Courtesy: The AFC.com


Futsal a game in its own: Al Sabah

Thursday, 17 February 2011

Kuala Lumpur: AFC Deputy General Secretary Hasan Al Sabah has reminded futsal referees not to think the game as a side game but to treat it as one of the major components of Asian football which is fast developing in the continent.

Speaking while opening the AFC Elite Futsal Referees’ Course here on Thursday, Al Sabah has said that futsal is a serious game just like football and will provide opportunities for growth for everyone involved including the referees.

He said: “You should not think that futsal is the entry point to something greater, but it is actually a game all in its own and AFC is sparing no resources to develop this game.

“In fact, some 80 percent of top Brazilian players owe their success to their origin, which was street football or small-side football or some such compact football environment.

“The younger generations all over Asia are flocking to futsal and who knows our future top futsallers and referees will come from this. When this game develops, you the referees should keep pace and once the game reaches greater heights, you’ll be there too as successful futsal referees,” he said.

The course trainers are FIFA and AFC Instructors Yasuhiro Matsuzaki (Japan) and Pedro Galan Nieto (Spain) as well as guest instructor from UEFA Ivan Novak (Croatia), who is joining the programme under the AFC-UEFA Refereeing Exchange Programme.

AFC Referees Director Yoshimi Ogawa and AFC Futsal Director Ali Targholizade were also present during the course opening ceremony.

The three-day course is attended by 25 participants, including a UEFA referee from Austria who is taking part also under the AFC-UEFA exchange programme.


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