Courtesy: Canberra Times


Player drain hurting sport: coach

By Chris Dutton

8/01/2009

ACT coach Vanh Manthongsy dreams of a women's Futsal World Cup but admits right now it is just that a dream.
Manthongsy led the open women's team, the Cobras, to their second victory in as many matches at the national futsal championships against Victoria yesterday.

The 35-year-old has been playing the indoor game for almost 20 years and said the lack of a national team meant potential stars were signing up for outdoor soccer.

When Manthongsy played at previous national championships there had been tri-nation play-offs between Australia, England and Russia.

However, an Australian women's team has not suited up against international opponents since 2005.

''Nothing like that [the tri-nations] has ever happened again and we're going back 10 or 15 years,'' Manthongsy said.

''We do lose a lot of players to the outdoor game because when they hit 16 there's junior Matildas and training squads.

''They all start playing futsal but when they hit a certain age ... they've really got nothing to keep them in the game of futsal so they move on. There are so many talented girls out there that would thrive on international futsal.''

Vanh and teammates from Canberra and Sydney toured Spain last year as a representative team from ACT Futsal.

The coach hoped aspiring players would have the same opportunity in future years.


Manthongsy has been planning the Cobras' assault on this week's championship for the last three months. They are undefeated after the opening two matches and sit equal first on the ladder.

TODAY

National futsal championships, day three, at venues around Canberra from 8.30am to 9pm.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com