Ipswich Futsal have promised to channel the city’s legendary underdog spirit in the inaugural season of the F-League.

The club will carry the hopes of the entire western region as they come up against sides from Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

“We may not be the biggest city, but we have the biggest fight,” said club spokesperson David Blackburn.

“We’re not here just to make up the numbers; we’ve got strong squads in both the men’s and the women’s competition.”

The women’s team will feature local products Georgia Buchanan and Claire Brettell, both of whom have experience in the SEQ Futsal Premier League.

They will be joined by several veterans including goalkeeper Katherine Kirkwood, Shannon Tathem and Annika Coyne.

The women’s side will be coached by Queensland futsal legend Connor George, who plays for Ipswich’s men’s team alongside locals Zayne Freiberg, Phil Wantenaar and Simba Leon Nunda.

“With the men, we’ve got a few guys who have been around for a while such as Zayne and Connor as well as some youngsters coming through,” said Blackburn.

Ipswich Futsal, which is based at Ripley Valley State Secondary College, has grown from one junior team in 2015 to 11 teams including Senior Men’s and Women’s sides in 2021.

“Ipswich Futsal was established to give players in the area an opportunity to play in the biggest leagues and on the biggest stage,” said Blackburn.

“We are trying to represent the west by bringing in home-grown talent. We want as many Ipswich-based players as possible to play for Ipswich.”

While Blackburn admitted that Ipswich Futsal would be “the little brother” of the F-League, he promised both men’s and women’s sides are “in it to win it”.

“The men and women both represented us in the SEQ Premier League last year and got knocked out in the Semi Final, so we’ll try and go one better in the F-League in 2021.”

For more information on the F-League, click here.