A futsal fantasy unfolds in olde England
(Courtesy FIFA.com) 25 Apr 2003

While England can take credit for spreading football to all corners of the globe, the nation has been slow in warming to organised futsal – an increasingly popular five-a-side hybrid of the beautiful game. But with the determination of nascent club side Tranmere Victoria and name brand appeal of Liverpool legend and honorary club president John Barnes, it seems futsal may just be set to make real inroads in olde England.
Jay Corran and Neil Thompson are the driving force behind Tranmere Victoria - the fastest-growing futsal club in England. With only a small percentage of an estimated four million five-a-side players the world over, it is little wonder that the development of organised futsal is somewhat stagnated in the country that laid down the rules of the 11-a-side game.

Things could be about to change though. “Things really started to happen for us when we played an exhibition match against Iran last October,” commented Thompson. “We had interest from all across the futsal community as well as from the Football Association’s small-sided game division.”

The FA steps in for support
The FA’s interest came from Dermot Collins, the director of small-sided football in England. Collins was clearly impressed and, within weeks, proceedings were underway to take a closer look at the development of futsal in the nation.

As the most prominent driving force in the country, Tranmere have been working with the FA and a development committee is now firmly in place. “It has taken a lot of hard work from a number of people, but we are finally reaching a point where things are starting to happen on a national scale,” Corran said.

This June will see the start of an FA-run National Futsal League incorporating such far-flung regions as Chester and Cheltenham.

As well as launching the national league, the FA also has plans in place to focus on developing technical knowledge of the game in England by organising a series of refereeing and coaching workshops in conjunction with FIFA over the coming year.

Although things are starting to buzz, there is still a long way to go. Tranmere’s current fixture list reads more like an A-Z of European cities. “Because there has been no formal league structure in place here in England, we end up competing in many tournaments in other countries around Europe,” said Thompson. “The past few months we have been to Zurich, Prague and Dublin. We have also had a few matches with some international teams at home, most notably Iran.”

The Middle-East country is one of the biggest draws in futsal outside of mainland Europe and South America.

”The match with Iran was not only a breakthrough for us in terms of the interest it generated from the FA, but also it was an eye-opener on how the game can be played,” said Corran. “The Iranians showed us how the game truly should be played. We learned a great deal.”

Barnes boost for Tranmere
Tranmere’s crusade has been boosted tremendously by a bit of help from one of the biggest stars of British football. Former Liverpool and England wizard John Barnes has been appointed honorary president of the club.

“He is one of the most technically accomplished people in English football,” Thompson admitted openly. “We have benefited from having such a high-profile name associated with the club.”

The club’s near future looks promising too. Tranmere have been nominated by the FA to compete in the 2003/2004 European Futsal Cup - the futsal equivalent of the vaunted UEFA Champions League. There is also the possibility of competition in Asia somewhere on the horizon.

For futsal in England, the future is finally looking bright as FIFA futsal technical officer Victor Beceiro was keen to point out. “Due to the huge number of people in England playing small-sided football with different rules, England is a key territory for development as far as FIFA is concerned,” said Beceiro.

“The goal is to have a league in place with all the rules and regulations of futsal being respected and followed. With the help of the FA, I am sure an England futsal team will emerge and will no doubt be looking to challenge the world order.”

A prospect that John Barnes, with his futsal-esque waltz through the Brazilian defence in 1985 still fresh in the memory, will be happy to lend a helping hand.