OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF QUEENSLAND FUTSAL ASSOCIATION
www.qldfutsal.com.au
ON LINE FUTSAL SHOP www.dalopnte.com.au

A FOUNDER MEMBER OF THE SOCCER AUSTRALIA FUTSAL COMMISSION AND
AFFILIATE AND MEMBER OF SOCCER QUEENSLAND.
AND PROUDLY FUNDED BY QUEENSLAND STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICE OF SPORT.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS AND MEMBERS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

FARINGHA COACHES IN CHINA
Those of you who have attended Brazil Centre of Excellence in Belo Horizonte will no doubt at some stage been coached by Farighna. You will all be pleased to know that he is now coaching Chinese National League Futsal team Chengdu for their December to May season. This is the inaugural season of the league and hopefully Lijing from the Chengdu club, who in conjunction with myself organized Farighna’s visit, will keep us up to date with results. Go to our homepage www.qldfutsal.com.au for further photos and a story on Farignha’s visit. We all wish him well.

PABLO VISITING THE SUNSHINE COAST
And on Brazilian Centre of Excellence coaches, another coach PABLO is out here for three months at the invitation of Sunshine Coast Futsal. Pablo has spent his visit running clinics around the Sunshine Coast region. For those players who wish to catch up with him, Pablo will also be attending the national club titles in Canberra this January.

SBS TO SHOW MORE FUTSAL
Television station SBS has announced it will be showing more Futsal games on its Sunday show, THE WORLD GAME. Last Sunday they showed the final of the KL 5’s and on Sunday 25th January are showing the top of the table Spanish Liga clash between Boomerang Interviu and Playas De Castellon. Tune in each week to see what games they may be showing that day.

DAL PONTE VIKINGS ACADEMY FUTSAL TOURS COMING UP
Brazil - 7th May to 25th May 2004
England - 15th April to 3rd May 2004
New Zealand - 16th April to 28th April 2004
Brazil (Dal Ponte Tour) - 25th June to 16th July 2004
England - 4th October to 23rd October 2004
Brazil - 19th November to 8th December 2004
New Zealand - 26th November to 8th December 2004

NATIONAL NEWS

NATIONAL TITLES PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY
Training is now well underway for all teams attending the national titles in two weeks time in Canberra. This year’s Queensland contigent will be the biggest one in years with a total of seven buses traveling down and a total of nearly 370 people staying at the Carotel.
Please note that both Ennoggera and Acacia ridge will have their Futsal shops open during the last weekend of training 10th/11th January.
Draw for the tournament should be available by Friday 9th January, and when we have will place on our website www.qldfutsal.com.au .If you have any problems or queries re training contact Gui in the office on 38752600.

STATE NEWS

POST XMAS SALE AT ACACIA RIDGE
Put Wednesday 7th January in your diary because for one day only we will be having a post Xmas sale on all Futsal gear at the Acacia Ridge shop. From 9.00 am to 5.00 pm we will be offering a flat 25 % off all goods….shoes and balls included, even all new models. If you can’t attend the office we will take orders over the phone and post out, as long as payment is on the day. Phone 38752600 or visit 1391 Beaudesert Road, Acacia Ridge.

LATEST SHIPMENT OF DAL PONTE SHOES ARRIVES
Our latest shipment of shoes from Brazil arrived Christmas Eve and the good news is that we now have all model shoes down to size 28 (size 1 US) and some up to size 47 (13). These will all be for sale at the Wednesday special and next weekend.

CHANGES AT FRASER COAST
For all our members at Childers, Hervey Bay and Maryborough you are by now aware that Cassie has resigned. Cassie has done a great job over the year and the good news is that she will be staying involved in the sport as a player and coach. For the moment Paul Weber is going to take over the running of the Fraser Coast area and he can be contacted on 0418764166. We have also decided to open a shop/office in Maryborough by the end of June to service the whole area. If any of members know of a suitable office space of 20 to 30 square metres please email me.

OFFICE IN CAIRNS
Talking of offices we also wish to open one in Cairns. We are looking for a similar space at a reasonable rent in the Cairns area. If any of our members there have any ideas, again please email me or contact Tony Cifuentes.

