Aztecs Summer Cup 2025

The futsal community gathered on the South Coast to battle it out in our inaugural pre-season tournament.

Both our men's and women's teams have enjoyed some excellent tournaments at home and abroad. Learning from some of the best, we attempted to give it a shot ourselves. The Aztecs Winter Cup in January 2025 was the trial run, featuring five women's teams from England, Scotland, and France. Knowing what we were doing, it was time to run it again, but on a larger scale!

Futsal courts are scarce in England. Good venues are even more scarce. We're lucky to have access to the amazing facilities at Ravelin, the state of the art University of Portsmouth sports centre, where there are two futsal courts, plus room for spectators! The two days were action-packed, with forty-five futsal matches being contested between the two courts. In twenty-one women's games, there were ninety-six goals scored! You can view all of them in the video below.

The twenty-four men's games had one hundred and fifteen goals (although we only have one hundred and six on the official video, due to camera issues at the start). For those who like goals, the women's tournament had 4.6 goals per game on average, and the men's had 4.8. That's plenty of action in those twenty-minute matches! Lots of faults that will have been exposed, and synergy built between teammates, all benefiting the clubs in their upcoming campaigns.

Watch the men's goals below, featuring belters and bloopers!

It's been a turbulent off-season in English women's futsal, and the preparation for this tournament was no different. Initially there were three teams from abroad that were supposed to be coming, but as the first whistle got closer, those three teams began dropping out. This was followed by an English team dropping out in the days immediately leading up to the tournament. The way we see it though, is it is their loss! The seven participating teams were Bloomsbury, Bolton, Maidenhead United, Dorset, Bootham, Aztecs Red, and Aztecs Green.

The teams played each other once, and when all was said and done, it was Bolton that finished in first place, followed by Bloomsbury, and Aztecs Green in third. Maidenhead came fourth, with Aztecs Red in fifth. Bootham finished in sixth, and seventh was Dorset. The tournament had some memorable games, which you can watch back in full.

This nine-goal-thriller between Aztecs Red and Dorset was perhaps the most entertaining game of the tournament. Dorset took an early lead, and although the Aztecs eventually took the lead, the back-and-forth nature of this clash was more akin to a tennis match, and could easily have gone either way. The Aztecs did come out on top in the end, and that goal from Ruby Parsons will live long in the memory.

The clash of the heavyweights, between Bloomsbury and Bolton, ended in a Bolton win. It's clear that these two will be fighting at the top end of the NFS table again this season, having finished in first and second, with Bloomsbury winning the grand final on penalties. The England and New Zealand stars dazzled spectators on the Ravelin court.

One of the appeals of this tournament was for teams to face new opponents. Bootham made the long trip down from Yorkshire, and were rewarded by playing some Southern teams they haven't faced before. The most memorable of those being this 5-5 encounter with Maidenhead. An end-to-end game that features goals that have to be seen to be believed.

The final match, when all positions were already decided, was between reigning NFS champions and Aztecs Red. This strong Bloomsbury side featured New Zealand internationals who will be competing at the first ever FIFA Women's Futsal World Cup in November, hosted in the Philippines. The Aztecs, made up of players from the reserve team, and three impressive teenagers in Emily Hartley, Brooklynne Andrew, and Rub Parsons, held their own, and then stole the win right at the death. With seconds remaining, Khadija Kazmi found the back of the net with what turned out to be her last ever kick of a ball in an Aztecs shirt. We'll miss you, K. What a way to go!

Sunday had its fair share of memorable games! The Aztecs were joined by league rivals Farnborough, and Futsal 360 Bristol, who brought two teams, old foes London International, and new friends in Bucks, Tikitaca, and Finta.

In the plate semi-final, the Aztecs raced to a 2-0 lead over Farnborough, and then threw it away even faster to be 4-2 down. A last second ten-metre-penalty netted by Enrique Mbela brought the game to 4-4 and forced penalties. The Aztecs did appear to benefit from two or three referee decisions, but we'll take the luck where we can get it! The boys got the job done in the shootout with five cracking penalties.

This game between Finta and Tikitaca to decide who competed for the big prize saw nine goals scored between the two teams. Some of the goals were absolutely top drawer!

Drama yet again for the Aztecs, this time in the plate final. Another two goal lead was blown, before Jason Page scored the winning goal, which was a buzzer-beater from his own half. The bench erupted in celebration, as the trophy was won right at the death. We couldn't have three Aztecs teams in our own tournament, and not win one of the four trophies up for grabs. Thankfully the men got the job done, just in time!

London International won the tournament, defeating Finta in the final.

If you'd like to see the photos from the women's tournament, they are available here, thanks to Sheena Booker.

If you'd like to see the photos from the men's tournament, they are available here, thanks to Ollie McGuire.

Watch all women's games on YouTube.

Watch all men's games on YouTube.

We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Bucks, Bristol, and Bootham for bringing their cameras to help film the games. The footage has been very much appreciated by all participating teams, who have been using it for analysis and avdertising. The futsal community grows when we all work together.

And a massive thank you to our three referees, who covered all forty-five games across the weekend. That would be James Jarad, Harry Waldron, and Karl Redding. Excellent work, and a well deserved rest on Sunday evening.

Yes, we'll definitely be running more. The aim is for another tournament next year, running both men's and women's tournaments in the summer and the winter. Once we have some dates, we'll start advertising!