Funiño inspires youth football in Kisdorf, but children miss the goalkeeper!

Funiño inspires youth football in Kisdorf, but children miss the goalkeeper!

On July 8, 2025, the SSC Phoenix Kisdorf hosted the 48th youth tournament, which took place for the 16th time under the title Toyota G&S Automobile Cup. Particular attention was paid to the Funiño form of play, which has been practiced by the youngest soccer players for three years. The German Football Association (DFB) has made this form mandatory for kindergarten and primary school children in order to promote fun and enthusiasm for football. Trainer Henriette Hilbert explains why Funiño is so popular: “It combines fun and team spirit, even if the team spirit is often only developed at E-junior age.”

Funiño is an exciting small-sided game with Spanish roots that involves teams of three against three or four against four players scoring four goals. The special feature here is that the children play without a goalkeeper and goals can only be scored from a specially defined “shooting zone”. However, there is a small flaw in this: many young footballers would like to score, which leads to a certain level of resentment. “One point of criticism remains the lack of a goalkeeper,” continued Hilbert, “as some children expressed the desire to be in goal.”

Reform in children's football

The introduction of Funiño is part of a comprehensive reform of German children's football that has been underway for more than two decades. Helmut Schulte, former Bundesliga coach and current head of the youth department at FC Schalke, has been campaigning for such reforms for a long time. With the vision of Horst Wein, who developed the Funiño concept, a new way of playing football was made possible. Schulte describes the change as a “revelation” and helped the DFB introduce such formats. From the coming season, these reforms will now also be mandatory for the G and F youths as well as the first E youth in order to bind the children more closely to football and promote technical skills.

However, a challenge remains. While the enjoyment of the game increases, critics like Hans-Joachim Watzke expressed concerns. Watzke warns that without experiencing losses, the children could have difficulty competing in the future. In contrast, the DFB aims to use these changes to create a long-term bond with the clubs and to increase the players' technical level.

Popularity of Funiño in the region

Funiño is becoming increasingly popular in the region, as the district football association in the Duchy of Lauenburg proves. Children's expressions indicate great enthusiasm as Funiño encourages team play and passing. Coaches like Michael Heinrich from Ratzeburger SV even report successes for younger teams against older teams. In addition to Schleswig-Holstein, numerous children in federal states such as Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Bremen have already had their experiences with Funiño, while in Lübeck challenges such as a lack of funds for suitable gates and a high number of carers are mentioned.

Leon Ries, DFB department head, has an eye on establishing Funiño nationwide. The previously announced campaign to support the introduction is intended to help clubs with implementation and was also supported by the DFB's team point app.

What the future holds remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Funiño will have a lasting impact on children's football in Germany and will help more children stay involved in the game with joy and fun. The new structural changes could pave the way to a more talented and happier generation of football players.

For further information about the background and the planned reforms in children's football, we refer to kn-online, Sportschau and Deutschlandfunk Kultur.