Futsal/Indoor Soccer World News
June 5, 2002

News and information on Futsal/Indoor Soccer from around the world


EUROPE

RUSSIA SWEEPS SLOVAKIA, THEN DEFEATS UKRAINE
Russia's Futsal National Team extended their international winning streak to four games with a 5:2 victory over visiting Ukraine in a friendly played in Novy Urengoy, Russia on June 1. Forward A. Antipov and midfielder Gennady Ionov each scored two goals to lead the Russian offense. Prior to the win against the Ukraine, Russia completed a two-game sweep of the host Slovakia in Lucenec from May 24-25. After posting a slim 3:2 win in the first game on May 24, Russia easily took the second match 5:1 over the host Slovakia the next day (May 25). The last time Russia lost an international match was a 5:1 decision against the host Italy at the 2002 Mundialito in Reggio Calabria on Mar. 22.

SPAIN BLANKS HUNGARY
Spain's Futsal National Team blanked Hungary in back-to-back home matches on May 13-14. The FIFA World Champions Spain took the first match, 8:0, at the Municipal La Luz Hall in Valdepenas on May 13. Midfielder Andreu led the offense notching two goals, while forwards Javi Sánchez and Kike each added a tally for Spain. Kike and midfielder Jordi Sánchez each scored twice to lead Spain to a 7:0 victory over Hungary in the second match at the Álcazar de San Juan Hall in Álcazar de San Juan.

MACEDONIA TAKES TWO FROM BULGARIA
FYR Macedonia Futsal National Team won both international matches against the host Bulgaria on May 11-12. After winning the first game of the twin-bill 6:2 on May 11, in Lovec, Macedonia completed the sweep with a 5:2 victory in the second match the following day (May 12) in the same venue.

ACTION 21 CHARLEROI WINS 2002 FORD GENK CUP
Action 21 Charleroi of Belgium won the 2002 Ford Genk Cup held in Belgium from May 8-11. The annual futsal tournament sanctioned by FIFA and Belgium's Football Association saw Action 21 Charleroi defeat FP Houthalen (of Belgium) 5:1 in the finals held in the city of Genk on May 11. By winning the championship, Action 21 Charleroi became the first Belgium club to win the tournament since the host ZVK Ford Genk did it in 1997. Prior to the final, Action 21 Charleroi posted a convincing 6:3 win over West Stars Rotterdam of Holland in the semifinals earlier in the day. The 2002 UEFA Futsal Cup Runners-up, Action 21 Charleroi advanced to the semifinals by defeating the U.S. Futsal National Team by the slimmest of margins, 1:0 in the penalty kick shootout after playing to a 1:1 draw at the end of regulation on May 10.

CZECHS SPLIT TWO-GAME SERIES WITH SLOVENIA
Czech Republic's Futsal National Team split a two-game international friendly series against visiting Slovenia on May 10-11. After dropping a heartbreaking 4:3 decision in the first game on May 10, in Bilovec, the Czechs rebounded in the second match the next day (May 11) and posted a convincing 8:5 win over Slovenia in Koprivnice.

HOLLAND TOPS BELGIUM
Holland's Futsal National Team topped Belgium 3:1 in an international friendly played at the Sportpunt Zeeland Arena in Goes, Netherlands on May 7. Midfielder Marino Letemahulu led the Dutch offense notching two goals and forward Ali Houri added another, while forward Karim Bachar had the only tally for Belgium in the loss.

EGYPT

EGYPTIANS TO PLAY IN BELGIUM FUTSAL LEAGUE NEXT YEAR
Forward Arafa Sayed and defender Mahmoud Mohamed from Egypt's Futsal National Team will play for the Futsal Kickers Charleroi of the Belgium Futsal League next season. Sayed and Mohamed were on the Egyptian squad that finished sixth at the 2000 FIFA World Championships in Guatemala.
Sayed led the offense at the world championships with seven goals, while Mohamed added three for the African Nation.

