Courtesy:
The AFC.comFutsal marches aheadThursday, 31 May 2012Dubai: The AFC Futsal Committee, which met for the first time this year under the chairmanship of Guam's Richard Lai, approved amendments in the format and regulations of the continent's two premier futsal tournaments.
At the outset, AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong said Asian futsal needed not only talented players but also administrators, officials, coaches, referees, to be at par with the rest of the world.
“You are in a position to make a difference in Asian futsal and I would like you to put your knowledge for the improvement of Asian futsal,” he told the members.
“All the members should follow the fighting spirit of the players in order to achieve unity and solidarity in the Asian football family. The members should also focus on development of players, officials and our competitions.”
Lai praised the teams of Japan, Thailand, Iran, Kuwait and Australia for their qualification to the FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be held in Thailand from November 1 to 18 this year.
“The results in the ongoing AFC Futsal Championship proved that the gap between the teams is bridged and the giants cannot boast of being the best in the continent," said Lai.
“Futsal still has a lot of room for improvement and the contribution from this committee will help it grow further,” he said.
In order to ensure that the best clubs compete in the AFC Futsal Club Championship, the members discussed the possibility of offering direct qualification to a club from the host country and also to the Member Association of the defending champions.
It was also discussed to increase the preliminary registration squad for both the futsal competitions from 20 to 25.
The members were also briefed about various futsal activities, including referees and coaching courses and development programmes.
All the decisions taken by this committee need to be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee to take effect.
Posted by
Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
