New Zealand Team for 2026 World University Futsal Championship Named

UTSNZ is proud to celebrate the student-athletes selected in the New Zealand squad for the 2026 FISU World University Futsal Championship, to be held in Warsaw, Poland from 28 June – 9 July 2026.

The team was selected by New Zealand Football following national identification and selection processes involving players from across the country’s university and futsal communities.

The World University Championship is one of the premier international university sporting events, bringing together elite student-athletes from around the globe to compete at the highest level while representing both their country and their tertiary institutions.

Selection in the national squad recognises the outstanding commitment, talent, and perseverance of these players, who have excelled through university and domestic futsal competitions across New Zealand.

New Zealand Men’s Squad for 2026 FISU World University Championship:

AJ Hale, Victoria University of Wellington

Ben Cameron, University of Canterbury*

Casey Sharplin, University of Waikato*

Charlie Bayly, University of Canterbury

Cooper Wink, University of Otago*

Daniel Steffert, University of Canterbury

Dominic Hawkins, University of Otago

Freeman Yu, Victoria University of Wellington

George Dixon, University of Waikato

George Willett, University of Otago

Kyaw Mya, University of Auckland

Liam Percy-Fysh, Massey University*

Luca Barclay, Victoria University of Wellington

Mark Zimmerman, University of Canterbury*

* Indicates capped Futsal White

This campaign has only been made possible through the dedication and resilience of the men’s programme, with players, staff, and supporters committing significant time and effort to overcome challenging financial circumstances in order to ensure New Zealand can be represented on the world stage.

UTSNZ acknowledges the hard work undertaken behind the scenes to make the campaign viable and applauds the commitment shown by everyone involved in supporting university futsal in Aotearoa.

Unfortunately, despite strong interest and ongoing efforts, New Zealand will not be sending a women’s team to the 2026 championship. Financial and logistical challenges ultimately made it unfeasible to support a women’s campaign for this event cycle.

UTSNZ remains committed to growing opportunities for women in university futsal and hopes to see a women’s team represented at future international university championships.

UTSNZ Executive Director, Sarah Anderson said the selection was a significant achievement for both the athletes and university sport in New Zealand.

“To represent New Zealand at a world university championship is an incredible honour and we are proud to see them on the international stage. We also acknowledge the considerable commitment made by the men’s programme to make this campaign possible under difficult circumstances.”

The Futsal 2026 FISU World University Championship Men’s competition will feature hosts Poland, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechia, Finland, France, Georgia, Israel, Saudia Arabia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, USA and Aotearoa New Zealand showcasing some of the best university futsal talent internationally.

The matches will be livestreamed by FISU on FISU.TV.

UTSNZ wishes the team every success as preparations continue ahead of the championship in Poland next year.

Read the New Zealand Football announcement here.

For more information on the 2026 FISU World University Futsal Championship, visit the official event website:
https://futsal2026.fisu.net/