Courtesy: FIFA.com

Futsal gears up in Germany

(FIFA.com) 14 Oct 2005

When DFB President Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder stopped off for a flying visit to the FIFA Futsal World Championship in Chinese Taipei on his homeward journey from the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in Thailand at the end of November 2004, he did not exactly see the most entertaining match of the tournament. It was a tactical and low-scoring encounter by Futsal standards as Brazil beat Argentina 2-1. When the two teams met in the third place play-off five days later, there were eleven goals as Brazil defeated their arch rivals 7-4. Unfortunately, Mayer-Vorfelder had long since left for home.
Nevertheless, the signs are promising that futsal will gain an increasingly prominent role in Germany in the years to come. Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt became the first to accommodate futsal a few months ago. "We hope to set a sporting trend with Futsal at Eintracht Frankfurt with something completely new for the major football clubs. I hope one day to see a futsal league featuring the biggest names in Germany: Bayern Munich, Hamburg, Schalke etc. We want to be the ones to set the ball rolling," said Eintracht President Peter Fischer.

The first trials in the Hessian metropolis began in June and the club is pleased with the progress that has already been made. "The real interest started around the end of August and beginning of September", Stephan Winterling, Head of Football at Eintracht Frankfurt told FIFA.com. "We have been holding regular training since 6 September. We have a core group of 12 players, but we are definitely open to new players who can improve the standard," Winterling added. Eintracht are particularly interested in players who are completely committed to futsal. "If futsal is to establish itself on a long-term basis, it needs its own identity. It will not be possible to be a footballer and a futsal player."

Winterling recalls how he received the inspiration for futsal while sitting in front of the television a few years ago: "I asked myself why should we not do it in Germany? I was not even in this position at the time, but I saw the potential for Germany and made contact with Horst Schumacher, who runs the biggest futsal portal in Germany. We also managed to recruit him as a coach for us," Winterling explains. "We at Eintracht Frankfurt want to lead the movement from the front. I do not want to claim that we have delivered futsal. We are merely helping it to gain greater prominence."

Eintracht Frankfurt's efforts have also been well received by the DFB." This is equally as beneficial for the development of the game as was Bayern Munich's support for women's football," DFB director Willi Hink told FIFA.com. "These are small yet significant foundation stones for advancing the sport," Hink added.

DFB planning to build from the bottom
The DFB is fully committed to furthering futsal. The German Football Association introduced the sport to its regional associations a number of years ago, encouraging them to actively implement futsal. "We bought and distributed 1,000 balls and told them to stage tournaments. We imposed this process on the assumption that, by winter 2005/2006, each association will have many different futsal tournaments." At the same time, the DFB has created a futsal expert committee, which is structured such that "only people who want to develop futsal can sit on it."

However, Hink warns: "The movement has to develop from the bottom upwards. We do not want to enforce it from above. Women's football also developed from grass roots level. Then, when an infrastructure was called for, we provided it. That is how things must happen with futsal. We need people who want to play. We are optimistic that more and more young people are switching on to the idea of playing futsal for at least part of the year, which should create a requirement to play in accordance with FIFA rules. Then we will also have a range of new and more established specialist teams."

Indoor football is already quite popular in Germany. Commercial indoor football centres attract large numbers of amateur players who meet up to play on a regular basis. One of the main objectives will be to convince these people of the appeal of futsal. The German Futsal movement has previously had a large student contingent with university sports halls providing flexible hours and perfect conditions.

"Strategically, it will be of crucial importance to familiarise people with the special futsal ball. We are currently trying to prove scientifically that the ball has advantages indoors because it does not bounce so high. You quickly realise that the first time you try it out in practice," explains Hink, who believes the attractive international futsal tournaments that already exist will be instrumental for future development. "That is why I am confident we can get the most out of futsal. The tournaments are obviously a great incentive for the players."

Participation in international tournaments planned
The game is now expected to become more mainstream before firmly establishing itself on the nation's sporting landscape. "We hope to be entering participants in international tournaments by 2007 or 2008," claims Hink. "We will definitely find a German way that is acceptable to futsal enthusiasts in Germany," he says confidently. And the DFB director does not think it will be long before Germany puts itself on the global futsal map. "I think things can sometimes happen quite quickly. If we start to work intensively I am confident that, with our vast resources, we can soon be competitive. A lot can happen in five years."

It will be interesting to see whether futsal in Germany is sufficiently lucrative to allow players to specialise. Even some supposedly amateur footballers can earn good money at regional level. "We will have to wait for futsal to take off to see whether clubs can pay players good money," admits Hink.

The DFB certainly believes futsal has a bright future in Germany. "In principle, we are convinced that this game with the less bouncy ball and a strong fair play component has a bright future.

The DFB are also investigating whether the futsal ball assists development in footballing ability. Initial results appear quite conclusive that that is the case and that beginners in football can have a great deal more fun with the futsal ball, which in turn heightens their desire to learn. That way, they also improve their football skills, which is a decisive factor for the football association..

"We think futsal has a great opportunity in school sport, because it is all about generating enthusiasm and attracting new friends for football. We know from surveys that a lot of people are less enthusiastic about playing the game outdoors and prefer the indoor variants. That alone is good enough reason for us to provide people with an infrastructure. We are confident that there are many people in Germany who would like to play the sports indoors and we believe that the special ball and fair play element will prove the decisive selling points," Hink concluded.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com