This interview was conducted by Warren Olson for Friends of Football NZ.

I recently had a chat with Sarah Alder, Futsal Fern and Captain of the Capital Futsal women's team who have won all 6 games played to date in this year's Ford Futsal Super-league. An impressive stat that Sarah chalked up along with friend and teammate Fran Grange was that they both notched up their 50th game for Capital at the recent Christchurch series.

I posed these questions to her:

Firstly congratulations to you and Fran on achieving a milestone 50 Ford Futsal SuperLeague games, a great effort allowing you to often only play 8 or 9 games a year and in fact one year I think Capital wasn't even represented at the Nationals. What's been the highlight for you over that time and do you feel that at that top level New Zealand Women's Futsal has continued to get stronger over the years?

Thank you! It is crazy to think that myself and Fran have played fifty times for Capital. I think the main highlight would have to be winning the competition last year – I feel like since the start of playing in the competition we have slowly been building and developing the team. The last few years we have been competing near the top but never quite being able to pull it all together until last year which was super rewarding. I think women’s futsal has definitely developed over the past few years – there is a lot of young talent coming through all over the country which is exciting to see, it makes the Ford Super-league more competitive and keeps pushing the quality of futsal higher.

Capital coach Finn Gaupset often employs the ‘Russian Change’ or 4-player rotation which appears to be working well for you - you must be confident in the depth of the squad and the ability of the young players you've bought in to use this tactic –

Looking at our squad we do have a lot of depth. I think it must be hard for Finn in each series to pick the team as there are some players missing out who do have the talent to be picked. I am confident in whoever is on the court, whether they are a senior player or a player making their debut. The younger players bring a lot to our squad, most of them have grown up playing futsal and they aren’t afraid to show off their skill and knowledge on the court which is great as it pushes us older ones to keep a high standard at all times.

From what I've seen this year, you're playing as well if not better than ever; a four-goal bag to celebrate your 50th game and you were only on the court for a few short spells. What do you put your form and motivation down to? Does an upcoming FIFA Futsal World Cup have something to do with it?

The upcoming FIFA Futsal World Cup is definitely at the back of my mind! It is a major source of motivation for me since the team qualified last year. I would also have to say I am really enjoying playing and having fun with my team on the court. Finn allows us all to feel like we can do whatever we want on the court, he wants us to play with freedom which I think the team has really thrived off.

And finally, for those who make it to Wellington's Ākau Tangi Sports Centre this weekend - or catch the games on FIFA live, what can they expect to see from the Capital Women's Futsal squad and more importantly with the playoffs looming, can you maintain your spot at the top of the ladder?

I think those watching can expect to see some exciting futsal from Capital. We’re always looking to keep building on our past performances. Of course, we are hoping to maintain our spot at the top of the table but we know there’ll be tough matches against top-quality sides who will make us work for the three points.

Thanks for taking the time to pass on some insights Sarah, I know you are a great inspiration to all the Capital girls, not just the current squad but those youngsters who you regularly coach at the age group Nationals. All the best for the weekend and going forward, looking forward to seeing you shine in the Philippines!

 

50 game Capital futsal teammates Sarah Alder and Fran Grange.
(also teammates at Wellington United when they won the 2021 Kate Shepherd cup)
 

Article added: Thursday 13 March 2025