ENNOGGERA CENTRE NOW COMPLETED
We have finally finished all the construction work on Ennoggera centre. It is now fully netted with the office/ shop onsite, providing us a base for the inner northside of Brisbane. With 55 teams there for this summer season we are planning on being at full capacity of 120 teams by December 2004.

BRISBANE CUP RESULTS
All the results of the Brisbane Cup are on the website www.qldfutsal.com..au .The ‘jewel ‘ competitions of the tournament, the open men and open women, were won by Camira Clash and Logan Rejects respectively. Camira Clash have now won three major competitions in a row, and it will be interesting to see if anyone can challenge them at the South West Titles or Logan Cup. They will also make up the bulk of the West Moreton Men’s Team at the regionals, who are also current champions.

NEW FLOOR AT ACACIA RIDGE SOON READY
Construction on the new floor at Acacia Ridge is coming along well and at this stage we are looking at reopening Saturday 10th January. That weekend will see state training, with regular fixtures to start Monday 13th January.
The official opening of the floor will be early February.

ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT REQUIRED FOR QUEENSLAND FUTSAL
Queensland Futsal is again looking for an assistant accountant/bookkeeper. Matt Taylor was with us for eight weeks but unfortunately for us was offered a job with Ernst and Young. We wish Matt well, but the job is again open. Experience with Quickbooks preferred. If you are interested please email me for further details or conversely ring Amanda Doyle on38752600.

REGIONAL TITLES LETTERS NEARLY ALL OUT
At this stage most of the regions have sent out their invitation letters. If you are unsure as to what is happening in your region contact your regional development officer or email me back. We are expecting just under 200 teams to the regional titles at Easter, including some overseas visitors.

NEED A CUSTOMS AGENT?
Every so often I like to mention someone who is heavily involved in Futsal and the work they do. Ogi Vuksanovic plays at Acacia Ridge twice a week and has played Futsal from the age of 14 including representing Queensland in the youth team a ‘few’ years ago. Ogi is also our customs agent and looks after all our importing needs. If you are looking for an agent give Ogi a ring on 0400405579 or email ogi@victory.com.au.

DAL PONTE VIKINGS TO TOUR REGIONAL CITIES
To promote the sport in country regions, the Dal Ponte Vikings men’s and women’s teams will be visiting a number of regional cities to hold coaching clinics and play games against local sides .Visits will be to Warwick ( 4th January), Rockhampton (24th January), Bundaberg (25th January), Hervey Bay (26th January), Cairns (27th March) and Townsville ( 28th March). At all centres there will also be a meet the players BBQ afterwards.
The team is keen to visit many areas, so if your region would like a visit please email me.

QUEENSLAND FUTSAL SUCCESSFUL WITH GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Our New Year funding from the State Government Office of Sport has reached new heights. For 2004 we have received $125,691 in development funding plus we have been given three year funding to run after school Futsal classes and increase the number of female players in north and central Queensland. The total of this three year funding is $148,000 which will be split up over the three years.
Thanks go to our patron , local state member Karen Struthers, and the State Office of Sport for their support.

WHATS COMING UP-DATES TO REMEMBER
13th/15th Jan - National Club Titles - Canberra
31st Jan/1st Feb - South West Club Titles - Toowoomba
7th/8th Feb - Logan City Cup - Cornubia
1st/19th March - South Qld School Titles - Cornubia/Beenleigh
8th/11th March - NQ School Titles - Townsville
24th March - Special School Titles - Acacia Ridge
10th/14th April - Regional club Titles - South Brisbane/Gold Coast

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

MORE MEMORABLE QUOTES FROM PLAYERS
“ We were just happy to get the three points. “ England’s Ashley Cole after the draw (?), which is only one point, with Turkey two weeks ago.

“ I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel. “ (STUART PEARCE)

“ If you don’t believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed at the end of the day. “ (Neville Southall).

“ You’ve got to believe you can win, and I believe we’ll win the world cup until the final whistle blows and we’re knocked out. “ (Peter Shilton).

“ Football’s a game of skill….we kicked them a bit and they kicked us a bit.(Graham Roberts ).

“Alex Ferguson is the best manager I’ve ever had at this level. Well, he’s the only manager I’ve actually had at this level. But he’s the best manager I’ve ever had. “ (David Beckham).

( more next week…………..)

THAT’S ALL FOLKS…..SEE YOU NEXT WEEK