The Pokémon Company International and The Football Association (The FA) are continuing to promote the Pokémon Futsal initiative. Read on below to learn more:
Gareth Southgate delights school with surprise Pokémon Futsal skills masterclass
England Manager visits Torriano Primary School, Camden to launch expanded and enhanced programme of futsal-based activities as part of the 2022 Schools Games initiative.
London, United Kingdom—February 08, 2022. – England manager Gareth Southgate helped launch the latest additions to the Pokémon Futsal programme with a surprise visit and skills masterclass to pupils at Torriano Primary School in Camden, London. During the session pupils trialled the new resources which are available to download today, via mastertheball.com
Offering the ultimate team talk to 16 excited youngsters, Southgate gave children from the school’s year five class a taste of elite level coaching as he stepped in to offer advice during a training session with leading FA coaches.
During the session, Southgate and the coaches engaged the children in a series of games from the Pokémon Futsal resources for 2022. He outlined the importance of futsal in developing football skills – both technically and tactically – as well as discussing the exciting year ahead for England Football. The pupils were also given a series of Pokémon gifts including a special trading card featuring Pikachu in an England shirt.
Speaking about his involvement at the event, Southgate said: “I am delighted to visit Torriano Primary School to celebrate their efforts with Pokémon Futsal and support the launch of the new school resources for 2022. It’s amazing to see and hear about the passion for Pokémon Futsal. I’ve worked a lot in youth football and know how important futsal can be as a pathway for developing a young person’s football skills and confidence before they transition to the 11-aside format. The new resources created by Pokémon and the FA will make futsal fun and engaging as well as offering a great opportunity to build confidence through small-sided games. I would encourage as many schools as possible to visit Mastertheball.com and learn more about Pokémon Futsal.”
Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced form of the game that originates in South America; several world stars have roots in the game. Played on hard pitches with small-sided teams, futsal places emphasis on technical skill in restricted spaces and creates an environment that allows young people to simulate and develop many skills and proficiencies that are transferrable to the 11-a-side game. The partnership works to encourage children of all abilities to play futsal and develop their skills in a fun and supportive environment.
Pokémon Futsal combines a series of fun futsal training games that aim to help schools introduce futsal or prepare for the School Games. The programme is available as a competition option for School Games Organisers (SGOs) at a local level as part of the School Games; a government led initiative designed to deliver competitive school sport to all young people.
Building on the success of last year’s inaugural programme which was created to offer pupils access to futsal in the absence of inter school competition, the new 2022 resources have been created to expand and enhance the Pokémon Futsal offering to schools. These resources have been developed for teachers and School Games Organisers looking to add exciting new ways to provide every child with a positive experience of competition through futsal, encourage children to take up futsal or improve their footballing skills.
New for 2022, schools will now have access to a series of new games (2v2, 3v3, 4v4) to take part in during the spring term. These are designed to build skills and confidence, whilst introducing players to futsal or preparing for a summer School Games futsal competition.
Torriano Primary School was selected by the FA to try out the new resources, after showing their enthusiasm for the Pokémon Futsal Challenge in 2021. Last year, over 55 pupils from the school took part in the various challenges as part of their morning football club sessions.
Speaking about their special guest, PE teacher Carmen Blanco, who has been responsible for the Torriano Primary School’s participation in the initiative said: “To see the kids’ faces light up as Gareth entered the room was absolutely magical. As a school, we have loved learning about futsal and completing the challenge during our morning football sessions. The shooting challenge is a particular favourite. We have discovered so much about Pokémon Futsal and are delighted to be the first school to try this year’s new activities.”
Pokémon is the title partner of the FA’s Youth Futsal Programme which aims to work with boys and girls aged eight–sixteen. Alongside the Pokémon Futsal initiative in schools, futsal clubs across the country have registered to take part in this season’s Pokémon Youth Futsal Cup by England Football, which kicked off in November 2021 and culminates in a national finals this June.
The partnership works to encourage children of all abilities to play futsal and develop their skills in a fun and supportive environment.
