On Sunday July 19th at 5pm, a Kevin Davies Select team will take on Manchester Futsal at the Velodrome, Manchester in a showcase game.
Davies has selected a stylish team that will include ex-professional Lee Trundle, two times European Champion and four times winner of Red Bull Street Style for Fifa Street Soufiane Bencok, alongside street soccer players Issy “Hitman” Hamdaoui and Edward Van Gils.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness of the sport, not well known in the UK but, credited with developing many South American stars like Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Tickets for the event are just £5 for adults and £1.50 for children; tickets can be purchased from www.manchesterfutsal.com.
Speaking of the event, Davies said: “BBDFL Chairman Warren Barlow has been passionate about futsal for some time. Like many people in the UK I didn’t know much about it so spent some time researching.
“The more I looked into it the more convinced I became it was right for the Bolton and Bury league. It is the way forward in producing more top quality, technical gifted players.
“Why do we continue to make our youngsters, coaches, refs and parents suffer through winter? It is not the right environment for anyone to develop in.”
Davies met up with Simon Wright, the Chairman of Manchester Futsal, and watched his side play at the Velodrome. The excitement and pace of the game motivated him into scouring Bolton for facilities.
The Preston North End and former Bolton Wanderers striker enthused: “We managed to secure the Essa Academy, a fantastic facility in Bolton.
“We then launched an U13 futsal competition sponsored by local bread maker Warburtons. 24 teams signed up and started competing on May 16th. So far the competition has been a resounding success and the improvement technically is clear for all to see.”
The competition has created so much momentum in the area that Manchester Futsal invited Davies to put together a select team to take them on in an exhibition match the same day as the U13s final. Kevin was delighted to help raise the profile of futsal and is looking forward to continuing to help the sport
progress more in the future.
“The games will help to raise awareness and open people’s eyes to the brilliant format of the game, continued Davies.
“This really needs to be pushed in this country and in my professional opinion should be used as part of our youngsters’ football development.
“There are facilities out there that stand idle all weekend. We are looking to find as many facilities as possible so that we can get more members of the BBDFL playing this format of the game, particularly during the cold and wet winter months.”
“We now have over 24 qualified Level 1 Futsal coaches and ten referees who have done the conversion course with the Lancashire FA. There is no point pushing this game if we as a league are not qualified in doing so.”
Davies added: “We provide weekly futsal coaching courses supported by myself and Manchester Futsal which really benefit the players and their coaches, but we want to do more as the demand is high throughout the age groups.
“We are passionate about providing football for all abilities in a safe, fun environment for our U7s right through to our new U21 Macron League.”
The 38-year-old, who is a patron, has been working with the Bolton and Bury District Football League over the past year to get more kids playing different formats of football.
He has been pivotal in the development of the Macron Summer Football involving over 200 teams from U7s to U12s taking part every Saturday morning across Bolton. The idea is festival, fun football where results don’t matter and games are not played in the cold winter months.
Davies has also been active in the launch of the first ever U21 Macron League in Bolton and already has 16 teams signed up to start in September. This is allowing teams within a 20 mile radius of Bolton to compete against players their own age and provide an important step into adult football.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness of the sport, not well known in the UK but, credited with developing many South American stars like Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Tickets for the event are just £5 for adults and £1.50 for children; tickets can be purchased from www.manchesterfutsal.com.
Speaking of the event, Davies said: “BBDFL Chairman Warren Barlow has been passionate about futsal for some time. Like many people in the UK I didn’t know much about it so spent some time researching.
“The more I looked into it the more convinced I became it was right for the Bolton and Bury league. It is the way forward in producing more top quality, technical gifted players.
“Why do we continue to make our youngsters, coaches, refs and parents suffer through winter? It is not the right environment for anyone to develop in.”
Davies met up with Simon Wright, the Chairman of Manchester Futsal, and watched his side play at the Velodrome. The excitement and pace of the game motivated him into scouring Bolton for facilities.
The Preston North End and former Bolton Wanderers striker enthused: “We managed to secure the Essa Academy, a fantastic facility in Bolton.
“We then launched an U13 futsal competition sponsored by local bread maker Warburtons. 24 teams signed up and started competing on May 16th. So far the competition has been a resounding success and the improvement technically is clear for all to see.”
The competition has created so much momentum in the area that Manchester Futsal invited Davies to put together a select team to take them on in an exhibition match the same day as the U13s final. Kevin was delighted to help raise the profile of futsal and is looking forward to continuing to help the sport
progress more in the future.
“The games will help to raise awareness and open people’s eyes to the brilliant format of the game, continued Davies.
“This really needs to be pushed in this country and in my professional opinion should be used as part of our youngsters’ football development.
“There are facilities out there that stand idle all weekend. We are looking to find as many facilities as possible so that we can get more members of the BBDFL playing this format of the game, particularly during the cold and wet winter months.”
“We now have over 24 qualified Level 1 Futsal coaches and ten referees who have done the conversion course with the Lancashire FA. There is no point pushing this game if we as a league are not qualified in doing so.”
Davies added: “We provide weekly futsal coaching courses supported by myself and Manchester Futsal which really benefit the players and their coaches, but we want to do more as the demand is high throughout the age groups.
“We are passionate about providing football for all abilities in a safe, fun environment for our U7s right through to our new U21 Macron League.”
The 38-year-old, who is a patron, has been working with the Bolton and Bury District Football League over the past year to get more kids playing different formats of football.
He has been pivotal in the development of the Macron Summer Football involving over 200 teams from U7s to U12s taking part every Saturday morning across Bolton. The idea is festival, fun football where results don’t matter and games are not played in the cold winter months.
Davies has also been active in the launch of the first ever U21 Macron League in Bolton and already has 16 teams signed up to start in September. This is allowing teams within a 20 mile radius of Bolton to compete against players their own age and provide an important step into adult football.