Today see's the 3rd week of the FA Futsal Leagues with some pre-tournament favourites already hitting the front.

We have a full set of fixtures in the South today with FCF Corinthians FC taking on Futbol Sala Northaw, both teams so far have 1 defeat from the solitary game they have played. Baltic Futsal Club take on Helvecia Futsal, Baltic won their first game with Helvecia having yet to play. Vaughans FC open their campaign against Kickers Futsal who have won 1 and lost 1 of their opening 2 games. Finally White Bear Futsal Club take on Maidstone United FC, White Bear, although early days, sit atop of the table with 2 wins from 2 and Maidstone prop up the table from 1 game and -25 goal difference.

In the North they have two weeks off with NO fixtures now until Sunday 6th April.

In the Midlands Conference we only have one fixture today with Preston taking on Team Bath. Neither side have played a game yet, although Preston were supposed to play The New Saints on the opening weekend only to see it called off.

The North will be a Tranmere walk over, the other teams will cut each other up to their advantage. Standard of play in North is being compromised by facilities available, Ponds Forge, the badminton hall at EIS, Hillsborough Leisure Centre are all small pitches with a zero tolerance run off zones. Accidents waiting to happen one suspects. Middlesbrough has a home pitch that is nick named 'The Penny Black' it's so small. I am told when a defender is asked to drop 5 meters at a corner he is stood on back Lack of facilities was highlighted as going to hold futsal back in the short term, certainly a problem in the North.

Its a fair point, but the pitches all come within the sizes allowed by the rules. If the FA weren't happy with the pitches they should have organised other alternatives. But as everything was in order it didn't really need to. The badmington courts at the EIS is used at the FA Futsal Cup so why not for some league games? And the pitch at hillsborough is marked out before games and its a fair size.

The Middlesbrough pitch is small, but they use it everyweek and asked the FA to use it for home games, if that gives them an advantage over visiting teams that obviously a good move by them using it to their advantage. A number of good teams have been up to middlesbrough and not complained about the pitch size, just got on with the game, if its within the limits there is no grounds to complain.

You may say futsal in the north will be held back, but at the moment it seems the best organised out of the 3 regional leagues, both on the administration side and actually getting full sets of fixtures played.

It will be far from a Tranmere walkover in the north, Manchester look good, Grimsby are strong and Boro have already beaten all three of those teams this season. Can't write off Hull either, despite a bad start. It's a very even league, there will be no stupid results like 26-1 in the south, which shows a lack of quality in that league... the midlands will also surely be an ipswich walkover... That and the point that 4ndy made and the midlands leagues and south leagues aren't even up to date a week after their last results! It's a national championship it should be up to date at the latest the morning after matches have been played!

People talk about facilities, and yeah they are holding futsal back, but what can we do? Wait for 10 years until there are 20 futsal arenas built before starting a futsal league?? Futsal can be played almost anywhere, that's the beauty of it.

Boro's pitch is 1m shorter either side than an international futsal pitch - it's 16 metres wide, whereas an international game can be played on a pitch 18 m wide. I don't see the problem with that??

Run offs? The english in general are too stuck up on health and safety, 1m around the pitch is plenty of space and I don't know any pitches where there is any less.

People just want to play, let's let them play and enjoy the game!

Its great to see the league off and running, but the comments re the pitches I cannot support. This a National tournament, you access the pitches before you start. No team ever preferred playing in the 'badminton hall' at EIS. Yes as a nation we are forever tutored about 'health and safety;' sometimes health and safety needs to recognised in our own interests.

Aslong as the pitches fall within the regulation sizes then people can't complain. If the regulations got changed different venues would have to be used. I'm sure at the EIS the badmington hall is probably last pick of pitch for every team but its the pitch that has been allocated and its the same for both sides