Arrowsmith says a strong performance at Futsal Asian Cup important for sports growth in Australia

As one of the inaugural representatives of the Australian Women’s National Futsal Team, Daisy Arrowsmith understands the honour bestowed upon her and her team-mates.

Arrowsmith was named in December 2024 as one of the 14 players heading to Uzbekistan for the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers held in January, a tournament where Australia finished undefeated to qualify for the Asian Cup in its first ever outing as a national team.

“Being a part of the first ever national women’s futsal team in Australia was an absolute honour. It’s something that everyone has been dreaming of for such a long time and for this team to become a reality. It was so exciting that it’s finally eventuated,” she said.

Arrowsmith went into that tournament off the back of a NSW Premier League season for UTS Northside, which later saw her named the Open Women’s player of the year, as well as winning the competitions golden boot.

She said it was not an achievement based just on her and her skills, but the entire team and coaching staff at the club.

“At UTS, we’re extremely lucky to have coaches like George Lethbridge and Grant Lynch, who are working with our women’s team and implementing all these principles and tactics which we’ve been learning with the national team here and the exposure to the finer details of the game in that sort of club setting where there’s not as much pressure,” Arrowsmith said.

“It was so invaluable to be in an environment where I can play competitively, but also just really freely and with enjoyment. So it’s really helped to prepare me for this next step, playing international futsal.”

One of her team-mates at UTS Northside and in the national team is Alexia Karrys-Stahl, with the two also playing together at Manly United before Karrys-Stahl made the move to the Illawarra Stingrays for the 2025 NPL Women’s NSW season.

Reflecting on the connection the two have together having spent so much time playing together, Arrowsmith said it helped make coming into the squad easier and the transition becomes quite seamless..

“I know what she’s going to do. She knows what I’m going to do without having to communicate it.”

“Those connections go a long way in an environment like this where we don’t get to spend much time preparing together.”

The side now finds itself midway through the Asian Cup campaign in a must-win situation, having lost their opening two games to China and Uzbekistan, leaving their final group stage game against Chinese Taipei as a must-win to advance as one of the best third place teams, and it will require a hefty margin to do so, with goal difference currently working against the Aussies.

In training ahead of the game, the side worked heavily on their fifth player scenarios both in attack and defence, knowing that it could be the difference between winning and losing as it was in the game against Uzbekistan, where the side was down two goals and playing with their keeper in the attacking half of the court for most of the last five minutes.

If the Australians can find a way through to the knock-out stages, it would help them to keep their goal of performing well at the Asian Cup alive, and qualifying for the first women’s Futsal World Cup later in the year, with the Asian Cup doubling as World Cup qualification.

Arrowsmith said the team are aiming to keep their campaign alive to become something that is inspiring, realistic, and achievable for the young girls who are playing futsal around Australia.

“The team all want to be role models both on and off the field to give these young people someone to aspire to be and a sense of what it would be like to play for the national team.”

The importance of performing well at the Asian Cup could also have another impact for futsal in Australia.

Right now, futsal is primarily played at the competitive level in the outdoor off-season over summer, while the A-Leagues are running, which also impacts player availability.

Arrowsmith believes that in order to help put futsal on the map in Australia, and help trigger more investment in the sport from the likes of Football Australia, a strong performance at the Asian Cup is a must.

“Futsal deserves a full-time program and a full-time competitive league,” she said.

“If Australia can put together or aim to put together a competitive league, it will definitely grow the sport.

“You can already see the impact of the national team already on the young players and the young girls that are back at everyone’s clubs going, ‘Oh wow. I know these girls and they’re playing for Australia, and that’s something that I could do as well.’

“So I think it’s really important to just make that dream something that can be realistic for these young girls.”

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Following the Asian Cup, Arrowsmith will return to her NPL side Manly United, who sit second on the table after nine rounds with just one loss.

The side has retained a majority of its squad from last season, and Arrowsmith credits coach Tom Hopley with that, as well as making additions to help strengthen the team.

What she considers crucial to the teams success so far is the effort off the ball, being disciplined in defence, and taking their chances on goal, as well as the big squad, which is producing a competitive environment.

“We’re constantly pushing one another to get better. But while it’s competitive, the girls all get on so well, which is a testament to the majority of them coming through the youth league system and the fantastic culture that starts from SAP.

“Everyone really backs each other and it’s a supportive environment.”