by Luca Ranocchiari - Futsalplanet.com editor





October 22nd, Trnava
Slovakia vs Austria 12-0 (5-0)

October 23rd, Bratislava
Slovakia vs Austria 9-3 (4-2)

The roots are there, in this couple of experimental friendly games probably not recognized as official by ÖFB. A kind of scores maybe not enough encouraging to go ahead with the introduction of a definitive Austrian National Team.

But time is now, after fifteen years: futsal people definitely know what patience is. Solemn and official, the Austrian FA announcement released few hours ago (click here) put the word end on the long time wait.

With the introduction of the Austrian Futsal National Team is reported in the ÖFB press release, followed by Thomas Hollerer (ÖFB General Secretary) statements: "This is very good news for Austrian football. It was a logical step after we were able to integrate futsal into the ÖFB a few years ago. There have been a lot of people working very hard on it. Now was the time to set up a futsal national team. We are very pleased about that".

As reported the next steps are the appointment of a trainer and the supervisor team as well as the planning of the first courses. The first game is expected to take place in October.

The birth of the Austrian National team was also underlined in the country by this Sky Sport report: have a look

One previous step in the development path: see our report regarding the UEFA Futsal "B" Coaching Course in in Lindabrunn: click here