More teams, more streams and more talent on show in Ford Futsal SuperLeagues

By Warren Olson and Jack Sharp

New Zealand’s top women’s and men’s futsal competitions get underway this weekend with unprecedented levels of live streaming through FIFA+.

The Ford Futsal women’s SuperLeague series has two games in Hamilton on Sunday, while four sides gather in Auckland for the opening forays in the men’s SuperLeague.

In past seasons, games have been streamed on NZ Football’s YouTube channel but broadcast partner FIFA+ will be able to cover more games, some of them simultaneously.

This will give football fans across the motu the opportunity to see the pace and skill of the five-a-side indoor format of the game.

The leagues involve eight teams playing each other twice prior to the play-offs.

READ MORE: Futsal squads revealed ahead of opening games in Ford Futsal SuperLeagues >>>>

Table of Contents

Women’s SuperLeague

Bay of Plenty Surge (previously part of WaiBOP Power)
Capital Futsal (current champions)
Canterbury United Futsal Pride
Hawke’s Bay Futsal (new)
Palmerston North Marist
Papakura City
Southern United
Waikato Rapids (previously part of WaiBOP Power)

Men’s SuperLeague

Auckland City/NRF
Bay of Plenty Surge
Capital Futsal
Canterbury United Futsal Dragons
Hawke’s Bay Futsal
Palmerston North Marist
Southern United
Waikato Rapids (current champions)

Last season’s women’s champions, Capital Football, have suffered a blow in their defence effort, losing Futsal Ferns star Jemma Catherwood to an ACL injury and also seen their astute and popular coach Shingo Ina head south to take charge of Canterbury Pride.

Papakura City will represent Auckland and will be guided by Futsal Whites men’s head coach Marvin Eakins.

The women’s opening round begins on Sunday at Hamilton’s The Peak complex, where the Waikato Rapids will play morning and afternoon matches against the Bay of Plenty Surge.

The following Saturday – February 15 — the Southern sides do battle at Dunedin’s Edgar Centre where Southern United host the Canterbury Pride in their double header.

The next day, Sunday February 16, sees the opening round completed with Papakura City welcoming Hawke’s Bay Futsal at the Barfoot and Thompson Stadium in Kohimaramara, while in Palmerston North, the local Marist club will take on Capital for their two games.

Claudia Barham makes her debut as a head coach with Hawke’s Bay as the side returns to the competition for the first times since 2017 when Barham, then 18, played for the team.

An added incentive for the women players this year is that with the Futsal Ferns having secured a spot at the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup in November in the Philippines, doing what they can to catch the eye of selector/coach Nic Downes will be on many minds.

A taste of what’s to come

The men’s champions, Waikato Rapids, start their title defence with two matches against regional rivals BOP Surge at The Peak, Rotatuna.

The Rapids will be coached by Jet Lim, while the Surge will be led by Mario Ramos Snr.

The Nic Downes-coached Auckland City/NRF and Hawke’s Bay Futsal play twice at Kohimarama’s Barfoot & Thompson Stadium.

Stephen Hoyle will be player-coach of Hawke’s Bay this season.

On Saturday February 15, Southern United and Canterbury United meet twice at the Edgar Centre, Dunedin.

A day later, Palmerston North Marist and Capital Futsal play their opening fixtures in back-to-back games at the Manawatu Arena.

Round three of the men’s competition sees a two-day series of games (February 22-23) at the Pettigrew Court, Taradale, where Auckland City/NRF, Hawke’s Bay Futsal, Waikato Rapids and BOP Surge play eight matches.

The Peak, Rotatuna, will host early season games in the women’s and men’s SuperLeagues.

Venues

The leagues are run in a schedule of game series over a three-month season.

Teams compete across the country in the Home Series, Travel Series, and National Series to fight for the title of Ford Futsal SuperLeague champions.

Fixtures take place in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Kirikiriroa Hamilton, Te Papa-i-Oea Palmerston North, Ōtepoti Dunedin, Ōtautahi Christchurch, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, and Ahuriri Napier.

The Finals Series will decide the national champions over the weekend of April 12-13, 2025.

Fixtures

Click on the following button to download a PDF of the 2025 fixture list:

New to futsal?

While many consider futsal to be football’s indoor version, futsal is being increasingly viewed separately, with different skill sets required to the 11-a-side game.

Many top New Zealand footballers began their adventures playing futsal but would now find that speed, ball control skills, and ability are essential attributes for the five-a-side game.

In futsal, a pivot is the equivalent to a No.10, who is able to hold a ball up while looking to link up with teammates making runs.

Those runs inevitably come from the two flankers. Being quick enough to get forward to receive a pass while able to immediately sprint back to defend is exhausting and can make the rolling sub feature a welcome rule for them especially.

*Futsal is fast, exhausting and requires players to develop ball skills. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.*

The rearguard of the court set-up is known as the fixo — in football terms a centre-back. Having a full view of the court, the fixo looks for runs the flankers are making or to see if the pivot is in the clear.

A four-second rule for goalkeeper throws and kick-ins from the sidelines further enhance the speed of games.

Games comprise two 20-minute halves with a stop-clock used when the ball is out of play or the action on the court has stopped. This does not apply to U-15 games which are played on a half court.

Current Football Ferns Macey Fraser, Grace Jale and MacKenzie Barry are among those who played futsal in their youth and there will undoubtedly be many players this weekend who will go on to emulate their success at senior level.

All Whites captain Chris Wood played futsal to hone his skills as a youth player in Hamilton.