The Wellington Phoenix academy will take part in their first New Zealand Youth Futsal Championship, starting this Saturday, December 7.
The club has entered U17 boys, U15 boys, and U15 girls teams to compete at Ākau Tangi Sports Centre in Kilbirnie for the 2024 edition of the tournament.
Each side will play two matches a day, totalling seven matches in a round-robin format before a final placing match on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 10.
The Phoenix will look to translate their impressive youth football performances onto the futsal court, after both boys and girls U17 sides won the youth National League earlier this month.
The boys U17 side will take on Hawkes Bay, Capital Futsal, Canterbury United, Palmerston North Marist, and Waikato Rapids.
Both boys and girls U15 sides will face those clubs in addition to Bay of Plenty and an Auckland City/Northern Region Football side.
There will also be familiar faces in charge of the Nix, with current academy staff Jess Fuller (U15 girls), Sam Pickering (U17 boys), and Luke Tongue (U15 boys) each coaching one of the sides.
At the 2023 edition of the tournament, the Waikato Rapids were the standout club, winning the U15 boys, U15 girls, and U17 boys titles, while also reaching the final in the U17 girls and U19 girls brackets.
Selected games will be streamed live on the New Zealand Football YouTube channel.
Main picture: Ryan Imray/Imray’s Snaps
Wellington Phoenix fixtures in the 2024 Youth Futsal Championships
Saturday, December 7
U15 girls: vs Capital Futsal at 2pm, vs BOP Surge at 7pm
U15 boys: vs Capital Futsal at 10am, vs BOP Surge at 5pm
U17 boys: vs Capital Futsal at 1pm, vs Waikato Rapids at 5pm
Sunday, December 8
U15 girls: vs Auckland City/NRF at 9am, vs Hawkes Bay Futsal at 3pm
U15 boys: vs Auckland City/NRF at 11am, vs Hawkes Bay Futsal at 5pm
U17 boys: vs Hawkes Bay Futsal at 12pm, vs Hawkes Bay Futsal at 4pm
Monday, December 9
U15 girls: vs Palmerston North Marist at 11am, vs Waikato Rapids at 4pm
U15 boys: vs Palmerston North Marist at 9am, vs Waikato Rapids at 2pm
U17 boys: vs Palmerston North Marist at 12pm, vs Waikato Rapids at 4pm
Tuesday, December 10
U15 girls: vs Canterbury United Pride at 10am, final placing match in afternoon
U15 boys: vs Canterbury United Dragons at 8am, final placing match in afternoon
U17 boys: vs Canterbury United Dragons at 10am, final placing match in afternoon
