It's been a year of football and futsal highlights across our region and across the country.

We'll all have our favourite moments, from grassroots to global events, that will stay with us as we move into a new year.

An obvious highlight was the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the matches hosted in Hamilton, and the associated events across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. The real worth and, hopefully, legacy of the world cup for our region will be played out over the years to come.

Futsal continues to grow, and a fine year for the sport was capped off with the recent success of our region's age group teams at the 2023 Youth Futsal Championships. Well done to everyone involved.

Thank you to everyone who played their part, big or small, in this wonderful sport of ours - players, coaches, referees, families, sponsors and fans.

The WaiBOP office will be closed from Friday December 22, and we'll be back on deck on Monday January 15.

Have fun over the Christmas/New Year holiday period, enjoy your time with friends and family, and we'll see you in 2024. Take care.