In February, we took a team of Under 10s and Under 12s to play in the England FA Girls Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) Futsal Regional Qualifiers. This was a tournament for all the ETCs in the North West to play against each other, with the winner qualifying for the National Finals.
As ever, the girls represented our ETC and Blackpool FC with immense pride and effort, unfortunately falling short of winning the tournament, against a wide range of ETCs including Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Preston North End, Crewe, Burnley and Westmorland.
Our Under 10s got put into the toughest half of the draw, falling into a league against Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool. The girls pushed these clubs to their limits, unfortunately falling short, with a 1-0 loss against eventual winners Manchester City (who won the final 9-0 against a team in the other half of the draw!).
The Under 12s performed similarly, falling to an unfortunate 2-0 loss against eventual winners Liverpool.
Andy Aspinall, ETC Centre Manager, said,
“These events are a great opportunity to pit ourselves against the top players in the country, and to see how our girls compare to girls in WSL academies. It allows us to see the girls in a competitive environment, where we expect them to try to win.
“It is also a useful tool as we move towards the end of the season and have to make decisions on which girls will be automatically offered a place with us for next season.”
Throughout the day, the girls demonstrated all the attributes that the Blackpool FC Girls ETC demand from them, including intensity, aggression, technical ability, and positive attacking football.
Well done to everyone involved, and good luck to the winners who move on to the next stage of the competition.
