Courtesy: Solomon Star News

Our Futsal skills match Brazilians

Wednesday, 07 April 2010

The visiting Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Win In Oceania (WIO) Futsal Project Manager says local Fustal players posses skills and techniques like the Brazillians.

Scott Gilligan made the comments after witnessing the recent Futsal championship last week.

And he was very impressed with the level of skill displayed by players in the recent Our Telekom National Futsal Championship held in Honiara.

Gilligan through the competition observed all the players during the matches while assisting the National team selection panel during the championship.

“Skill level and technique wise you are comparable with the Brazilians. Players here are far ahead of other countries in the region I have been to,” Gilligan said.

Gilligan also praised the agility and flexibility of local players saying that he is amazed that very few players slipped even though the matches were played on grass courts and that no major injuries occurred during the competition.

Gilligan made particular mention of Gabriel Bosi, a LEARN&play Project student who played for Auki in the Our Telekom National Futsal Championship.

While Gilligan was generous with his praise he also pointed out some areas in which local teams and players will need to address.

One of the main areas of concern, Gilligan said, was the tendency of players tended to hold on to the ball for longer than is necessary.

“This is okay here but at the top level the norm is 2 – 3 touches,” Gilligan said.

“Holding on to the ball is not wrong but the important thing is knowing when to do it and when not to do it.”

Goalkeeping is another area that was mentioned by Gilligan which required more attention.

Asked what would be the 3 immediate steps to bring futsal forward in Solomon Islands Gilligan said the first focus should be the development of an international level futsal pitch.

This should be followed with education programs for provincial football association to bring in the talent that exists in the provinces.

The first 2 steps should be complemented with national competitions like the one that was held. Competitions should also be expanded to include women and different age groups.

Gilligan has extensive experience both as a futsal coach and player.

He represented Australia in the FIFA Futsal World Cup as a player and later on coached the Australian national men’s and women’s team.

As the OFC WIO Futsal Project Manager, Gilligan is tasked with ensuring that futsal is developed to new heights over the next 3 years in the Oceania region.



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