It is mid-September but the clock is already ticking on the countdown to the inevitable rainy season that routinely plays havoc with the grassroots youth football calendar around the country. So it was timely for the FA to announce on Monday that it is trying to dismantle the barriers blocking access to school halls to allow young footballers to seek refuge from the cold and try the game that formed a legion of footballing superstars: futsal.
Grants from the Football Foundation totalling £300,000 will be made available for schools, colleges and youth football leagues. The aim is to create 200 futsal hubs, exposing at least 12,000 more children to the fast-paced five-a-side game that Neymar, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the Spanish rondo brigade credit with honing their impeccable skills as youngsters.
Related: From five-a-side to futsal and Star Sixes: how football's small forms went big
Related: Can futsal deliver a world-class US soccer star from the inner city?
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