“We’re delighted to have Gareth’s support to help us launch the 2022 Pokémon Futsal resource; the advice he has offered to the children that haven taken part in the masterclass is invaluable,” said Peter Murphy, Senior Director of Marketing at The Pokémon Company International. “Through our partnership with the FA, we wanted to ensure that the futsal activities we offer are engaging, fun and accessible, to help children across the country level up their football skills. We look forward to seeing the progress that will be made by all of those who have signed up.”
Pokémon Futsal is offered to schools around the country as one of the School Games competitions, with over 6,000 children taking part in the Pokémon Futsal Challenge in 2021.
Schools looking to find out more about the Pokémon Futsal offering, can visit the Schools Hub on mastertheball.com. Those taking part in the programme may be in with a chance of winning a selection of Pokémon themed futsal gifts.
The 2022 Pokémon Futsal resources will be available to access from the 8th February. To learn more about the new elements of Pokémon Futsal and how your school can get involved in this and the Schools Games head to https://www.mastertheball.com/schools-hub/
UK: England Manager Gareth Southgate delights school with surprise visit to Pokémon Futsal class.
To launch the new Pokémon Futsal resources for 2022, we wanted to go BIG…. So, with our partner England Football, we thought that there would be no better person for the occasion than the England Senior Men’s Manager himself, Gareth Southgate… with a bit of help from Pikachu of course.
Gareth paid a trip to Torriano Primary School to surprise a group of Year 5 students during their Pokémon Futsal Masterclass and offered some training tips!
Head to mastertheball.com to find out more about Pokémon Futsal.
#pokemonfutsal #mastertheball
UK: The Match Report is in from the Pokémon Youth Futsal Cup!
The Match Report is in from the launch of the Pokémon Futsal season! Congratulations to the winners, Brook House! ⚽🏆 And, thank you to all teams involved! To paraphrase Brock…
“You can’t expect to win every single battle, but love (of the game⚽) is worth fighting for and if you’re brave and courageous and never quit, you can come out a winner, just like me.”
– Brock 😍
Head over to http://www.mastertheball.com to find out how to get involved & discover online skills and drills!
#PokemonFutsal
UK: Learn new skills with the latest season of Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup by England Football!
Pokémon and England Football have kicked off another exciting season of Pokémon Futsal!
Head over to http://www.mastertheball.com to find out how to get involved, discover online skills and drills, and how you could be in with a chance to get your hands on a special edition Pikachu Futsal TCG card!
#PokemonFutsal
UK: Learn new skills with the latest season of Pokémon Futsal Youth Cup by England Football!
Pokémon and England Football have kicked off another exciting season of Pokémon Futsal!
Head over to http://www.mastertheball.com to find out how to get involved, discover online skills and drills, and how you could be in with a chance to get your hands on a special edition Pikachu Futsal TCG card!
#PokemonFutsal
UK: Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham & Conor Coady play Pokémon GO!
⚠️ We heard reports of wild Pokémon at the England football team training ground ⚠️
So, we tasked Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham & Conor Coady to play some Pokémon GO and capture a few for us!
Check out who managed to capture the most 📺
#MasterTheBall
UK: Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham & Conor Coady play New Pokémon Snap!
Join Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham & Conor Coady from the England Football Team as they get to grips with New Pokémon Snap, alongside sharing a few trips down memory lane from their own international careers 📸
#MasterTheBall
UK: A special press conference with England Manager Gareth Southgate
We invited some primary school pupils to a very special press conference, where they got to ask England football team manager Gareth Southgate some important questions…
Find out his favourite footballer as a child, what position he’d play Scorbunny in & more! 🤩
UK: England Manager Gareth Southgate Interview
“Ello Gareth, how ya doing?” 🎤
Braydon Bent interviews Gareth Southgate on his time as an England football player and now manager.
All with a Pokemon spin of course 😉
UK: #PokémonTCG Shootout Challenge – Luke Shaw v Phil Foden
🥅 It’s Luke Shaw vs Phil Foden in the second Pokémon TCG Shootout Challenge!
