Courtesy: www.indianexpress.com

After Twenty20 it’s time for Futsal

Corporate 5s could trigger popularity of abridged soccer in the country

New Delhi, July 14: Couch potatoes would have watched a lot of the footballing equivalent of cricket’s Max series — Futsal. With just a year away from the 5th Futsal World Cup, the imagination seems to have caught up with India. For, the five-a-side event has been in India for a number of years now — and played in various forms and varying degrees of amateurism.

The Kingfisher Corporate 5s event that starts in four centres — New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore — a few days from now is therefore appropriate to check if the Indian football establishment is looking at spreading Futsal in the country. And whether the UB Group, the biggest corporate name in the game, would be willing to look at sponsoring some events if the game is to be popularised.

Ramesh Viswanathan, general manager (marketing), breweries division of UB Group, didn’t discount the possibility, though he chose to avoid any straight promises. Visawanthan said, ‘‘We have to realise that futsal is an entirely different game from football, and the logistics are going to be entirely different. It’s not even something that’s been considered by anyone in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and that means it’s too early in the day to commit. We are, at present, looking to popularise the game (old fashioned five-a-side on a grass pitch) in the country. If we find that more corporates come in and take to the game, the overall interest will go up and then we can think.’’

Considering that India are currently languishing at 129 in the FIFA world rankings, it does appear plausible for the country to try its hand at a comparatively infant form of the game, where achieving success should be easier than in the more worldwide form. Of course, that’s not to say India will immediately go and beat all comers but an attempt can be made. Especially seeing that India’s biggest handicaps — stamina and physical strength — can be masked somewhat because of the nature of Futsal.

Indian captain Baichung Bhutia seems to to agree. He says, ‘‘Just because it’s five-a-side it doesn’t mean it won’t be tiring or you don’t need skill, stamina, fitness, etc. But it might be comparatively simpler. The Indian national team players, however, might not be able to adjust at all. Of course, we need to start somewhere, and this is as good a time as any. It’ll help if we take it to it sooner, rather than allow everyone else to get a big headstart.’’

That, more than anything else, should probably be the argument to clinch it in Indian Futsal’s favour. But with an AIFF official saying, ‘‘It’s not something we are thinking of,’’ it seems like a lot more will have to be done before the game picks up in India.

Ramesh, however, provides a ray of hope. He says, ‘‘This is the first time the Corporate 5s are going to be played at a national level. If interest is generated, then maybe things might move fast and in the right direction.’’

Footballing non-entities like Guatemala, Maldives, Indonesia, etc have taken up the game. It has already carved a niche for itself in India as a profitable television sport, considering the response the recent Kuala Lumpur Super 5s received. The audience is already there. And as former India captain PK Banerjee says, ‘‘The problem with Indian football is that it is too slow. If we can speed it up, spectators are bound to come in.’’

Then why not give Futsal a go?

FIVE FUTSAL FACTS

Futsal goes in a number of names across the world. While the Latin Americans call it Futebol Cenco, the Europeans have a full buffet - Zaalvoetbal (Belgium), Calcetto (Italy), Kleinfeldfussball (Germany), Mali Nogomet (Portugal), Petit Football (France), Kat-Regel (Israel) and Terem Foci (Hungary) are some of the variations

Though Argentines have been the classiest players of the lot, the 2002 player of the year award went to Carles Riba of Andorra

Futsal doesn’t have a separate governing body, and i under the aegis of FIFA, who have prepared the rules of the bonsai game

Apart from the general rules which distinguish futsal from regular football, up to seven substitutes are allowed in a match per team, and these substitutes can only walk in and out from a defined substitution zone

The fifth futsal World Cup will take place in Taiwan in 2004. The previous edition took place in Guatemala in 2000 where Spain won beating Brazil. A total of 94,179 spectators attended the event