Courtesy: New Zealand FA Official Web Site


New Zealand Futsal team named

June 7, 2010

AUCKLAND - New Zealand Football has named a 12 man national futsal squad for the upcoming OFC Futsal Championships, to be held in Suva, Fiji, from 7-14 August 2010.

The first Futsalwhites squad named since 2008 features eight new caps, with six representatives from Auckland, five from Wellington and one from Hawke’s Bay.

New Zealand Football Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne said the Futsalwhites were selected after a series of regional trials and training camps conducted by Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) ‘Win in Oceania’ Futsal Project Manager, Scott Gilligan.

“It’s definitely a young and exciting team and it heralds a new beginning for Futsal under New Zealand Football. We’re delighted with the quality of the players and really impressed with their desire and commitment to learn,” said Payne.

Payne said competing in the annual OFC Futsal Championships was a tough assignment for the newly assembled New Zealand team, which finished fourth the last time it competed two years ago.

“In selecting this side we definitely have one eye on the future, as we know we are up against a number of powerful, more experienced teams.

“Although we are looking to progress as far as possible in this tournament, the major focus of this campaign is to gain experience and build the momentum that will benefit us in next year’s OFC Championship - the qualifying tournament for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand,” said Payne.

The team’s weekly training sessions with regional squads will be accentuated by a week-long high performance training camp in Auckland between in July.

The Futsalwhites’ first appearance will be as a guest team at the upcoming NZF-Futsal Men’s Open hosted by East City Futsal Club at ASB Stadium in Auckland from July 31 to August 1.

Futsal, the only FIFA approved indoor version of football, was recently incorporated into New Zealand Football, and OFC’s Gilligan was impressed with both the standard of players and the recent developments.

“I recognise that Futsal in NZ is still in its infancy even though it has been here for nearly 25 years. It will only blossom from here under the guidance of NZF and Dave Payne”, said Gilligan.

“The game in general will greatly improve with the talk of introducing Futsal into the school system throughout the country by next year. If this comes to fruition then Futsal in New Zealand will explode. Of course the other important initiative is the inaugural National League that will commence at the end of this year and will attract even better players who wish to play at the highest level. So the future is bright for Futsal in New Zealand.”

New Zealand’s opening match is against current OFC Champions and 2008 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Solomon Islands on 8 August.

New Zealand Futsal Team

Goalkeepers
Elias Billeh (East City Auckland)
Clayton Chapell (East City Auckland)

Field Players
Ouadhah Ragued (East City Auckland)
Marvin Eakins (East City Auckland)
Miro Major (East City Auckland)
Dylan Manickum (East City Auckland)
Lucas Cordeiro Osorio Da Silva (Capital City Futsal Wellington)
Miroslav Malivuk (Capital City Futsal Wellington)
Mohammed Said Solimanpour (Capital City Futsal Wellington)
Issac O’Hara (Capital City Futsal Wellington)
Khalid Razouk (Capital City Futsal Wellington)
Brayden Lissington (HB Futsal Hawke’s Bay)



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