Former Breedon Highland League star Grant Campbell is on a mission to grow the game of futsal in the north-east.
After injury forced the former Wick Academy, Huntly, Cove Rangers and Fraserburgh midfielder to retire in the summer Campbell has founded the Aberdeen Futsal Academy.
Futsal is an indoor five-a-side version of football played with a size four reduced bounce ball.
The game is popular elsewhere in Scotland with leagues in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth, but there’s no adult league or youth structure in the north-east.
Campbell is keen to change that and alongside former Fraserburgh team-mate Owen Cairns (now with Elgin City) he has started running futsal sessions for children on Friday evenings at Lochside Academy.
Next year the aim is to launch an adult league at Robert Gordon University.
Growing futsal throughout north-east
Campbell said: “Our purpose as an organisation is to grow futsal infrastructure in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
“There’s a huge scope for both kids and adults to play the game.
I’ve got a natural enthusiasm for the game so why not press on and try to put this infrastructure in place.”
“At the moment there are regional leagues in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth and they all feed into the Scottish Futsal League which in turn feeds into the Futsal Champions League.
“Aberdeen doesn’t have any representation within futsal so we’ve kicked off with children on Friday nights.
“We have a full squad of primary two to primary four aged children and a full squad of primary five to primary seven aged children.
“We’ve also got a good group of secondary one to secondary three children. We’re fully booked out in the primary groups for the rest of October and we’ve had a handful of secondary spaces.
“Now that’s up and running we’re focusing on the adult league which will run from January to April next year.
“What we’re looking to do now is populate an eight team league for the start in January.
“We’re on the hunt for three teams that could come in and complete the league.”
Competing at national level
In the long term, Campbell’s ambition is to grow futsal in the north-east to such an extent that a team from the region reaches the Scottish national league.
He added: “The goal ultimately is to try (and) create a pathway which allows Aberdeen to have a team in the Scottish Futsal League, a colts team in the regional structure and all of the youth teams feeding towards that.
“So that way anyone who wants to play futsal at whatever age has somewhere to go and play.
“They say you get between six and seven times more touches of the ball when playing futsal so for kids that’s a no-brainer really.”
Campbell has enjoyed getting his teeth into this project after retiring from playing.
The four-time Breedon Highland League winner said: “I was blessed as a kid in Caithness that I had two great coaches in Thurso who gave us indoor hall football, maybe not quite to futsal rules but it was along similar lines.
“That did wonders for my development and now that I’ve stopped playing I was wondering where could I make the biggest impact.
“This feels like the place, I’ve got a natural enthusiasm for the game so why not press on and try to put this infrastructure in place.”
- Anyone interested in taking up futsal can contact Grant Campbell at gcampbell@aberdeenfutsalacademy.co.uk by phone on 07710 544133 or via the Aberdeen Futsal Academy’s Facebook page.
Conversation