Courtesy www.asian-football.com

European trio out of KL World 5's

Spain, Italy and Holland have informed KL World 5s organisers of their decision to withdraw from the midyear futsal tournament, a competition that is scheduled for play between June 3 to June 5 in Kuala Lumpur.

The European trio have pulled out of the invitational tournament citing concerns over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) situation in Asia. Despite the decisions, their withdrawal is likely to pave way for other top quality sides to enter the the mix.

The tournament's organizers, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and ESPN STAR Sports, are looking at a combination of new teams and amongst those on the list include Portugal, Ukraine, Argentina, Uruguay, the Czech Republic and Belgium.

According to FAM's Assistant General Secretary Dato' Yap Nyim Keong, the organisers are confident they can replace the trio of teams with just as illustrious names from the futsal world.

"We regret the withdrawal of Spain, Italy and Holland but we are heartened that we are in discussions with possible replacements from Argentina, Portugal, Ukraine, Uruguay, the Czech Republic and Belgium - all of which are world class teams," said Yap.

"The KL World 5s will definitely go on as Malaysia is far from being on any list of countries to which it is dangerous to travel. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has not issued any advisory against travel to Malaysia."

Richard Young, ESPN STAR Sports' vice-president of Event Management Group, indicated that while it is unfortunate the event would not see the return of the three teams who have been part of the competition its inception in Singapore in 1997, he is glad to welcome new blood into the tournament.

The FAM and ESPN STAR Sports are the organisers of the event which enjoys the patronage of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The event is the richest futsal event in the international calendar this year.

Among the field of 12 teams in the 2003 tournament are Asian champions Iran and two-time world futsal champion Brazil.

Malaysia is not on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) list of SARS-affected countries. The country has several stringent medical precautions and checks in place and their efforts have been lauded both locally and abroad.

Futsal has rapidly grown in popularity in Asia due largely to the success of this tournament and the development efforts of national football associations. The growing interest has led to the mushrooming of privately run facilities within Kuala Lumpur, prompting the FAM to announce the introduction of a league.