Introduction

For some time now, Dural Sport and Leisure Centre (the largest Futsal centre in Australia) has been aspiring to extend its Dural Warriors programme to offer an elite overseas component. The centre recognises that such a component is vital for the advanced development of the elite Futsal players at the centre, as well as for the long-term success and improvement of Futsal in Australia.

Following planning and communications over the past 18 months, the Sports Centre is excited to announce that it is now in the position to offer such a programme. This programme will follow on from a ‘trial tour’ in May 2004, from which 16-year old Greg Giovenali was offered and accepted a professional Futsal contract by S.S. Lazio Calcio a Cinque.

Dural Sport and Leisure Centre will be working in partnership with two of the truly exceptional Futsal clubs in the world, Playas de Castellón (Castellón, Spain) and A.S. Nepi (Rome, Italy), to provide an annual European Futsal tour.

The inaugural tour is planned for June/July 2006. As a tour for elite players, only invited players who are currently active at Dural Sport and Leisure Centre will be eligible to participate. The touring squad will be determined by September 31st, 2005.

Itinerary

The itinerary will involve an initial two-week period in Italy, training twice-daily under the instruction of Agenore Maurizi, widely acclaimed to be the best coach in Italian Futsal. This will be an excellent opportunity for the players to learn under the same methods as the best players in Italian Futsal. Agenore Maurizi coached Roma to the Italian 1st Division Championship I the 2004/05 season before transferring to Nepi to fulfil a long held dream to coach that club.

The team will then travel from Rome to Valencia, where they will spend their first week in Spain as participants in the 2nd Annual International Futsal Camp – Campus Internacional de Futbol Sala – conducted by Playas de Castellón. The camp itself is a unique and extremely positive programme offered by Playas de Castellón, and enjoys the support of the elite personalities in Spanish Futsal. The camp will feature some of the best coaches and players in Spain, including a plethora of world-cup winners, including the Spanish and Brazilian National Team coaches, Javier Lozano and Paulo Cesar. The camp will allow the touring players to learn and to integrate with other international and Spanish junior Futsal players.

The final week of the tour will involve training under the guidance of the Playas de Castellón coaching staff. This intimate environment will not only provide a stimulating and valuable week of training, but also an opportunity for the Playas de Castellón coaches to evaluate each player individually and to provide the team with feedback.

Tour Philosophy and Benefits

This will be more than a mere touring programme. It is a tour which is biased towards training and skill acquisition, and this tour will be an exceptional opportunity, at both clubs, to work with some of the best and most successful coaches and players in world Futsal. This is a programme which has been designed for elite players, and training load and expectations will be intensive.
The tour has also been designed to provide an enriching and insightful cultural experience. Not only will participants experience the culture of Futsal as a professional sport in both countries, but players will also be able to experience European culture, in a broader sense, both as a participant and as a tourist. Players will have the opportunity to immerse and learn from European society and people.

For players who impress at the requisite standard, there is a genuine career opportunity on offer. Both clubs have expressed a willingness to offer professional contracts to players who demonstrate ability and worthiness. At present, the Spanish and Italian Futsal leagues (Liga Nacional de Futbol Sala and Serie A Calcio a Cinque) are the best in the world, and an opportunity for any player to play in these leagues will be the fulfilment of a dream.

This tour is an opportunity which can be offered by no other Futsal programme in Australia: a truly elite level programme designed for rounded development as a player, personal learning and the offer of a career opportunity.

Further Information

This tour has been established with the very generous assistance of:

- Fabrizio Correra, Futsal Agent and General Director at A.S. Nepi, and Javi Sanchez, Spanish Futsal legend and Director of Futsal at Playas de Castellón.

More information concerning this programme can be acquired by contacting Rob Varela, Futsal Coaching Director at Dural Sport and Leisure Centre. Please call +61 2 9651-2777 or email rvarela@duralbaptist.org.au