Courtesy: The AFC.com


Take advantage of futsal's popularity: Soosay

Thursday, 21 October 2010

Kuala Lumpur: AFC General Secretary Alex Soosay has advised the participants of the AFC Elite Futsal Coaching Instructors Course here to take advantage of the opportunities to develop themselves as the game has been steadily gaining popularity in Asia.

He said many Asian countries were emerging as a force to reckon with, promising an exciting futsal arena not only among the Member Associations but also clubs.

“We started our futsal championship with only 10 teams but now, there are over 20 teams participating, which is a fantastic testimony to the development of futsal.

“And now there is another stage, the clubs championship, which is gaining momentum.

“Iran is doing well the in the international and clubs championships. Japan, China and Uzbekistan are emerging nations. In Malaysia, the game is so popular that a lot of factories have been converted into futsal centres.

“I see an encouraging popularity and enthusiasm for the game in Asia and I think you should take this occasion to develop yourself as experts in the game,” said Soosay during the course’s opening ceremony at the PJ Hilton, here.

FIFA Instructor Mico Martic, from Croatia, is the trainer for the three-day course.

The course is the first programme under the 2011 edition of the AFC Elite Education Seminar, said to be the biggest sports educational festival in the continent.

Also present during the opening ceremony were AFC Futsal Director Ali Targolizadeh and FIFA Representative Marco Schuepp.

Another futsal course – the FIFA-AFC Continental Futsal Train the Trainers Selection Course – is being held exactly next door to the elite course, also instructed by Mico Martic, who said the course would help AFC produce more futsal powerhouses in Asia.


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