Courtesy: E-Taiwan News.com


Five-a-side warm-up tourney arrives in Taiwan this week

With a four-nation Futsal warm-up tournament this week, Taiwan is officially gearing up for the five-a-side indoor soccer world championship taking place in Taipei during the last week of November.

The tournament is the first major FIFA (Federation International de Football Association) championship ever to be hosted in Taiwan and will feature 16 countries including the hosts vying for the Futsal world crown.

To get the ball rolling, the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and Taipei City has organized a "Futsal Invitational Tournament," with Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Hungary playing in a six-match challenge series at the Taipei City Sports Gymnasium this week.

"This four-nation Futsal tournament is a preview of the first-class soccer action at the FIFA championship next month. It will ignite local fans' enthusiasm and support for soccer and promote Taiwanese participation in the game at the grassroots level," according to director of the national soccer federation Huang Shih-Cheng.

"We are proud to host the FIFA Futsal tournament here in Taiwan. The government and the local community have mobilized all the resources to make it a great event because it will be televised around the world," Huang said at the press briefing yesterday.

The warm-up tournament opens tomorrow at 2 p.m. with Japan battling Hungary, followed by Taiwan vs. Malaysia at 4 p.m. Other games will be played on October 7 and October 9.

In contrast to the traditional 11-man outdoor game, Futsal teams field five-man teams and can substitute freely without interrupting the flow of the game. Divided into two halves of 20 minutes each, Futsal is a faster game that is played in indoor arenas with more short combination passing and shots on goal.

Taiwan's national Futsal squad is headed by Belgian coach Damien Knabben, who is assisted by Taiwanese soccer coach Chang Chao-lu.

Chang said the squad's best player, Wang Chi-cheng, is injured and will affect the team's performance in the warm-up event.

He noted that Hungary is placed 9th on the latest FIFA Futsal ranking, with Japan in 18th place, Malaysia at No. 37, and Taiwan ranked No. 53.

Chang suggested it was advantageous for Taiwan to promote Futsal.

"It's a way for us to develop soccer at the grassroots levels and get the kids interested in the game.... The indoor game is suitable for Taiwan because space is limited, and we do not have good outdoor facilities.

"The weather conditions often make outdoor play difficult. It might be raining or the sun is too strong. With the Futsal game, youngsters can learn soccer skills and teamwork in the indoor environment," Chang said yesterday.

For the FIFA Futsal World Championship finals in November, the 16 qualifiying countries coming to play here include Brazil, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Japan, Paraguay, Cuba, U.S., Czech Republic, Australia, Thailand, Iran, Ukraine, along with host Taiwan.