Dale's new Futsal scholars

The nine scholars who took part in Saturday's activities and Dale's Futsal Education Officer, Siobhan McElhinney

Rochdale AFC’s new Futsal scholars got their first taste of action over the weekend as they began their preparations for the start of the upcoming season.

Nine of the students, who will be starting Dale’s new Futsal scholarship programme in September, travelled to the Leeds Futsal Arena on Saturday for their first match experience.

The intention was to put the players through their paces in a coaching practice, but after coming across a contingent of fellow new recruits from Leeds United, they went head-to-head with their counterparts to get a flavour of what is in store for them when the weekly activities get underway later this year.

The group, which was split into two teams, got involved in two matches and were victorious in one. They came out 6-4 winners in one encounter, losing the other 4-2 after coming up against strong opposition, which included a member of the England Futsal national squad.

Siobhan McElhinney, Dale’s Futsal Education Officer, commented: “It was a real eye opener for us about the quality of the opponents that we will be facing this season and I was really impressed with the way the lads performed. This was my first chance to see them come up against opposition, so to see them more than match the other teams was absolutely brilliant.”

Futsal is the only form of indoor football approved by FIFA, UEFA and the FA. With over two million players regularly participating in the fast-paced five-a-side action, Futsal is globally recognised as one of the fastest growing indoor sports in the world.