Courtesy: Solomon Star News


National futsal champion kicks off

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

by Carlos Aruafu

The second edition of the Our Telekom National Futsal Championship has successfully kicked off yesterday at the SIFF Academy football field.

Four Honiara based and four provincial futsal teams which total to eight teams took part in the competition.

This year’s number of teams is short by two teams compared to last year’s.

The teams are last year’s champions, KOSSA futsal squad, last year’s runner up Koloale futsal team, Marist, Makira, Isabel, Malaita and Guadalcanal.

The tournament will run for the next four days and features the eight teams drawn from two pools of four teams.

The opening matches saw KOSSA demolish Malaita 5-0, while Koloale only managed to draw 2-2 with Prisolona which featured some interesting futsal players such as Elliot Ragomo, Robert Laua and keeper Paul Huia.

In the second matches that kicked off at 4:00pm the Guadalcanal provincial side went down narrowly 4-3 to Marist while Isabel comfortably beat Makira 6-1.

Coordinator of the 2011 Our Telekom futsal championship Gideon Omokirio, said the championship just like last year is used for selection of more potential futsal players from the provinces and to help mould them and hopefully if successful at the next stage will team up with the Kurukuru team.

SIFF media officer, Joseph Boso, added that one of the main motives behind this championship was to bring talented young futsal players from the provinces so they could return to their respective provinces and expand the futsal interest to others.

He added that it is also a chance for provincial futsal players to get the feel of what the level of futsal in Honiara is like.

“It’s more like a promotion, one promoting futsal just like Solomon Cup where it was used to promote football throughout the Solomon Islands.

“Where players wanted to play is there, so by having a national competition like this, we can stimulate the growth of futsal in the country especially in the provinces, he said.

He went to say only four provinces that participated will make use of the opportunity to expand, promote and witness the current level of futsal in the Solomon Islands which he was referring to the three, Guadalcanal, Malaita, Isabel and Makira province.

The top two teams in each section go through to the quarterfinals on Thursday and Friday.

Boso said the finals are set to go down this Saturday.




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