Emerald Futsal League (Leinster) Final - Saturday, December 3 (7pm, National Basketball Arena)

The final of Irish futsal top league, the Emerald Futsal League (Leinster), will take place this Saturday.

It promises to be a cracking tie as Shamrock Rovers bid to lift the cup for the third season in a row following their successes in 2009 and 2010 while EID Futsal won the FAI Futsal Cup in 2010 & 2011. They then became the first Irish team to progress through the preliminary round of the UEFA Futsal Cup last year and were unbeaten in the same competition this year before exiting on goal difference.

All members of the futsal and football community are invited to attend. The entrance fee will be €2 for adults. Children are free.

Final (Saturday, December 3)
EID Futsal v Shamrock Rovers
7pm, National Basketball Arena

The final will be played with a full stop clock 20 minutes a side under FIFA rules. If the final is drawn it will go straight to penalties.

EID Futsal: EID Futsal have been the standard bearers in Irish futsal, lifting the FAI Futsal Cup in 2010 and 2011. They also became the first Irish team to ever progress through the Preliminary Round of the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2010 and were unbeaten in the same competition in 2011 but were eliminated on goal difference. The majority of their players are Brazilian with captain Rodrigo De Melo and Helio Neto boasting three FAI Futsal Cup winners medals in their careers in Irish futsal. Three of the EID players played for Shamrock Rovers last season: Badr Bouznig, Vinicius Terco and Hiago Lourenco. EID had an impressive 4-1 win over Rivervalley Rangers in the semi-final on Monday.

Shamrock Rovers Futsal: Shamrock Rovers were the first ever winners of the FAI Futsal Cup in 2007 and were the first Irish club ever to win a game in the UEFA Futsal Cup later that year. The Hoops won the inaugural Emerald Futsal League (Leinster) in 2009, beating Bray St Josephs Boys in the final, and then retained the trophy in 2010, beating Dublin Santos in the final. They are looking to complete a three-in-a-row. Rovers beat Blue Magic 5-2 in a thrilling semi-final on Monday. Their squad contains Irish futsal internationals John Somers, captain Ian Byrne, Brendan Dawson, Philip McDonagh and Jack Doyle plus former Hungarian futsal international David Nyari and Deaf futsal international Brian Daly.

The final will follow on from the PFAI Legends Futsal tournament at the same venue earlier in the day so the Tallaght venue will witness a festival of futsal on Saturday.




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