Courtesy: The Manly daily


Futsal supremo calls for priorities rethink

4 Mar 10

by Andrew Prentice

STEVEN Knight is the first to admit he doesn’t have the profile of Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek.

But the Davidson resident still has a decent standing in soccer circles in Australia - he’s the national futsal coach.

Knight is a firm believer in the five-a-side version of the world game, but believes attitudes have to change if the growing sport is to develop Down Under.

“At the moment the general opinion (about futsal) is that it is a good way for players to hone their skills over summer,” he said.

“If you look at countries like Brazil and Spain, the young kids learn the fundamentals of soccer playing futsal ... we need to follow that system.

“With Football Federation Australia now on board that should happen - it is a good time to be involved.”

Knight took over as national coach last November and his first job was leading the Australian squad to Indonesia in an attempt to qualify for the Asian Football Confederation tournament to be hosted in Uzbekistan in May.

“I was happy with how we went, our primary goal was to win the tournament and we managed to do that,” he said.

“It was a great experience for the squad ... it showed them they can compete on the world stage.

“Now we can look forward to what should be a very challenging tournament against Asia’s best.”

Having coached the likes of Nick Carle and Sydney FC Youth League striker Hussein Akil, futsal’s biggest downfall is losing its elite players to state and national outdoor squads.

“The National Youth League teams are littered with players with futsal backgrounds,” he said.

“I can see the dilemma they face ... if these big clubs come calling and offer them security via a contract they would be foolish to give it up.

“As soon as they sign their contracts it states they can’t play elsewhere so instantly our hands our tied. I would like to see a situation where both soccer parties work together so the player concerned has options from a young age.”


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