-tournament to coaching the team. Saliy said: "I had been looking for players for three years. I had seen about 50-60 players but not everybody was up to it. It was very difficult to get a team because people from different countries have different mentalities and different cultures."

Olympic success
The father of three, who is also a budding referee and officiates in the FA Premier League reserve league, believes his squad's far-flung roots are perfect for a city that has just been awarded the 2012 Olympics. He said: "London is an international city. It is a great place to live and work. There is plenty of enthusiasm here."

English talent
Saliy recognises, however, that for his team to truly succeed, he will need to bring through young English talent as well as attract more outside help. He explained: "My aim is to bring more English players through. Futsal in England is just at the development stage but I think there are lots of skilful English players. What we need to do is point these guys in the right direction."

Encouraging signs
He added that "England is the top country for football and we must push Futsal forward very quickly", explaining that he was encouraged by efforts made by the FA to promote the game in schools and colleges. Certainly, if London can make it through the UEFA Futsal Cup preliminary round, that will provide another boost to domestic Futsal.

Benfica waiting
The club will be up against French side Roubaix Futsal, Dinamo Tirana of Albania and Tal Grig Yerevan of Armenia. The top two teams from the round-robin event, which will almost certainly be staged in Crystal Palace, south London, will enter the first qualifying round in October. Most notably, the winners will get the chance to face SL Benfica, runners-up in the 2003/04 UEFA Futsal Cup final, in the next stage.

Experience growing
With Tranmere being England's first European representatives in 2003/04, followed by Sheffield Hallam FC in 2004/05 and now London in 2005/06, England's Futsal clubs are getting a good feel for European competition. None have yet to make it past the preliminary round but Saliy is confident his charges can give a good account of themselves when the matches are played on 10/11/13 September.

Every chance
He said: "We are looking forward to it. I have got a very good team, even though we are still establishing ourselves. I think we will be very competitive." If his players show the same drive and commitment as their leader, they may just have a chance.