Find out which England footballer takes the crown in this exciting head-to-head 📺
UK: #PokémonTCG Shootout Challenge – Jesse Lingard vs John Stones
🥅 The #PokémonTCG Shootout Challenge kicks off with Jesse Lingard vs John Stones!
Jesse was victorious in the last of our challenges, will he do it again? 👀
UK: Phil Foden vs #PokemonTCG Kick Up Challenge
It’s harder than I thought” 😅
Phil Foden takes on the #PokemonTCG Kick Up Challenge.
Does the England footballer take top spot and win the competition?
Let’s find out! 📺
#MasterTheBall
UK: John Stones vs #PokemonTCG Kick Up Challenge
“That one’s a shiny, I think”
John Stones is the next @England Footballer to take on our Pokemon TCG Kick Up Challenge! Can he score enough to take top spot from Jesse Lingard on the leaderboard?
#MasterTheBall
UK: Jesse Lingard vs. #PokemonTCG Kick Up Challenge
“He’s a professional.”
Jesse Lingard is the first England footballer to take on our #PokemonTCG Kick Up Challenge!
Can he score enough to stay at the top of the leaderboard against John Stones and Phil Foden?
Raheem Sterling, Tammy Abraham and kid Youtuber Tekkerz Kid showcase their skills in the Pokémon Futsal season 2 launch video
London UK – 29th October 2020—The Pokémon Company International and The Football Association (The FA) today launched the second season of Pokémon Futsal, to continue to provide participation opportunities and help younger players develop their football skills.
Building on the success of the opening year of the partnership, the second season will see The FA and Pokémon work closely using their shared values of evolution and progression through training to showcase the benefits that participation in Futsal can have on youth football development.
The FA and Pokémon have released a fun and engaging launch video today, featuring England Senior Men’s players Raheem Sterling and Tammy Abraham, kid Youtuber Tekkerz Kid and football legends Joe Cole and Rachel Yankey, all showcasing their skill with Pokémon’s limited edition Futsal balls, as well as a special appearance from England Senior Men’s Manager Gareth Southgate. The content brings to life the latest season of Pokémon Futsal, encouraging all kids to ‘train like a master’ and continue to learn and evolve their Futsal skills, whatever their level.
The launch video also encourages kids and parents to visit mastertheball.com and learn more about the FA Pokémon Youth Futsal programme, with the option to find participating clubs that are taking part in the FA Pokémon Youth Cup. Not only are these participating clubs able to get hold of the Pokémon kit bundle packs, as showcased in the video, but they can also receive a limited-edition Pikachu Futsal Pokémon Trading Card.
The launch video can be viewed here.
Coming soon, Pokémon will be releasing further exciting content on the mastertheball.com website, including brand new training videos to help kids to continue to develop their game, and an exclusive piece of content, ‘Master Your Skill’, being revealed later this month that encourages kids to showcase their skills!
The FA and Pokémon will continue to work closely together throughout the second season by creating exciting, standout initiatives to engage kids and coaches at participating clubs up and down the country, culminating in the 2020/21 FA Pokémon Youth Cup, targeted at participating Futsal clubs later next year.
England: Evolve your skills with Pokémon Futsal!
Find out how to get involved here: https://bit.ly/2D1Fahk
Pokémon and The FA are kicking off the second year of The FA Pokémon Youth Futsal Programme.
Head over to our website to find out how to get involved, discover online skills and drills, and how you could be in with a chance to get your hands on a special Pikachu Futsal TCG card!
Video featuring: Raheem Sterling, Tammy Abraham, Rachel Yankey, Joe Cole, Gareth Southgate, and Tekkerz Kid!
About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, please visit http://www.pokemon.co.uk.
About The Football Association
The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and successfully generates enough revenue to support the investment of £180m into English football each year. The FA oversees 28 England international teams, across men’s, women’s, youth and disability football, as well as running FA Competitions, including the Emirates FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium connected by EE and St. George’s Park, all with a purpose to Unite the Game and Inspire the Nation.
Source: The Pokémon Company International
Source: Pokemon
