A Perth futsal team can again look forward to representing Scotland on the Champions League stage.
PYF Saltires successfully defended their Scottish Super League title this season and received the trophy following their final game on Sunday.
Saltires navigated through the league campaign unbeaten, securing victory in all 12 of their fixtures and scoring 174 goals along the way.
Their triumph qualifies them through to represent the country in the 2023/24 UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary stages later this year.
“It’s been a really exciting season and we’re all delighted to win the title again,” said Saltires manager Scott Ballingall.
“It’s been particularly pleasing this year as two members of our Colts squad have been integral to our success. The group is so demanding of each other and that really drives us on.
“The relentlessness this group shows is brilliant, we play at pace and look like scoring almost every time we have the ball.”
Saltires rounded off their title-winning campaign with a 32-0 win against TJ Slovak Lads.
They finished nine points clear of Dundee Futsal and 17 points clear of third-placed Fair City Santos, who also hail from Perth.
“It would be great for the sport in this country if the top league was more competitive,” Ballingall continued.
“The winners of the regional leagues all look good so I think the Super League will be a lot stronger next year.
“We can ultimately only play against what we are up against, but we continue to do the right things no matter the opponents, which hopefully stands us in good stead.”
The draw for the Champions League will be made in July and Ballingall is looking for Saltires to pose more of a threat this year.
Last year, they did manage to secure a draw against top seeds in the group Gentofte of Denmark.
“I think there’s a feeling from the last competition we didn’t impose ourselves enough and, although we got a draw against the top seeds, we could have achieved more,” Ballingall said.
“We now have enough quality, depth and experience that we’ll look to go away and play on the front foot more.
“We always look to add quality whether that opportunity arises mid-season, or ahead of a European competition.
“We’re going through a great time for the club but we don’t want to plateau.”
Preparations for competing on the European stage will soon begin.
“We just finished the season on Sunday and we began pre Champions League prep in July 2022 so it’s been a long season,” explained Ballingall.
“We will take a couple weeks off and get back to it to make sure we’re in the best position possible for going away.
“We will be heading across to Ireland and down to England to play a few high level teams.
“The draw is at the beginning of July so I look forward to seeing where we’re going, who we are facing and building a plan to be as successful as possible.”
