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Futsal Cup comes of age

Monday, 26 June 2006

The 2006/07 UEFA Futsal Cup continues to take shape, with more clubs than ever lining up to be crowned European champions.

Biggest yet
With 40 clubs involved, the sixth edition of the prestigious competition will be the biggest yet. It also promises to be more exciting than ever as the semi-finals and final will be played under the 'final four' format, as seen in other indoor sports like basketball, in one venue next April. The competition will begin with the preliminary and main round draws on 6 July at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Six first-timers
The preliminary round in mid-September will feature 16 sides drawn into four mini-tournament groups, including clubs from Austria, Germany, Malta, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland - nations who are all fielding representatives in the UEFA Futsal Cup for the first time. The four-mini-tournaments will be staged by FK Nafta Mažeikiai (Lithuania), Granvalira F.C. Encamp (Andorra), FC Mladost Sofia (Bulgaria) and the Scottish entrants, to be confirmed in August.

Six hosts
The top team from each pool will join 20 others in October's main round, with the clubs split into six groups of four. The six mini-tournaments will be staged by MNK Brodosplit Inžinjering Split (Croatia), Clearex Chorzów (Poland), Gödöllõi Futsal Klub (Hungary), CC LKW Jistebník (Czech Republic), KMF Partizan Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and CIP Deva (Romania). The top two from each pool will participate alongside the four top seeds in December's elite round, with the draw taking place on 31 October. Ultimately, all four of these groups will send one club to the 'final four' tournament, scheduled for 26-28 April.

Elite entry
Holders Boomerang Interviú, runners-up for the last two years MFK Dinamo Moskva, 2005 winners Action 21 Charleroi and Spanish club El Pozo Murcia FS are the four clubs already confirmed in the elite round. Boomerang and Murcia's involvement means Spain will have two teams involved in this year’s competition. UEFA will stage a workshop for the ten hosts, four from the preliminary round and six from the main round, on 5 July.

-> Click here to find out the Official Ranking List for the draw



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