Courtesy: UEFA.com

Murcia out to make their mark

Friday, 1 October 2004

The fourth edition of the UEFA Futsal Cup gets under way this weekend with two of the eight first qualifying round groups in action.

Murcia opener

The honour of kicking off the competition proper, after last month's preliminary round, falls to El Pozo Murcia FS. Although Murcia lost in the 2003/04 Spanish championship play-off final, they qualified for Europe because the team that beat them, Interviú Boomerang FS, are the reigning UEFA Futsal Cup holders.

Great venue

Murcia will be in action against Cypriot contenders AGBU Ararat Nicosia FC in Saturday's opening match of the Group 4 mini-tournament. Dutch side FC Marlène are the hosts of the section and, in a Futsal first, they are staging all the games at the prestigious Amsterdam ArenA, home of AFC Ajax. MNK Karaka Mosta of Bosnia-Herzegovina complete the lineup, with all the teams playing each other once over the course of Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.

Belgian favourites

Group 5 begins on Sunday with FC Bodu Bucuresti welcoming Action 21 Charleroi of Belgium, FK Inkaras Kaunas of Lithuania and Ilves FS of Finland to the Romanian capital. Charleroi are favourites for the section, which also sees games on Monday and Wednesday, having contested the 2002 and 2003 UEFA Futsal Cup finals only to lose each one to another Spanish side, Playas de Castellón FS.

Full coverage

uefa.com will continue to provide preview coverage over the coming days as all eight groups take place across Europe. As each section is concluded, there will also be a round-up of the matches played. The eight group winners will all make it through to next March's second qualifying round with the final following in April.