Three Salford City Lionesses named in historic England futsal squad

Three Salford City Lionesses have been named in England’s first ever Women’s futsal squad for their upcoming World Cup 2025 qualifying campaign.

Salford trio Laura Tobin, Lailah Booth and Kirstie Kural have been selected to represent England as the national team launch their bid to feature at the inaugural women’s futsal world cup in the Philippines next year.

England will take on Finland, Moldova and Slovenia this month in the first stage of UEFA Qualifying, competing to earn one of four European spots at the historic 16-team tournament.

Salford City FC wrote: “It’s an incredible achievement and we are all very proud of Laura, Lailah and Kirstie for their selections.”

In June, England confirmed that they had reached their fundraising threshold for the women’s team, making it viable for the squad to compete in the main round of qualifying for the tournament. The 14-woman international squad was named on Friday.

Group winners from the first stage of qualifying will be drawn into one of two groups in the Elite Round of European qualifying, alongside the other five group winners, Spain and Portugal. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the main tournament.

Futsal is a form of small-sided indoor football played with a smaller, harder and less bouncy ball. Starting teams are comprised of five players with rolling substitutions in effect.

In a statement posted on X by England Futsal, board member Ben Tadmor noted, “It’s a hugely exciting time to be part of futsal in England. The implementation of a women’s pathway has been one of the goals since the formation of England Futsal 18 months ago.

Time to show the world what we can do…See you in October! @UEFAFutsal @Huuhkajat @nzs_si @MoldovaMFA 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🦁🫡#HearThemRoar #OnePride #Lionesses pic.twitter.com/CBN5EUJ0Pf

— England Futsal (@EnglandFutsal) June 7, 2024

“We’re delighted that we’ve now made that step with the news that the Futsal Lionesses will be travelling to Moldova in October.

“To have female role models representing England in Futsal on the biggest stage will no doubt inspire the next generation of players to join clubs up and down the country.”