MALAYSIA

MALAYSIA BIDS TO HOST 2003 FUTSAL EVENT
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein announced on May 31, that Malaysia has made a bid to host the next Tiger 5's International Tournament scheduled for 2003. Tun Hussein said the matter was still being discussed with the event organizers (ESPN) but expressed confidence that Malaysia would be given the honor to host the championship. "They (ESPN) were impressed with our organization of the recent Asian X-Games," Tun Hussein told reporters after the opening of the national martial arts championship. "Therefore, I am confident of getting their agreement to bring Futsal to Malaysia." Recognized as one of the top international futsal competitions in the world, the Tiger 5's Tournament has been held bi-annually in Singapore since 1997.

NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA

U.S. FUTSAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE HELD IN LAS VEGAS
The 17th Annual U.S. Futsal Federations' National Championships will take place in Las Vegas, Nev. from June 13-16. The 2002 event will be held at the Durango High School and will feature the age level of competition for men's and women's at Under-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, U-19 and Open Categories. For more information, check the U.S. Futsal website at www.futsal.com.

FOUR U.S. CLUBS WIN AGE DIVISIONS IN "THE FUTSAL® CHALLENGE"
IN ORLANDO
Four U.S. clubs won their respective age divisions in the inaugural "The Futsal® Challenge" hosted by the United States Futsal Federation at Disney's Wide World of Sports™ complex outside of Orlando, Fla. from May 18-19. The tournament, that featured youth and adult teams from around the USA and the world, saw the Southern MD Futsal of Maryland capture the "Open Categories" for the Men's and Women's Division, while Orange County Juniors of Florida won the Under-14 Boy's title and Warriors 1 of Florida took the U-14 Girl's Crown. For more information on the tournament check USFF website at www.futsal.com.

MEXICAN CLUB TAKES U-16 TITLE AT FUTSAL® CHALLENGE TOURNEY
Mexico St. (of Mexico, D.F.) took the U-16 Boy's Title at the "The Futsal® Challenge" in Orlando, Fla., winning three of four round-robin matches from May 18-19. Mexico St. opened the U-16 Boy's round-robin play with an 8:4 win over the Miami Futsal Select on May 18. Mexico St. continued their winning ways posting a 10:3 victory over the Orlando United Express in the nightcap. After a slight setback with a 5:4 heartbreaking loss to the Seminole Blades on May 19, the Mexico St. concluded the event by winning the U-16 Boy's Title with a convincing 8:1 win over Tennessee Futsal in the nightcap.

GUATEMALA'S U-17 SQUAD CAPTURES U-19 CROWN IN ORLANDO
Guatemala's U-17 Futsal National Team captured the U-19 Boy's Division at the "The Futsal® Challenge" in Orlando, Fla., going a perfect 4-0 in round-robin play from May 18-19. Guatemala began the competition with easy back-to-back wins on May 18, against the Vipers (8:1) and then Tennessee Futsal (9:2). After posting an 8:1 victory over Queensland Futsal of Australia on May 19, Guatemala captured the U-19 Boy's crown with a hard-fought 7:6 win over Australia's Select Team in the nightcap.

USA FALLS IN PKs IN 2002 GENK CUP QUARTERFINALS
The U.S. Futsal National Team lost a dramatic penalty kick shootout in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Ford Genk Cup in Belgium on May 10, after battling Futsal Club Action 21 Charleroi of Belgium to a 1:1 draw after regulation play. Forward Lee Tschantret gave the USA an early lead with a goal in the second minute of play, but Action 21 Charleroi, who finished second at the 2002 UEFA Futsal Cup in February, leveled the score eight minutes later. The crowd of 1,420 at the Genk Arena saw both squads battled for the game-winner throughout the second half, but it would be Action 21 Charleroi that would prevail by the slimmest of margins, 1:0 in the penalty kick shootout. The Americans advanced to the quarterfinals of the 24-team tournament after capturing the Group G title with back-to-back victories over Belgium club's Oquido Affligemon on May 8, and the host ZVK Ford Genk on May 9. Midfielder Greg Howes scored twice in the 3:1 win over Oquido Affligemon, while Tschantret had two tallies in the USA's 5:0 blanking of ZVK Ford Genk.

