The University of York Futsal Club, which was crowned BUCS Northern Premier division champions earlier this month, have been drawn against Leicester 1sts in the first round of the BUCS national championships.
The top four teams from each of the four regional BUCS Premier division qualify for the straight knock-out tournament. Leicester finished 4th in the Midlands division, qualifying thanks to a low-scoring 3-1 victory over winless Cranfield 1sts. The match will be a home fixture for York, and is scheduled for 10th February.
York’s Futsal President Dom Hallas told Vision: “Overall we are pretty pleased with the draw. Obviously any team that got to the last 16 is going to be able to compete, but our top seeding helped a lot. The tent can be an intimidating place on a cold night and, with the support from fans like we had against Sheffield Hallam, we are confident we can win at home against Leicester.”
Should York be victorious against Leicester, then another home tie awaits in the quarter-finals. York or Leicester will host UWE (Hartpury), who finshed 2nd in the Western division, or Middlesex, who finished 3rd in the South-Eastern division. That game will be played on 24th February.
York’s first away fixture of the tournament, should they reach that stage, will be in the semi-finals. This is also the stage where York would first be able to meet the other Premier division champions from around the country. If both teams can record two wins, then York will travel to Derby 1sts in the semi-finals. Derby were crowned Midlands champions with the same record as York, three wins and one defeat. The semi-finals take place on 3rd March. However Brighton 1sts are another very strong side, who could defeat Derby and potentially be a semi-final opponent for the White Rose.
The other regional champions were Bath 1sts (Western) and Brunel 1sts (South-Eastern).
The final is to be held on 24th March, at Birmingham Futsal Arena.