The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-14s were crowned US Youth Futsal national champions on Monday afternoon, defeating Georgia-based Sudamerica Futsal in a thrilling final at New Century Fieldhouse near Gardner, Kansas.
Qualifying for the US Youth Futsal National Championship Series as a Central Regional champion earlier this year, the U-14s notched five consecutive wins over the weekend to claim the national title in impressive fashion.
Sporting kickstarted their tournament campaign with three comfortable victories in the group stage before posting a narrow 5-4 triumph over Alfa Futsal Club, another team from Georgia, in Sunday night’s semifinals. That result set the stage for Monday’s national championship, with Sporting taking full advantage of the opportunity to add to their already illustrious futsal trophy cabinet.
The momentous accomplishment saw Sporting’s U-14 age group go a step further than last year, when they placed second at the 2020 US Youth Futsal National Championship Series.
Sporting KC U-14s: 2021 US Youth Futsal National Champions
- Group Stage: Sporting 4-1 FTA U14 (Friday, July 9)
- Group Stage: Sporting 5-2 TC Sala Boys 2007 (Saturday, July 10)
- Group Stage: Sporting 6-0 Gauchito United FC 2007 (Sunday, July 11)
- Semifinal: Sporting 5-4 Alfa Futsal (Sunday, July 11)
- Championship: Sporting 5-3 Sudamerica Futsal (Monday, July 12)
Sporting KC U-14 Roster
- Hudson Browne
- Leo Christiano
- Alex Cunningham
- Alessandro Cupini
- Carter Derksen
- Tyler Fischer
- Matthew Gerety
- Anthony Jin
- Miguel Lopez
- Johann Ortiz
- Jacob Molinaro
- Zane Wantland
The Sporting KC Academy U-13s nearly secured a second national championship for the club, making an admirable run to the title game and finishing as runners-up. The U-13s ripped through the group stage with three successive wins, outscoring their opponents 38-5 in the process, then claimed a shutout victory over Houston-based Hotshots Futsal in the semifinals. Sporting came up short in a 10-3 decision against South Futsal in the final on Monday afternoon.
Sporting KC U-13s: 2021 US Youth Futsal National Finalists
- Group Stage: Sporting 9-4 Detroit Elite 2008 (Friday, July 9)
- Group Stage: Sporting 10-0 GSS 2008 (Saturday, July 10)
- Group Stage: Sporting 19-1 Malaga City 08 (Sunday, July 11)
- Semifinal: Sporting 5-0 Hotshots 08 Black (Sunday, July 11)
- Championship: Sporting 3-10 South Futsal (Monday, July 12)
Sporting KC U-13 Roster
- Cristiano Delgado
- Berooge Estabine
- Kiernan Gaughan
- Will Gertner
- Ty Haas
- Ramiz Hamouda
- Jaxson Kalinka
- Troy Lor
- Mason McKnight
- Dylan Mirakian
- Robby Schleichardt
- Luke Wright
The Sporting Kansas City U-12s also competed in the event, collecting a win and two losses during a high-scoring group stage. The winner of Sporting’s group, Orange Futsal Academy, went on to hoist the national title.
Sporting KC U-12s: 2021 US Youth Futsal Championship Series Results
- Group Stage: Sporting 10-5 Brusfa 2009 (Friday, July 9)
- Group Stage: Sporting 3-6 Orange Futsal Academy (Saturday, July 10)
- Group Stage: Sporting 7-9 Futsal RVA (Sunday, July 11)
Sporting KC U-12 Roster
- Eman Alicic
- Porter Allen
- Santino Barberena
- Dallas Campbell
- Jesus Enriquez
- Juan Enriquez
- Jack Francka
- Talyn Gates
- Alex Gemeinhardt
- Nicholas Natsvaladz
- Ricardo Solis-Downing
- Dominic Vallencillo
- Joel Ward
- Baron Williams
The US Youth Futsal Championship Series is the country's largest and most prestigious national youth futsal competition, regarded as the sport’s highest level of play in the nation and attracting top players, coaches and scouts from coast to coast.
