Courtesy: New Straits Times


Kick off with scents

You can get hot and sweaty in sports without smelling bad, writes Tengku Sofiah Aishah

MEN and football are like women and shopping. Dare come between them and you will face the wrath of a lover scorned.

Football and futsal are basically the same except the latter is played on a smaller scale.

Fons Houtkamp, general manager of Coty Beauty Far East Export, thinks that futsal is popular because it is not an expensive game to play.

“A lot of young men play futsal because it is accessible. You don’t need to invest a lot of money to play futsal,” he says at the launch of Adidas Extreme Power Special Edition. “You don’t need a football field to play futsal. You can play on the street and all you need is a ball,” he adds.

In conjunction with the launch of its latest men’s fragrance, Adidas Body Care also presents the inaugural Adidas Extreme Power 5 Futsal Competition.

Eight amateur futsal teams competed to represent Malaysia at the grand finals in Singapore.

“It is a collaboration with ESPN to start a worldwide initiative for futsal in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Sports promotes a healthy lifestyle and of course our product helps (with the sweat) afterwards. We offer a unique training

experience in the Real Madrid arena by the Real Madrid trainers along with VIP tickets to a Real Madrid match. And Spain is a good place to be,” Houtkamp explains about the grand prize.


FOOTIE FAN
Although Houtkamp didn’t have the opportunity to play football in his youth, he enjoys football championships as much as any other man.

“In Holland, we played in school with our neighbourhood friends but my school was an hour’s train ride away from my house,” he says.

Where does he stand for Euro 2012?

“I am a big fan of Holland. During the European championship, I will be dressed in orange alongside another thousand odds supporters. It is really fun,” he says.

Well, that’s just unfortunate for him as Holland has been sent packing after not making it through to quarter-finals.

Speaking of the new fragrance, Houtkamp adds that the futsal tournament is also a mechanism to communicate to people the importance of smelling nice despite an active lifestyle.

“Sweating is a natural thing. We are a company that would like to sell fragrance while promoting that it is good to exercise,” says the aikido practitioner who also does yoga.

Football not only brings the players together, but also their fans. Even the 40-inch plasma TV in your living room loses its appeal when you can watch the game at the mamak restaurant and agonise over bias referee with your peers instead.

I am rooting for the Spanish boys — they are a lethal combination of good looks with skills. What about you?




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