Courtesy: OFC


‘Kurukuru’ set sights on futsal title

With two weeks to go until the OFC Futsal Championship Fiji 2009, defending champions Solomon Islands have stepped up preparations in their bid to secure back-to-back victories at the prestigious event.

The round-robin competition involving Fiji, New Caledonia, the Kurukuru from Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, is set to take place from 6-10 July at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji.

Solomon Islands will go into the championship as hot favourites with 11 of their 12 squad members being part of the 2008 winning team that went on to represent Oceania at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil last year.

Recently appointed head coach Dickson Kadau says his players have undergone intensive training in recent weeks.

“We train six days a week and the focus areas in our sessions are mainly on speed, strength and the team’s defense,” said Kadau.

The Kurukuru side has also received a huge boost from Scott Gilligan, ‘Win in Oceania’ Project Manager for Futsal, who has spent time in the Solomon Islands this month working closely with the team.

“The boys have improved a lot from where they were during the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil,” said the former Australian futsal international who has also coached the Australia national men’s side.

“When I came to Honiara early this year for a futsal coaching course under the ‘Win in Oceania’ development programme, I left a training plan with them and what I’ve seen is incredible progress.”

The OFC Futsal Championship Fiji 2009 marks the sixth time Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has staged the event. Since its inception in 1992, the championships have been held every four years as part of the qualification process for the FIFA Futsal World Cup tournaments.

Fiji 2009 marks the first year of the new annual format for the championship which shows OFC’s commitment to developing futsal by providing regular competition for Oceania’s top teams.

The popularity of futsal – an indoor form of football played with five players per side and a weighted ball – continues to grow throughout the region as a number of OFC’s eleven member associations start to develop domestic competitions to support the game.








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