Futsal/Indoor Soccer World News
January 2, 2002

News and information on Futsal/Indoor Soccer from around the world


EUROPE

FRENCH COACH NAMES ROSTER FOR FOUR NATIONS CUP IN GREECE
France's Futsal National Team Head Coach James Doyan
announced, on Dec. 23, a 12-player roster for the
upcoming Four Nations Cup in Athens, Greece from Jan.
8-11. Along with France and the host Greece, the
competition tournament will also have Hungary and the
Ukraine. France has not played an international match
since hosting the Futsal Val-de-Marne Cup on Nov. 21-22,
2001, where the squad finished fourth in tournament play,
while Greece is coming off a two-game sweep of Cyprus
last month (Dec. 21-22). The Ukraine hasn't competed
internationally since the early 2001, while Hungary is
fresh off a 3-2 victory over Slovenia on Dec. 14.

France's Roster (Club)
Goalkeepers - Clément Galien (SCE Arlac-Mérignac),
Jean-Pierre Sabani (Issy-les-Moulineaux)
Players - Stépahne Basson (ASF Andrezieux), Nordine
Chergui (ASF Andrezieux), Stéphane Cossart (Saint-Saulve),
Fernando Da Cruz (Canal Sport Roubaix), Mickaël Di
Barbosa (Saint-Saulve), Grégory Ducreux (FC Flers),
Christophe Duponcheel (Canal Sport Roubaix), Frédéric
Duponcheel (Canal Sport Roubaix), Pierrick Le Bert (FC
Lorient), Hichem Sard (Tours FC)

ALFA EKATERINBURG STUNS DINA MOSCOW TO WIN 2001 RUSSIAN FUTSAL CUP
ALFA Ekaterinburg stunned pre-tournament favorite Dina
Moscow FC 4-3 in the finals of the 2001 Russian Futsal
Cup held in Ekaterinburg on Dec. 27. ALFA began the
eight-team tournament with a 2-1 victory over GKI
Gazprom on Dec. 23. After dropping a 3-1 decision to
Dina on Dec. 24, ALFA rebounded the next day (Dec. 25)
and posted a 4-2 victory over Norilsky Nikel. In the
semifinals, ALFA earned a 3-2 win over Viz Sinara on
Dec. 26, and then battled Dina in the finals the
following day.

DINA TIRASPOL TAKES 2001 MOLDAVIAN FUTSAL CUP
Dina Tiraspol topped Memfis Tiraspol 4-3 in the championship
finale of the 2001 Moldavian Futsal Cup at the Sala
Scolii de Handbal in Chisinau on Dec. 23. Prior to
the finals, Dina-T went 4-0 in tournament play, while
outscoring their opponents 20-7. Dina-T opened the
competition with back-to-back victories on Dec. 21,
against Inter (9-1) and Villora (6-0). After posting
a 5-3 victory over National on Dec. 22, Dina-T advanced
to the semifinals the next day (Dec. 23) and defeated
Spartak BS 6-3. Forward Veaceslav Iusiuz of Dina-T
was the tournament's top scorer with 12 tallies.

IRELAND TO STAGE FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Ireland's first-ever Invitational Futsal Tournament will
take place at St. Columbia College in Dublin on Feb. 9,
2002. This one-day event will feature two international
club sides along with Scotland's Futsal National Team
and a split Irish squad (A, B). For more information
check the Futsal Ireland website at www.futsalireland.com.

USA

TICKETS ON SALE FOR MISL ALL-STAR WEEKEND
Tickets for the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)
All-Star Weekend, scheduled for Feb. 15-17, 2002 in
Cleveland, Ohio, went on sale on Dec. 28, 2001. The
MISL All-Star Weekend will be highlighted by the
League's All-Star and Legends Game scheduled for Gund
Arena on Feb. 17, with kick-off time tentatively set
for 1:35 p.m. ET, while pending television broadcast
announcement. The All-Star excitement begins long
before the games at the Gund Arena as two days prior
(Feb. 15), the players will tour area hospitals to
visit children who may not be able to attend a soccer
game this year. At noon, MISL Commissioner Steve Ryan
will introduce the top professional indoor soccer
players in the country to Cleveland and the national
media at an All-Star Press Conference and Luncheon at
the Renaissance Hotel at Public Square in Cleveland.
On Feb. 16, "Super Soccer Saturday" will be held at
the Cleveland Metroplex for the kids and all soccer
families. The day kicks-off with a "Breakfast of
Champions," where all youngsters will have the chance
to mingle and ask questions to their favorite MISL
players. Fans will also have their choice of clinics
hosted by players, interactive games, the autograph
alley, or watching the players during team practices.
The special feature of the day will be the Inaugural
MISL All-Star Skills Competition, where the all-star
players square off against each other, while putting
on an exhibition of skills and technique. The weekend
concludes on Feb. 17, at the Gund Arena with the MISL
All-Star Game and the "Best from the Past" Legend's
Match. Tickets to the All-Star Game are available at
all Ticketmaster locations and via www.Ticketmaster.com,
or by contacting the Cleveland Crunch office at
216-896-1140. For more information on the MISL and
the All-Star weekend check www.misl.net.

