Courtesy: CAF


Futsal Libya 2008: South Africa and Egypt teams’ profile

19/03/2008

Libya will be hosting the 4th of the African Futsal Championships from March 21-30, also serving as the preliminaries of world event slated for Brazil later in the year.

The ten participating countries are divided in two groups of five teams. In group A are Libya, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Cameroon. In group B are Egypt, Zambia, South Africa, Angola and Mozambique. The matches will be played in two venues : Cortuba and African Union.

HOW FUTSAL STARTED IN SOUTH AFRICA

The inception of Futsal in South Africa dates back to 1991; a committee was formed to run FUTSAL which is commonly known as Indoor Football. Prior to the introduction of Futsal, boys and girls under the age of ten (10) were playing street football to while away time and in the process enhancing their technique, flair and agility.

In 2001 the South African Indoor Football Association (SAIFA) was established to develop Futsal in the country; and ultimately SAIFA became one of the Associate Members of the South African Football Association. From the period 2000-2008 the South African Futsal National Team participated in four International Tournaments, mainly in the African Continent. In 2000, they went to Egypt, then to Malaysia in 2003, 2004 in Egypt and the last tournament was in Egypt in 2006. In all four tournaments the team could not proceed to quarter final stages.

In March 2007 the South African Football Association took over the responsibility of developing Futsal. Two Inter-Provincial Tournaments had been held to date. Presently out of the 52 SAFA regions, Futsal is played in the 20 regions. In July 2007 an Inter-Provincial Tournament was held in Port Elizabeth with the purpose of selecting a Provisional National Team. The tournament was a resounding success, great talent was identified during the tournament and it became inevitable that the next inter provincial tournament was destined to be bigger and better.

The February 2008 Futsal Inter Provincial tournament had all the hallmarks of a spectacular event. The week long tournament attracted large crowds at the Tshwane University of Technology in Soshanguve township, and players were highly motivated by the prospect of being selected in the final National Team to represent the South Africa in Libya from the 21-30 March 2008.

TEAM PROFILE

The team consists of young players ranging from the age of 20 to 25. The team was carefully picked by a group of selectors, the South African football legends comprising of Amos Heel extension Mkhari, Johannes Bricks Mudau, Joseph Skheshekheshe Mkhonza and Yster Ndlovu. The selectors have selected a balanced team, and it will be under the guidance of veteran Futsal coach Quentin Allies and his assistant David Sono. The team is coming together for the first time and it will be a fantastic opportunity for them to participate at this competitive level of the game. Some of the players are also playing outdoor football in the development leagues, and they are optimistic of having a successful tournament in Libya.

THREE (3) KEY PLAYERS

1. Motumi Ishmael Phiriyamajela was voted player of the tournament. Motumi is a skillful player with the ability to create space through his unpredictable dribbling technique.

2. Gift Mashaba Nwashokwe Gift is a prolific goalscorer; he is lightning fast and he’s predatory instincts won him the top goalscorer award at the recent tournament.

3. Jermaine Garreth Taylor scooped the Goalkeeper of the tournament award; he is a big fellow with amazing agility. He commands from the back and he’s a great team organizer.



Egypt aims high

Two months ago in Ghana, the pharaohs of Egypt defended their Nations Cup title they won in Cairo in 2006 by beating Cameroun in the final and winning the trophy for the second year in a row. Accordingly, The Egyptian national futsal team is looking forward to add another victory to the Egyptian football by defending their African Futsal title in Libya and qualifying to the FIFA World Cup for the fourth time in Brasil.

Egypt, the three- time winner of the African Futsal Championship has made an appearance in all FIFA World Cup editions since its inauguration in Holland in 1989.

History

Before acquiring the term ‘Futsal’, the game was known in Egypt as the five - a - side football which was practised as a social activity among the nation’s different categories who played it everywhere; Egyptian sports clubs , in schools, youth centres and streets. In their free time or in weekends, veteran or retired football players as well as other sports officials or celebrities would gather to play the five- aside game for fun, boys in the streets would even play tournaments in weekends. In Ramadan, most clubs organise futsal tournaments which attract the sport’s super stars as well as talented youth who would display their skills infront of a high spectator turn-out. The Ramadan futsal tournament has helped increase the popularity of the game.

