Mediterranean Futsal Cup opening ceremony

Bringing the Futsal World Cup to Libya would be the right choice

by Damon Shaw

Libya is hosting the 1st Mediterranean Futsal Cup and Monday saw the tournament officially get underway with a truly spectacular opening ceremony in the 23rd September Sports Hall. Despite starting later than planned, the spectators were in excellent voice and provided the entertainment in the interlude while proceedings were officially started.

Driving to the venue was an experience in itself – a convoy of team buses and VIP cars weaved through traffic behind a police escort – but once safely at the venue we made our way to the viewing gallery but not before a few interviews and taking in the atmosphere created by the fanatical Libyan fans.

The ceremony began, out of sight, with a brass band entering and lapping the futsal court followed by flag bearers with the FIFA, CAF, LFF and the tournament logos. A couple of boys were also carrying an elegant framed portrait of the country’s leader, Colonel Muammar Al-Gaddafi. It was already very ceremonial and would have been a suitable opener, along with the welcome speeches, however, what was to come was out of this world, unexpected and breathtakingly good.

The brass band and flag bearers left as the lights dimmed, the two thousand plus fans waved glow sticks, which looked ok, until the lights went off fully and the view became electric and the noise they made more than doubled.

In the darkness, lit only by the neon light and Colonel Gaddafi’s pose on the big screens, shadows moved onto the court and before what can only be described as an African samba mix blurted out the speakers. The lights came on and we were treated to a fun, upbeat routine with a female singer and eight pairs of dancers which would have been at home as a performance on The X-Factor.

They were followed seamlessly by a male singer and a more traditional Arabian looking routine, from the costume to the music. The two acts then merged and the futsal court was full of dancers and looked incredible as they finished off as a duet.

The senses had already been bombarded with amazing sounds, lighting effects and dazzling visuals and the next routine left the crowd in awe, and slightly warmer, as a couple danced in very apt Halloween looking costumes with fire cannons dotted evenly around the arena sporadically ejecting flames high up into the air.

Each of the 16 nations’ teams were then introduced in the best way I have ever seen at a tournament of any kind. To music, each nation represented had a dancer/freestyle footballer wearing their full strip, and they positioned themselves on the court, majestically of course, and began to perform skills, tricks, dance routines in turn, with the spotlight on them, and only them, meaning any mistake was going to be noticed! Thankfully only a couple did lose control of the ball or do something particularly bad. As each player had their turn, the country’s flag was on the big screen and no prizes for guessing who finished the show and how big the cheer was for the youngster’s skills.

There was more, a lot more. More symbolism, more tributes to Colonel Gaddafi, more patriotism and it all ended with a huge green flag being spread across the court and waved, probably symbolising the sea in which this event is held, to a traditional Libyan sound with flames shooting around the stadium. It looked amazing, sounded amazing and simply brought to an end the most spectacular opening ceremony I have ever seen, on TV or in person.

Libya aspire to host the 2016 Futsal World Cup, and this tournament, organised to the high standards demanded of the biggest tournament in the sport is the Libyan Football Federation’s way of saying to FIFA, and the rest of the futsal world: “Bring the World Cup to Libya!”

If these things were chosen on opening ceremonies – and maybe under the current cloud of the votes for the 2018 and 2022 Football World Cup bids, Sepp Blatter might do well to adopt this approach – then the answer from FIFA would be a firm “Yes”.

It really did make an impact on me, and no doubt the rest of the people there. Parts sent shivers down my spine, others brought a tear to my eye, it all made me realise how passionate, how committed and how talented the Libyans are when it comes to futsal, and the event around it. Not in Libya is futsal looked at as insignificant, they love it, and in my opinion, if the FIFA World Cup comes here after Thailand, it will be the right choice.

The opening game was the crowning glory of the opening night and Libya signalled their intent with a comfortable 16-2 win over Syria. If the rest of the tournament lives up to the standards set by the opening ceremony then we are in for a superb 10 days in Tripoli.

You can follow the tournament on www.futsalplanet.com and match updates on facebook: www.facebook.com/medfutsalcup.

See you there!


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