An indoor soccer team has become national champions, after a chaotic run-up to the season that saw the club’s owner resign!

London Helvecia – including their Kent contingent – ​​defeated Bolton 10-4 in the final of the Women Super Series Tier 1 play-offs.

Emma Tune, founder of Tune Into Futsal in Ashford and part of the London Helvecia women’s team, said: “At the start of the season we weren’t in a great position.

“Four days before the start of the season the owner left and we were a bit in limbo.

“The Helvecia men’s team eventually went bankrupt, but we were able to continue, with the girls paying their dues.

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“Last year we held a fundraiser and found some sponsors.

“It’s clear that we’ll be in a similar situation this season. In terms of play, we didn’t do so well at the beginning of the season because there were a lot of changes and stuff.

“Then our head coach, Enrique Guillen, who we had the previous season when we reached the final, came back on board around November.

“He helped us a lot with sponsors and things like that.

“We then went on unbeaten after he came back. We finished second in the league, qualified for the play-offs and reached the cup final.

“But in the end we had to play Birmingham four times in one month from the beginning of May!

“We played them in our last league game, we even got them into the play-off semi-finals, and we won all three of those games to qualify for the grand final. But we lost the cup final to them.

“I think that gave us a bit of courage for the final, because we actually deserved something from the season. In the final we played Bolton and we won 10-4. That was on TNT Sport.

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“I don’t know the exact numbers, but we got an email the other day and it was the most watched indoor soccer match, even among the men’s matches, so that was quite interesting.

“It was a really good end to the season.”

Charlotte Gurr, her Tune and Tune Into Futsal colleague, has attended training camps for the new England women’s team, as has goalkeeper Alicia Tune, Emma’s younger sister.

Sasha Adamson (5), Larissa Viera (3), Carla Muriel and Natalia Dubek scored against Bolton, with the play-off final being broadcast live.

“It was all good,” Tune said. “We had been on TNT before, they had done a couple of games.

“But it is an extra boost for many players, because you know that people are watching. You want to play well and show what indoor football is all about.”

However, rising costs mean the women’s team needs more financial support for the new season, so a fundraising event will be held at the Stour Centre in Ashford on Sunday 4th August.

Tune said: “Hopefully we’ll get a fair number of people out there, including new people who don’t really know what indoor football is.

“We’re just trying to spread the word and raise some money for the season. If we can do that, that’s good.

“Financially I think it’s very difficult for clubs at the moment, with rising costs and things like that.

“Because it’s a national competition, some of the games are quite far away. A lot of them, especially for us who live here, it’s a long way.

“A lot of these are sleepovers and those are quite expensive.

“But it is clear that we are performing well on the pitch.

“We just have to make sure we get the support we need so we can continue to perform and hopefully have another successful season.”

Indoor soccer is a sport that the Tune family is particularly fond of.

Emma noted: “I’ve been playing for a number of years.

“Alicia is only 20, so she’s kind of grown up with it. She went through the youth departments and has continued with it ever since.

“When she was 16, she started playing for Helvecia.

“She’s doing very well, that’s good.”

Tune hopes the introduction of an English women’s futsal team will further increase interest in the sport.

She said: “I think it will definitely happen, especially with the World Cup qualifiers coming up in October. There will be quite a bit around that topic.

“For young players breaking through, it’s a way to work towards something.”