Futsal Fridays

Former PE Technician and aspiring teacher Mr. Povey- known for the creation of 'Futsal Fridays' - returned to the school this half term, bringing with him the excitement of the beautiful, South-American born footballing variant.

Continuing with many of the same pupils as last year, Mr. Povey invited his year 8s to take part in the weekly indoor tournaments, culminating in a semi final and final each week. Teams are split into eight per side, taking it in turns to play one another in three minute matches. The turnout last week reached over forty students, a new record for the internal competition. This trend in popularity could see as many as fifty students turn out for this week's matches, as word-of-mouth spreads throughout the year group.

One of the most important facets of Futsal Friday is the fact that anyone in the year group can attend. This had created a diverse skill level, with members of the school football team competing against those who play on a purely casual level at school. It's exciting to officiate, as Mr. Povey alludes to, with mixed ability teams creating tense, highly-contested games.

'It's great to see so many students competing', beamed a proud Mr. Povey. 'It's certainly a lot more technical than regular football, and we try to demonstrate that to the kids.'.

Mr. Povey's biggest innovation is the use of an actual futsal ball rather than an indoor football. Since they are weighted heavier, the focus is on ground-based gameplay, emphasising the need for skilfulness and craft to unlock opposition defences. In fairness, it would come as a welcome change if this was implemented nationwide - there is far too much pressure on kids launching the ball as far as they can kick it.

Chingford PE Department would like to remind all year 8 students that as long as their behaviour is good, this club will run every Friday in the Clive Moore Sports Hall from now until the end of the year - so come down after school and get involved!