Courtesy: Canada.com


Nanaimo to host futsal provincials

The Upper Vancouver Island Soccer Association, along with the Nanaimo Youth Soccer Club and Nanaimo Futsal Club will host the B.C. Soccer Association boys and girls under-14 and under-16 B.C. championships on January 5 and 6 at Malaspina Gym.

The event, which is expected to draw 15 teams, will be played under a round-robin format.

The end result will determine a provincial champion and B.C. representative for the nationals, to be held in Ontario in April.

Local teams participating include Bruce Ziprick's U-16 girls UVI Force, Gord Horth's U-14 girls Westmark Warriors and Mike Templeman's U-14 boys UVI United as well as teams from Cowichan and Comox.

This is the first time the event has been held outside of the Lower Mainland and it has been expanded to include a U-16 age group championships.

We are very pleased to be the first association to host these championships outside the Lower Mainland and we sincerely hope that it contributes to the growth in awareness and popularity of the game of futsal. There is a long history of futsal play in the Central Island after the Nanaimo Futsal Club's establishment by Carlos Mateus in 1980. The Nanaimo Club hosted the Provincial Futsal Women's Championships in 1992 and the Men's Provincials and Nationals at Malaspina University College. Nanaimo hosted the first Aboriginal Cup between Australia and Canada represented by the Cowichan Tribes. The Vancouver Island Selects, based in Nanaimo, played in the inaugural Pro-Am Futsal League in 1994 along with Vancouver 86'ers,Yanga, Croatia, N.S. Pegasus and Athletes in Action. In recent years the Nanaimo Club has also hosted Australian touring teams on several occasions, and participated in tours to the Yukon, Ottawa and Australia under the leadership of club president, Leo Beier.

The general public is welcome to come out and watch this exciting indoor version of soccer. Anyone requiring further information about these Provincial championships can contact Deryck Cowling at 758-3201 or Leo Beier at 802-0941.







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