Courtesy: New Straits Times


Rain washes out finals

by Fadhli Ishak

The rain did little to dilute the excitement of the inaugural 1Malaysia futsal tournament at the Putrajaya Futsal Complex in Precint 18 last Sunday.

There was still enough fun and excitement for the day even when the organisers had to call off many of the finals due to safety concerns over the participating teams.

A total of 285 teams from across the country took part in the tournament which offered a total cash prize of RM68,600.

After the finals were cancelled, the winners of the men's and women's Open were then determined by counting the respective teams' goal differences.

The boys' Under-18 final, however, was played out.

This saw Court Soccer emerge victorious with a 1-0 win over Infinity FC just before play was halted due to heavy rain.

Court Soccer manager Hasan Kasim said he was delighted with his players' performance throughout the tournament.

"I am very happy as the boys played with discipline and they showed great understanding among themselves," said Hasan.

"We have won a number of tournaments before this, but it remains a good win for us as the competition had been tough for us from the second round onwards.

"However, we still managed to come through."

The men's Open category saw Restrict FC crowned as champions while second place went to MBC FC.

The women's Open crown went to Phoenix "A" with Putra Ria "A" finishing the tournament as runners-up.

The goal of the event, organised by the Sports Ministry, was to provide a platform for futsal enthusiasts across the country to compete while promoting a healthy lifestyle.

The tournament, which was officiated by Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, also required competing teams to have players from at least two races in an effort to promote racial unity.




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