The England men’s futsal team, which has been denied any funding by the Football Association, had to pay for their own travel costs to get to their European Championship qualifier against Spain in Loughborough this week, while the Spanish squad stayed three nights in a local four-star hotel.

England players were told there was no money for a hotel before the game or afterwards, and, following the 6-0 defeat by the side ranked second in the world by Fifa, had no option but to drive home. By contrast, the Spanish players stayed nearby at the four-star Burleigh Court for two nights in preparation, and another afterwards, arriving with staff including physios and a doctor.

England players said that the Spain team even had a bus to drive them the mile across the Loughborough campus from their hotel to the playing court at the university’s sports hall. Arriving on Sunday, the Spain team hired the hall at Loughborough to prepare for the game – which was not an option for the England team, even though it was a home fixture. England players trained at a court in Bedfordshire, which was not full-size men’s international standard.

Many of the England men’s futsal players have launched GoFundMe pages to finance their Euros qualifying campaign despite wearing official Nike Three Lions kit adorned with the lucrative sponsors of the English FA – which refuses to give any of its futsal teams a penny in funding.

The England men’s side have had to fund their own training camps and matches

The 6-0 defeat was considered a creditable result against the nation who are seven-time European champions, and two-time World Cup winners. The England men’s side have had to fund their own training camps and matches – with six of the current 14-strong squad, as well as others in the original 20-man party, launching online appeals.

The FA cut to zero its funding of futsal during the Covid pandemic – despite the sport being recognised by Fifa and the responsibility of national governing bodies. Instead, the FA passed the delivery and development of the game to a privately owned company, England Futsal [EF], which has told the players they have to fund qualifying campaigns and training camps.

The FA did not mention the men’s game against Spain, the team’s third Euro 2026 qualifier, on its website or any of its social media feeds. By contrast, the FA’s Spanish counterpart, the RFEF, has its own dedicated men’s team’s feed, on X, for its men’s futsal team, with 2.8 million followers. It carried videos and reports from the match. The Spanish team are all professionals who can earn as much as €500,000 (£416,000) annually with their clubs.

It is understood that EF has a deal with the FA and Nike to buy kit and warm-up gear that, as per the FA’s football teams, comes adorned with the logos of major FA commercial partners, such as telecoms giant EE and Chase Bank. These are crucial revenue streams for the governing body, although none of it finds its way to the men’s or women’s futsal teams. England are ranked 61st in the world by Fifa, one place behind the Solomon Islands.

The crowd of 919 was a full house for the small Loughborough venue. EF could not afford to underwrite the costs of a bigger indoor venue, like the Copper Box Arena on the 2012 Olympic Stadium site in Stratford, east London. Before travelling, Spain’s team prepared for the game at the RFEF headquarters at Las Rozas in Madrid. The England futsal teams are not permitted to use the English equivalent St George’s Park, which was built with a futsal hall.

England futsal player Fraser Corden, who played against Spain, said on his GoFundMe page that the FA’s decision to cut funding in 2020 meant that he missed out on representing England Under-19s. “I have worked tirelessly in the hope that the national team will return again. Now that I have this opportunity, your support is needed to make this happen.”

It is understood that the players have been asked by EF for around £400 for up to six training camps, although many have donation targets much greater than that on their GoFundMe pages. The players have associated travel and accommodation costs – as well as time away from work – to play the six qualifiers home and away. All of them represent amateur futsal clubs in England. Before Spain, the England men’s team lost their first Euro 2026 qualifier to Bosnia-Herzegovina 5-1, but beat Switzerland in their next game by the same scoreline.

The lack of funding is in stark contrast to Spain, where the RFEF said in its latest financial results that it allocated €4.3 million of funding to men’s clubs in the two top divisions of the game, and a further €1.32 million for the women’s game. The FA’s last annual funding package for futsal totalled £900,000. The Spain women’s team have won all three Euros since the tournament began in 2019. They have never finished outside the top four in the women’s futsal world championship, twice reaching the final.

Futsal is credited with developing the skills of some of the world’s best players and pre-2020 was a key part of the FA’s strategy to develop the game with a dedicated programme, “Fast Forward with Futsal”. The deal to contract out the sport to EF was agreed in 2022 after the funding cut. EF is privately owned by Michael Skubala, the current manager of League One side Lincoln City.

The England women’s senior futsal team faced similar financial challenges to the men ahead of  World Cup qualifiers last year, as Telegraph Sport revealed in October. The players had to fund essentials such as heart-screening and hold-luggage fees for their budget airline flight to Moldova for the Uefa tournament that would decide World Cup qualification. There was a small grant from Uefa for teams to cover accommodation, meals and transfers.

EF declined to comment. The English FA referred to statements it has made in the past about its funding decisions on futsal.