Courtesy: UEFA.com


Trio tuning up for debut

Friday, 3 September 2004

The UEFA Futsal Cup returns this month with a preliminary round mini-tournament to determine who takes the final two places on offer for the first qualifying round.

Round-robin event

Hosted by English side Sheffield Hallam FC, the three-team group also includes SK Tirana of Albania and FC MAG Varna of Bulgaria. Each side will play each other once at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield with the matches taking place over consecutive nights between 10 and 12 September. The top two teams will go through to October's first qualifying round with the winners entering Group 8 and the runners-up Group 6.

Rapid progress

Sheffield will perhaps be the slight favourites because of their home advantage. The club were originally known as the University of Hallam Futsal team in 2001 and were so successful that they decided to become an independent club under their current name. The present team boasts eight full internationals and underlines the rapid progress made in English Futsal.

Familiar faces

Many of the players will have already faced some of the Tirana team in January when England played Albania in qualifying for the 2004/05 UEFA European Futsal Championship. However, both national sides ultimately failed to make it to the finals, which are being played in the Czech Republic early next year.

Narrow victory

However, Albania's 8-6 victory against England will give heart to Tirana. The club will also make the trip to England as domestic champions having clinched the first official Albanian title on 8 June by beating city rivals Dinamo Tirana in their national play-offs. Albanian clubs have participated in the last two editions of the UEFA Futsal Cup but neither FC Olimpic Tirana nor KF Flamurtari Vlore were able to win a game before being eliminated.

Surprises in store

Bulgarian contenders Varna complete the preliminary round lineup. The club are led by owner Krassen Kralev, also the president of football team FC Cherno More Varna, who complete in the Bulgarian Premier League. While he is hopeful of success in Sheffield, Kralev admitted: "We do now know anything about our English and Albanian opponents."