Courtesy: Budapest Times


Futsal championship this week

by Dan Nolan

Monday, 18 January 2010

The Papp László Aréna hosts the UEFA Futsal Championship this week. Although futsal (derived from the Portuguese futebol de salão, or hall football) was originally created as a version of soccer for competition in YMCAs, this five-a-side, indoor variant of association football could just as easily have been invented for the Hungarian winter.

Hungary will kick off in the first game of the tournament on Tuesday 19th January against Azerbaijan. In their only previous appearance in a futsal tournament, this year’s hosts lost all three games in 2005, but coach and professional art historian Mihály Kozma, has remained in charge ever since, and led the team through an intense series friendlies in the last month, including three meetings with world champions Brazil and also to victory against Croatia and Poland. Hungary’s futsal team have reportedly also been given tips how to play before a big crowd by concert pianist Ádám György, who will perform at the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

Futsal is played with a smaller and less bouncy ball, making for a more creative, skillful and improvisational game. Newcomers to this exciting football variant should expect lots of close control, short passing and, most importantly of all, a lot more goals than in the association version.

The ticket
The UEFA Futsal Championship kicks off at the Papp László Arena, 2 Stefánia út, District XIV. Tickets for group and quarter final matches HUF 900-2,700. More information on fixtures and tickets available


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