Courtesy: Bowling Green Daily News


Soccer without borders

Indoor soccer league brings more than a dozen nationalities together every weekend

By Joe Imel

Monday, January 10, 2011

Every Saturday and Sunday, Jose Martinez referees the World Cup in southcentral Kentucky. Martinez is the organizer and sole referee for the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Futsal Winter League. More than 200 soccer players from more than a dozen countries compete on 18 teams in indoor soccer, known as Futsal, from November to mid-March.

“We have players from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, America, Bosnia, Kosovo, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Asia, Africa and Europe,” said Martinez of the league he has run since 2006. “We do it so people have something to have fun and we hope that through sports, the different communities that live in Bowling Green can come together and not have any violence or conflict.”

The winter league is played indoors at the Sid Carr Gymnasium and the summer games are played at Lampkin and Preston Miller parks.

Martinez says he hopes to start the playoffs in March with the championship game being played March 16.


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