While Nantes Métropole Futsal (NMF) is having an excellent season in the elite (currently 3rd), the Nantes club is preparing to welcome the best in futsal in Europe. From this Tuesday and until Sunday, some of the best European teams are indeed gathered for the final phase of the “Champions League” of futsal, as explained by Christophe Benmaza, manager at the NMF. “The ten teams present, female and male, qualified by winning their championship or their national cup. »
The competition, whose field has been seriously reduced due to the war in Ukraine and the health crisis, will take place at the brand new Creps* des Pays-de-la-Loire, in La Chapelle-sur- Erdre, north of Nantes. The challenge: to climb on the roof of Europe.
French futsal on the rise
Among the girls, the women’s section of the NMF, which has existed since 2016 and won the final stages of the Coupe de France last November, does not lack ambition against Barcelona, Teia (Catalonia) and the Nîmes of Futsal Marguerittois. On the men’s side, six teams are vying for the trophy, including Barcelona, Dublin and Novara (Italy). The French from Château-Renault (USR Futsal) and Echirolles (FC Picasso) will also be there. “The Spaniards will be the headliners. It is a country which has an older, more developed practice of futsal, ”deciphers the Nantes manager.
But French futsal has nothing to be ashamed of. Regularly in the world Top 20, futsal is still structured in France, but shows that it has a bright future ahead of it. “The French teams are of technical and athletic quality at the top of the European basket. But tactically, we still have a long way to go. We still have former footballers in our teams, when other nations like Spain are directly immersed in futsal, ”says Christophe Benmaza.
*Resource Center for Expertise and Sports Performance
Source: 20minutes
