Geraldton Junior Soccer Association is taking a big step in the name of inclusivity by upgrading its futsal facilities.

Hosted at the Wonthella Bowling Club, GJSA president Selina Kiddle said the external area was getting a “complete revamp” including new benches and new turf.

Futsal is a variation of soccer with five-a-side teams on a smaller court, but the new facilities will be used for a range of groups, including women’s social soccer and mixed walking soccer.

“We do understand that 11-a-side on a big field is not an option for everybody,” Kiddle said.

“By having this futsal centre, it allows us to bring another form of football to Geraldton, so that small-sided game, which provides more of a tactical requirement, which again, gives us a pathway for players.”

Futsal and training is already happening at the grounds, but the upgrade will make it more accessible for local groups.

The new facilities are made possible due to a loan from local soccer club Olympic FC.

Olympic FC decided to come onboard with the project, after they realised they had a significant amount of cash put aside for change rooms that were now being funded by the State Government.

“Grant wise and things like that, we weren’t able to successfully retrieve that funding,” Kiddle said.

Daniel Lennard, club president of Olympic FC and on the committee for GJSA, predicted the new facility would be very popular.

“It’s about upgrading the turf . . . because the original turf was secondhand from the Hockey Association when they replaced theirs,” he said.

“With the new facility being upgraded to this new turf, where you can wear boots rather than joggers, we’ll make the most of it. We’ll definitely be using it flat out.”

Kiddle said there was a stigma in Geraldton around soccer, but hopefully the accessible nature of the new facilities would help remove that.

“I’m hoping that this football centre will remove that and just allow people to come to more of a social environment, and get introduced to the game, and to have competitive and non-competitive games and structure things that little bit differently; so that we can support people who do just want to play the small side of games or get their confidence up,” she said.

Lennard agreed the project would be a boost for soccer and futsal players in Geraldton.

“Just a good project for Geraldton soccer, and we’re happy to be a part of it, and fortunate enough that we’ve got the funding there, and we think it’s a good investment for it,” he said.

The upgrades are planned to be completed by the end of the year.