MISL NAMES COMETS FORWARD MVP
Kansas City Comets' forward Dino Delevski was named the 2001-02 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Most Valuable Player on May 9. The 25-year-old native of Skopje, Macadonia, became the youngest player ever to receive the League's top individual honor, after leading the MISL in scoring with a total of a 210 points during the 2001-02 campaign.

SIX AMERICANS EARN ALL-MISL HONORS
Six U.S. Futsal National Team players were named to the All-MISL Team for the 2001-02 season on May 7. Milwaukee Wave's Victor Nogueira (16 caps) took the first team honors at the goalkeeper's position, while the backline prize were given to defenders Sean Bowers (5 goals, 21 caps) of the Baltimore Blast, Troy Dusosky (1 cap) of the Milwaukee Wave and Pat Morris (0 caps) of the Philadelphia Kixx. Milwaukee Wave's Brian Loftin (5 goals, 12 caps) and Joe Reiniger (0 caps) took accolades at the forward position.

PHILADELPHIA CLAIMS MISL CHAMPIONSHIP
The Philadelphia Kixx claimed the 2001-02 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Championship on May 3, with a thrilling 8:6 victory over the host and two-time defending champion Milwaukee Wave in the third and deciding game of the "best-of-three" final series. Philadephia's victory snapped Milwaukee's impressive 31-game home winning streak, which dated back to the 1999-2000 campaign. The record crowd of 16,802 spectators at the Bradley Center saw Kixx forward Chris Handor score three times, including the game-winner with 37 seconds remaining in the contest, giving Philadelphia its first league championship in franchise history. Prior to the last match, the Wave opened the championship series with an 11:4 win over the Kixx in Milwaukee on April 26, then Philadelphia leveled the series the following day (April 27) with an 11:4 home-victory.

2001-02 MISL Championship Final Series
"Best-of-Three"
Game #1, Apr. 26
Milwaukee Wave-Philadelphia Kixx , 11:4 in Milwaukee, Wis.
Game #2, Apr. 27
Philadelphia Kixx-Milwaukee Wave, 11:4 in Philadelphia, Pa.
Game #3, May 3
Milwaukee Wave-Philadelphia Kixx, 6:8 in Milwaukee, Wis.

BOWERS TABS MISL DEFENDER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Sean Bowers of the Baltimore Blast was named the 2001-02 MISL "Defender of the Year," on May 2. The 32-year-old defender is a three-time recipient of the award, claiming the League honor in 1992-93 and 1993-94, while playing for the Detroit Rockers. The San Diego native has also been a member of the U.S. Futsal National Team since 1996. Bowers is currently ranked third in the U.S. all-time appearances with 21.

SOUTH AMERICA
VENEZUELA TO STAGE CONMEBOL'S "NORTHERN ZONE" CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2002 CONMEBOL (Confederation of South America) Futsal Club Championship for the "Northern Zone" will take place in Maracay, Venezuela from July 9-13. The Northern Zone tournament will feature respective futsal club champions of the following South American nations: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The Northern Zone winner will meet Carlos Barbosa of Brazil (Southern Zone Winner), at a later date, in a best-of-three series to crown the overall 2002 CONMEBOL Futsal Club Champion.

PANAMERICAN FUTSAL CONFEDERATION ANNOUNCES 2002 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
The Panamerican Futsal Confederation (PFC) announced on June 2, the schedule of events for 2002. Uruguay will stage a PFC Club Championship in August, while Paraguay will host a "Copa America" for National Futsal Teams from Oct. 25 - Nov. 2. Rounding out the PFC Fixtures will be a Four-Nations Cup to be held in Venezuela in November.

Panamerican Futsal Confederation 2002 Schedule of Events
Venue: Uruguay
Competition: PFC Club Championship
Date: August
Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela

Venue: Paraguay
Competition: PFC Copa America
Date: Oct. 25 - Nov. 2
Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles,
Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela

Venue: Venezuela
Competition: PFC Four-Nations Cup
Date: November
Countries: Aruba, Colombia, Netherlands Antilles,
Venezuela

Next issue will be sent on July 3, 2002