The North West has always been a hub for footballing talent and that reputation is only getting better here in Greater Manchester and Salford, specifically, through one of the sport’s best proving grounds: futsal.
Ordsall Leisure Centre is the new home of the state-of-the-art futsal facility SCL Arena, set to revolutionise the sport in the North West of England. Futsal has gained fast momentum in recent years and our region was due a new home for the sport.
For those that aren’t familiar with the game, futsal is a type of football played indoors on a much smaller, hardcourt pitch. It is also played with a smaller, harder ball that is less bouncy to encourage control, improvisation and technique.
Think almost the ‘joga bonito’ days, FIFA Street or Volta in the new ones, only there’s no bouncing the ball off the walls in futsal. Here’s a taster from our very own Manchester Futsal Club.
Now, thanks to a £190k grant from the Premier League, the FA (Football Association) and the Government Football Foundation (GFF), as well as an additional £127k from Salford Council, Manchester is now home to one of the best places to play futsal in the country.
ADVERTISEMENT
The project also comes with the construction of new changing rooms and an educational space and a recent showcase event featured constant futsal action from academy players and a local primary school, with some truly fantastic talent on display.
Watching on was the CEO of the Manchester FA, Colin Bridgford who spoke of the importance of bringing the facility to Salford.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s a great opportunity for Salford to have the first dedicated futsal centre. It’s been much needed and it gives people an opportunity to learn about the game.”
A full look at the new arena. (Credit: Salford Leisure via X)
“Everyone plays football”, he continued; “Salford and Manchester are a hotbed for the sport but understanding the technique and the skill of futsal is so beneficial for young players.”
If you grew up in Salford or Greater Manchester playing the beautiful game, you’ll understand the struggles of finding a place to play.
ADVERTISEMENT
If the ‘no ball games’ signs don’t throw a spanner in the way of a kickabout, the weather more than likely will — and that’s just for football.
In our not-so-tropical climate, futsal simply has to be played indoors so the opportunities to play around here have previously been limited.
The SCL Arena at Orsdall Leisure will not only be a place for sport to thrive but will serve as an inclusive hub for promoting and developing talent within the community and beyond.
Earlier today, @CllrBentham opened the #Futsal SCL Arena at Ordsall Leisure Centre.
— Salford Community Leisure (SCL) (@SalfordLeisure) February 12, 2024
The opening event was a great success.
“You can’t play it if you don’t have the facilities as we all know. The investment from the FA and the local authority of Salford have put into this has been fantastic.”
“You do need that place where you can just walk into an arena like this where the pitch is purpose-built and the markings are really clear.”
ADVERTISEMENT
As you might expect, the game originated in South America in the 1930s and soon spread across the world. In countries like Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Portugal, young players are brought up on the sport with the world’s best footballing talent owing their skill to the small-sided game.
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi began plying their trade on the futsal courts of Funchal and Rosario respectively. Maybe a future Ballon d’Or winner will forge their success in Ordsall Leisure Centre, you never know!
“It’s certainly a growing sport in England. If you look at it around Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal, this is their day-to-day and that is where you get to see players working their way to the Premier League.”
“What futsal does is keep the flow of the game and makes players think quicker, it’s not always about what is happening at your feet but what’s happening upstairs – it’s a really adaptive game.”
“The skills and technique certainly come from futsal so if we can create more technically minded individuals in England then the future holds well and this is a great place to start.”
ADVERTISEMENT
If you’re a fan of a fast-paced game with action that can happen right up until the final whistle then futsal might be for you. But most importantly, it’s about getting up and active and now it’s possible to enjoy the game right on our doorstep.
Colin put it perfectly: “Irrespective of whatever game we play, whatever sport we play we do it for fun and what I’ve seen today is young people smiling, being active and having a great time!”
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Manchester Futsal Club (via Instagram)/Supplied
Sport
Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
Harry Quick -
13th February 2024 