U.S. FUTSAL PLAYERS SHINE IN WAVE'S VICTORY OVER HEAT
Four U.S. Futsal National Team Players shined in a
2001-02 MISL match-up as the Milwaukee Wave (11-4)
posted a 17-7 win over the visiting Harrisburg Heat
(6-10) on Dec. 31, 2001. Goalkeeper Victor Nogueira
(16 caps) collected two assists along with 12 saves
for the Wave, while forward Brian Loftin (5 goals, 12
caps) scored twice as defender Glenn Carbonara (3 goals,
12 caps) and forward Todd Dusosky (1 goal, 5 caps) also
added tallies in the victory.

ENGLISH FORWARD LEADS WAVE PAST CRUNCH
English forward Michael King (London, England) recorded
his third consecutive hat trick of the MISL 2001-02 season
and led the Milwaukee Wave (11-4) to a 20-10 road victory
over the Cleveland Crunch (4-11) on Dec. 29. In other
MISL matches, three tallies (hat trick) by forward Danny
Kelly helped the Baltimore Blast (7-8) to a 22-12 victory
over the host Harrisburg Heat (6-10) on Dec. 29, while
the Philadelphia Kixx (10-4) posted a 21-8 win over the
visiting Kansas City Comets (7-9).

BEACH SOCCER

SPAIN NAMES NEW HEAD COACH PRIOR TO 2001 PBST
Former captain Joaquin was named Head Coach of Spain's
Beach Soccer Team just prior to the 2001 Pro Beach Soccer
Tour (PBST) in Lyon, France from Dec. 15-16. Joaquin
replaced Manu Sarabia, who led Spain to the 2001 European
Pro Beach Soccer League Championship. Under Joaquin,
Spain dropped back-to-back matches to Brazil (11-5) and
then Argentina (5-4) to finish fourth at the 2001 PBST
in Lyon. Brazil topped France 8-2 in the finals on Dec.
16, to win the PBST crown.

VIII BEACH SOCCER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TO TAKE PLACE IN BRAZIL
The VIII Beach Soccer World Championships will take place
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from Jan. 13-20, 2002. Eight
nations were divided into two groups of four with the
host Brazil earning the number one seed in Group A,
while the defending champion Portugal took the top spot
in Group B. After the conclusion of round-robin play,
the top two teams from each group will advance to the
semifinals on Jan. 19. The winners will square off for
the championship on Jan. 20, while the semifinal losers
will play in the third-place consolation match earlier
in the day.

VIII Beach Soccer World Championships
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Jan. 13-20, 2002

Group A
Brazil
France
Spain
Thailand

Group B
Portugal
Argentina
Italy
Uruguay

Schedule - Local Time Kickoff

Jan. 13
Brazil vs. Thailand 10:00

Jan. 15
Argentina vs. Italy 17:00
France vs. Spain 18:00
Portugal vs. Uruguay 19:00

Jan. 16
France vs. Thailand 17:00
Portugal vs. Italy 18:00
Brazil vs. Spain 19:00
Argentina vs. Uruguay 20:00

Jan. 17
Spain vs. Thailand 17:00
Portugal vs. Argentina 18:00
Brazil vs. France 19:00
Italy vs. Uruguay 20:00

Jan. 19
Semifinals
1st Group B vs. 2nd Group A 9:00
1st Group A vs. 2nd Group B 10:00

Jan. 20
Third-Place
Semifinal Losers 8:30
Championship
Semifinal Winners 10:00


Information was researched and compiled by Steven Torres,
who is currently the P.R. Coordinator/Futsal Press Officer
at the United States Soccer Federation.

Futsal is a sport that is a derivative of soccer and
played with five-man teams on a basketball style court,
with no walls and a low bouncing ball, unlike the
traditional sport of U.S. indoor soccer played with
six-man squads and walls. Great soccer superstars such
as Pele, Zico, Ronaldo and Diego Maradona grew up playing
the game and credit Futsal with developing their skills.
FUTSAL® is a registered trademark of the United States
Futsal Federation.