Courtesy:
Wentworth CourierFootball action moves indoors09 May 10by
Rob BatesMany football coaches warn their team away from playing futsal for fear of injury but the organiser of a new Eastern Suburbs competition, Gareth Naar, said underestimating its value was a big mistake.
“Most football coaches don’t understand the benefits of futsal in terms of development,” Mr Naar said.
“The best outdoor nations in the world like Brazil, Spain and Italy all start with the smaller form of the game and are also the best futsal countries in the world, so there is a connection there.”
Like other forms of indoor football, futsal is played on a small, hard and usually indoor surface, but unlike other variants of the game the walls and ceilings are not included.
If a ball hits either, the game must stop and be restarted with a kick-in.
Mr Naar said the popularity of futsal had risen exponentially along with outdoor football in this country, but the Eastern Suburbs had never had a dedicated club until now. “We noticed there was a big hole for it in the Eastern Suburbs; the closest we have is a winter league in Glebe and another in Mascot,” he said.
“When it comes to Rose Bay, Vaucluse and Bondi there wasn’t anything for the guys, so we decided to start Sydney 5s Futsal.”
Mr Naar said futsal was also ideal for people who had never played any form of the game or who didn’t have the time to commit to a full season of outdoor.
“If you’ve never played before the idea of standing outside in the cold with 11 per side and getting to touch the ball two or three times might not be that appealing,” he said.
“Futsal is more like basketball. Games last for 35 minutes, they’re super fast, everyone’s always involved and goals are scored aplenty at every level.”
He said as a new local competition, Sydney 5s Futsal would start at a social level and was a great way to get some exercise and try something new.
For more information or to sign up visit http://www.sydney5ives.com.
Posted by
Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
