Courtesy: Futsal On line

U.S. Futsal's Need for New Leadership Getting Urgent

By Tim Sheldon, Editor

RICHMOND, Va. (11-15-06) - We're hearing frequent reports that the U.S. Futsal Federation (USFF) is seriously at odds with the U.S. Soccer Federation over several issues, the most important one being U.S. Futsal's ownership of the patent for the generic term, "Futsal".

Coincidentally, we've heard a report that U.S. Futsal has sent a "cease and desist" letter to a major soccer uniform manufacturer for copyright infringement relating to Futsal-related commercials shown during the recent World Cup. The USFF managed to get the trademark for the generic term "Futsal" and has been sending out warning letters for years to any person showing independent initiative to promote the sport.

U.S. Soccer dealt with the Futsal copyright issue during a meeting in East Rutherford, N.J., on August 12. It noted in its minutes that "some progress had been made with U.S. Futsal Federation (USFF) about the resolution of its use of its trademark on the word Futsal ... the USFF understood the seriousness of the situation and that it wanted to remain part of the Federation."

A hearing was set for Nov. 11, at which U.S. Futsal was in jeopardy of receiving a "bad standing" rating because of the trademark impasse. We're waiting to verify the final results of that hearing.

U.S. Futsal is in serious need of new leadership and could cease to exist as an organizing body for Futsal if changes are not made. The current President and Chief Executive Officer, Alex Para, should be replaced by someone with top-level communications, leadership and promotional skills. Para took over control of the USFF in the mid-1980s and has, from what we've seen, attempted more to control the sport over the last 20 years than to develop it. The series of cease and desist letters the USFF has sent out over the years has symbolized this attempt to control rather than develop.

Other than an amateurish national tournament held each year, there is has been no meaningful development of Futsal by the USFF. There is still no professional Futsal league that would produce a real national Futsal team, there is no meaningful college competition, and there is no televised Futsal, even on limited cable. Current national selections for international events are comprised almost entirely of players from the non-Futsal Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Para takes the trip with these teams but has no real connection with their operation.

The most creative energy for Futsal in the U.S. was shown at the beginning in the early 1980s when the U.S. Minisoccer Federation was founded in affiliation with the Federacao Internationale de Futbol de Salao (FIFUSA). Osvaldo Garcia was the very capable president, and Jorge Bordt, a San Francisco-based tennis professional, was the director of public relations. Working on a shoestring, Garcia and Bordt assembled and trained teams for the first international completions, gained major sponsorship from corporations such as Levi's for major seminars throughout the U.S., gained news mention in publications such as USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald and San Francisco Chronicle, initiated the annual national tournament, and introduced the game to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Garcia was not a political opportunist and cared most about establishing a Futsal infrastructure in the U.S. and promoting the game in a meaningful.way. He worked diligently with the Boys and Girls Clubs to begin introducing the game to more than 1,000 member clubs throughout the U.S. He turned over much of the paperwork and administrative duties to Para, who was able to use that leverage to shoulder him out as federation president in the mid-1980s.

Para coordinated the affiliation of the federation to U.S. Soccer, and the name changed to the U.S. Futsal Federation. After that, any vestige of creativity ceased, and nothing meaningful has been accomplished for the past 20 years. The USFF used its trademark of "Futsal" to repeatedly stop Futsal initiatives throughout the U.S., and there were reports of behind-the-scenes maneuvering to maintain a political status quo at the top. Para is still there as President and CEO, and up to now it has seemed as if there would never be a change.

Despite the problems, there has been growth in some regions of the USFF, from Massachusetts to Maryland to Texas to Utah, to name a few locations. Outside the USFF, new organizations such as the Super F League and U.S. Court Soccer Federation have shown creative leadership and rapid growth, despite legal threats from Para and the USFF. Independent clubs such as World United in San Francisco have been using their own resources to play in national and international tournaments for the past two decades.

We're waiting for more details about any action U.S. Soccer might be taking against the USFF, but we hope that however it plays out it results in real change in the leadership of Futsal in this country. Replacement of Para at the top of U.S. Futsal would be a major step forward.



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