Courtesy: The Reporter

Futsal gaining soul

The word came from the combination of the Spanish words Futbol which stands for soccer, and sala or salon which means room.

The sport first appeared in Latin America before 75 years ago and it was played in a basketball court participating five players in each side including goalkeepesr.

Juan Carlos Ceriani, an Uruguaian who made the youth at Young Men's Christian Association to play in a small ground in 1930s is accredited by many as the father of futsal. However some claim that the Brazilian city Sao Polo had futsal before Uruguay.

It is believed that Brazil made the best out of the game in strengthening its major soccer. Its stars like Pele, Zico, Socrates, Ronaldo, Romario and Ronaldinho all have been through this game in their youth.

FIFUSA (Federation of International Futsal Association) established in 1979 organized International Futsal Championships at different times till FIFA took over the sport in the 1990s.

The fact that the international football governing body is controlling the game is belied to energize the spread of the game in Europe, North and Central America, Caribbean Islands, South America Africa, Asia and Oceania.

This year Ethiopia witnessed the establishment of the first futsal association and competitions. The Addis Ababa futsal Association established last April has been engaged in various activities for the past five months and today it is expected to start the biggest futsal tournament in Addis. We spent some time with the deputy head of the Gizachew Eshetu excerpts:-

How and when the Idea did come
It was before two years and half that my friends and I started to get more interested in the game. Then we thought that it is possible to bring and introduce it here, made some research on the sport, and created contact with FIFA and Futsal Associations and federations of countries who are doing well in the sport. Brazil, Uruguay, Iran, France, Belgium, Spain and in Africa Zimbabwe, Kenya are good. We tried to examine the way they passed through to reach their present stage.

What was your first move?
Our first performance took place before five months at Arat kilo sports and Education Centre on April 8, 2006. At the event the association was officially established at the presence of Ato Zerihun Biyadgligh, Commissioner of Addis Ababa City Sport Commission. The executive staff of seven people was also assigned and it is working to introduce the sport to the people. Then we begin organizing futsal teams for our first tournament at the mini stadium. We chose eight teams out of the 70 teams registered for the event. I think it shows how fast the sport is getting in to the people's blood. The team from Kirkos sub-city won the competition and got 2000-birr prize.
Moreover, on May 6 we organized an exhibition match at Arat Kilo Sports and education Centre participating former national team players like Mulugeta Kebede and Asegid Tesfaye. I can say that it was a big success that it participate more than 3000 people.
In addition, at the end of the event we promised to organize a well-organized competition after the Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup. We kept our word and we are here. Thirty teams where registered and we made it 18 with more than 200-players. It will stay until August 27. Most matches will be at Arat kilo centre and some will be held at the mini stadium.

But the mini stadium pitch is an out door ground?
Yeah, Although Futsal means indoor soccer it should not necessary mean it is always done inside. The pitch at the mini stadium is small and favorable for futsal.

Is there the facility to practice the sport in Addis?
Sure. We made a research before every thing and found out that there are 8 gymnasiums which can host futsal matches. The Arat kilo centres, American School, Rock bottom are some of them. One fact is that you cannot have as many people as the real soccer match. Most of the gyms cannot contain more than 300 spectators.

Every player in the competition is 25 and above. Why did you put an age limit?
In our last event, we could not see good competition because the youth teams that came from various projects and people in the Middle Ages and football retirees could not compete and the youth convincingly controlled the games. But this is not for every time.

Any compatriot teams?
Yeah we have one team composed of Italian, French and other foreigners and we are happy about it.

Who is behind you?
No one we are just doing it by ourselves except BGI and International Medical Corps sponsored some of our events.

Futsal is a new concept. Do the players and the referees know the rules of the game?
Futsal rules are not that different from the original soccer. There is no significant difference from what we Ethiopians play in "petty goals" in our neighborhood at our youth. The absence of tackle and physical contact the challenge, change of hand through to kick, and the stopwatch rule (the time steps when the ball gets out of the pitch like basketball) are the major differences. One more, is that one player gets red card after 5 cautions (yellow cards). Still we gave the briefing for the referees for a week and all plays are informed.

Anything more?
We believe that the sport is more than just fun. It can rescue our soccer. It gives a chance for the youth to develop technical football skill, speed and dribble ability. Out of the 22 1994 World Champion Brazil squad 21 of them have been through Futsal and the present hair of football Ronaldinho said that his magical talent has a lot to do with Futsal. So we believe that Futsal can also help the major stream. The existing coach of the national team Sewinet Bishaw also backs this idea. Small pitch requires great skill and fast thinking.

Any move to establish Futsal federation in Ethiopia?
To upgrade the association to the federation level the sport should be practiced in at least in 5 of the 9 regions in the country. For this we are trying to start the sport at Harar in the near future and other regions are also in our list.
To promote the idea and concept of Futsal we gave a one-day symposium on the nature and history of the game for 180 graduates of Kotebe College of Teacher Education, physical education students considering that these people will be disseminated through out the nation.



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