Varsity 2025: UCL Futsal Overcome All Odds to Dominate Division-One Champions KCL
UCL Futsal Celebrate Their Historic Victory. Photo courtesy of uclfutsal via Instagram.
Futsal is often described as indoor football, but with two teams of 5 players, rolling substitutions, and a smaller, enclosed pitch, which arguably requires more technical ability from its players. Many footballing superstars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pelé all started their career by playing futsal. It has many advantages for those looking to progress into football: enhanced technical ability, faster decision making, better movement, and a more developed understanding of high-intensity pressing.
This year marked the first year in UCL’s varsity series where the Men’s futsal team featured, a huge night for them and for the promotion of futsal. The much-anticipated event proved to be a thriller, with UCL securing a 10-5 victory over their rivals KCL. The match began on a respectful note, with a minute of silence for Aalia Mahomed, a KCL student who sadly lost her life earlier that week in the crash at the Strand.
Straight from kick off, the match proceeded at an electrifying pace with high pressing, confidence and creativity on display from UCL. UCL took control of the game from the outset, netting two goals within the first 4 minutes of play. They demonstrated relentless hunger for every ball and deservedly led 7-2 over their rivals at half-time. KCL fought back with a few more goals after the break, but UCL remained steadfast under pressure. UCL eventually reasserted their dominance to see the match finish at 10-5. The standout performance came from Naaeb Alamyar, as highlighted by both spectators and UCL’s captain. Naaeb’s drive, desire, and energy played a pivotal role in UCL’s convincing victory.
UCL Stroke a Goal Past King’s. Photo courtesy of uclfutsal via Instagram.
Post-match, we sat down with Team Captain Zakaria Rana and he shared his thoughts on the game: “It feels amazing, it’s our first ever game in the Varsity series and to beat Kings who are the champions of the first division makes it even better. We came into this game as underdogs with no one expecting us to win”.
When asked what strategies were implemented to produce success, Zak said: “We wanted it more than the other team. We emphasised energy before the match, treating it like war and a battle. We know that they’re two divisions above us and so we wanted to cause an upset. We had already prepared well in training, so it was just about believing it during the game”.
Discussing futsal as a sport, the captain said that this feature in the Varsity series is amazing for promoting futsal. “We’re trying to get a woman’s team going. We tried this year but didn’t get enough interest, so hopefully this can kick-start a women's team as well. Next season I want there to be two teams that just win everything.”
If you’re looking for a new sports team to join this September, Zak highly recommends futsal. “Come join us! Everybody loves it, we’re like one big family. Everyone treats each other like brothers, and I don’t think you’ll find that in many other sports. A lot of us are graduating this year so we need a new cohort to come and take over!”.
While this year’s victory was a historic upset, it is only the first of many meetings between our rival universities. We hope, like Zak, the future holds more futsal glory for men and women in purple alike.