Courtesy: Big Apple Soccer


JOINING FORCES: ENYYSA, LIJSL, New York Futsal

The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association has announced that it is working with New York Futsal and Futsal Across America to promote futsal in New York. New York Futsal will be registering players with ENYYSA’s largest league, the Long Island Junior Soccer League.

“Futsal can be a wonderful complement to outdoor soccer as players build their skills with a small, low-bounce futsal ball and play five vs. five, often giving them more touches per game than outdoor soccer,” ENYYSA president Richard Christiano said. “I am delighted that Eastern New York will be helping players develop their skills by promoting futsal with New York Futsal.”

LIJSL president Addie Mattei-Iaia added, “The LIJSL is very happy to partner with our state association and New York Futsal to help children and teenagers develop their foot skills through playing the wonderful game of futsal.”

The origins of futsal can be traced to Uruguay in 1930, where, amid the euphoria that greeted that country's victory at the inaugural World Cup on home soil, there was a soccer ball seemingly being kicked on every street corner in the capital of Montevideo. Juan Carlos Ceriani, an Argentinian physical education instructor living there at the time, observed many youngsters practicing soccer on basketball courts because of the shortage of soccer fields. It was there and then that the idea for a five-a-side variation of soccer came about and futsal was born.

Futsal is the only version of indoor soccer approved by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. FIFA organizes the Futsal World Cup every four years, similar to the four-year cycle for the World Cup and Women’s World Cup. The next Futsal World Cup will be played in Thailand in 2012 and the defending champion is Brazil.

ENYYSA will provide referees for the futsal competition of the World Police and Fire Games being played at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan from August 29 to 31. Police officers and fire fighters from around the world are coming to New York to compete.




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