Article by our collaborator Damelia Ajla

Rise of women futsal

FOOTIE CHICK’S DIARY

WHAT does every female athlete really want? Respect. To look good. To be seen as equal to men. To have fun in the name of the game.

I remember this mat salleh bloke called Max. He used to run a sports centre back in 2002. Let’s just say Max is not in the scene these days but I have a lot to thank him for.

You see, it was Max who was responsible for kick-starting women futsal in this country. Back then, there were only three futsal centres in the whole of Malaysia (MISA, Sports Barn and Sports Planet). As one of the pioneering futsal venue operators, Max was the first to initiate futsal training sessions for women. The programme started with just five women “apprentices” but it slowly became successful and attracted as many as 20 gal trainees during the weekly sessions.

Then Max did us another “favour”. His venue was the first to host women futsal tournaments (All Stars Ladies Challenge 2003, Ladies MISA/PUMA Premier League 2003, Ladies MISA/Excel Cup 2003 & Ladies MISA/PUMA Social League 2003).

Nowadays, there are countless women futsal tournaments. Some of the biggest women futsal tournaments so far are the 3R Women Futsal Challenge (I call this the “mother” of all women futsal tournaments because this event has the “girl-power” to attract at least 55-60 women teams from all over the country every year), the Gol & Gincu Futsal Challenge (the first women futsal roadshow in the country) and the LFAM Women Futsal Challenge 2005 (sanctioned by the Ladies Football Association Malaysia).

At present there are at least 50-60 women teams (especially involving members aged between 18 and 30) in the Klang Valley alone and I believe the number is quickly growing.

Local women futsal is in demand now and I believe it is “big business” these days. However, the standards of women futsal competitions need to be improved. Tournament organisers must take into account a few criteria such as category (strong teams should not be placed in the same category as novice teams and more female youth categories should be introduced), entrance fees (I still find most tournament entrance fees too high; they should not exceed RM150 even if the prize money is big to increase participation), match officials (more women referees and lineswomen should be involved) and most importantly, women futsal tournaments should enjoy more media coverage (like it or not, somehow the Press have a way of getting the message across to the masses).

I believe Malaysian women futsal will reach international standards some day. If teams like Alam Megah, SB Wildcatzs, Blades, Moonlighters and KGB are given the support and opportunity, I think they’ll do us proud if sent to international meets.

Wherever you are now, thank you Max for being the first to believe in women futsal here.

You may send your feedback to the writer at damelia@urfutsalorg.com





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