So, by 1996, futsal officially came to light in Egypt when the Egyptian Football Association hosted the First African Championship at the Cairo Stadium Indoor complex. Egyptian TV broadcast Egypt’s opening game against Ghana live. The Egyptian team then included famous stars who had recently retired like Taher Abu Zeid entertained the spectators with world- class futsal skills which turned the Indoor hall in the coming days of the competition into a full-house Stadium and the home crowd filled the stands in all Egypt’s matches. Backed by the spectators, the Egyptian team accomplished impressive results in the tournament beating Ghana 2-1, Zaire 13-2 and had a 6-6 draw with Zimbabwe. However Egypt won the tournament and made it to the FIFA World Cup finals in Spain.

In Spain, the national team played three matches under the supervision of head coach Mimi Abdel-Hamid. Egypt lost to Spain 7-3 in the opening game, beat Australia 8-2 and lost to Ukraine 10-4.

The second Futsal African Championship was also held in Cairo and was also qualifying to the World Cup in Guatemala in 2000. And for the second year in a row and amidst a full- house indoor pitch at the Cairo Stadium, the Egyptians beat Morocco 3-2 in the final to win the trophy and qualify to the World Cup in Guatemala where Egypt was placed sixth. The Egyptians displayed remarkable performances in the first round beating Uruguay 6-4 but lost to Holland 3-5. However, Egypt made it to the second round and successfully beat Russia 5-4 to qualify to the quarter-finals. Unfortunately Egypt lost to Argentina 4-6 but claimed the sixth place, which was an unprecedented achievement for the Egyptians in the history of the event. The Egyptians were trained by Ismaili’s and Egypt’s veteran super star Emad Soliman.

Following the African victory, the Egyptians also claimed the Arab Futsal Cup.

The winner of the third African Cup of Nations in 2004 was determined according to a new system based on two- leg games, an away and return match. Egypt claimed the trophy for the third time after beating Mozambique 11-2 at home and 3-4 in the away encounter. The Egyptians qualified to the World Cup in Taiwan and played three games where they outclassed the hosts in the opening game 12-0, lost to Ukraine 3-5 and then to Spain 5-0. Egypt gave an early bye to the tournament with its elimination. The national team technical staff was sacked and replaced by the current staff; Mowafak El-Sayed as head coach, Badr El-din Khalil coach and manager Abdel-Badie Mohamed. And under the supervision of the new staff, the team won the Arab Cup the following year in 2005.

And meanwhile the Egyptian team is focusing on winning the upcoming African Futsal Championship in Libya. And in preparations for the African Nations Cup, the team has been training on a regular basis since almost five months playing some friendly games in Egypt. However, the main preparation of the team for the African tournament included taking part in the annual 16- nation Grand Prix held in Brazil last November under the supervision of FIFA.

According to the team manager Abdel-Badie Mohamed, participating in the Grand prix together with 16 teams was the best preparation for the Egyptians before defending their trophy. Egypt was placed eighth. Abdel-Badie added that it was also a good chance for the technical staff to test four new players who have joined the team and it proved they were in good shape.

Head of the Futsal Committee at the Egyptian Football Association Hazem El-Hawary said that Egypt’s main goal in this event is to defend its title as usual. “We are the current reigning champions, so it is only normal that we will go for Libya aiming at winning the Cup and we know we can do it. Our record and our history say we are the strongest team in Africa and we are the favourites.”

“However, we are aware that we will face tough competition from the hosts Libya. The Libyan team is one of the strongest teams training abroad and playing friendly games against European teams which make them a tough opponent. The Libyans have improved a lot in the recent years and the game has developed and shown tremendous progress which made it very popular in the country. They also have good pitches and facilities. So, with a strong team and having the home advantage as a host, the Libyans will be looking to win the Cup for the first time.”

“In addition to the host, there are also some other promising teams as Morocco and Mozambique who can be strong opponents. But if all goes well and nothing unexpected mars the tournament, Egypt should win.“ El-Hawary added.

Key players: Mahmoud Abdel-Hakim, Wael Abu Sultan, and Ahmed Al-Agouz. The veteran players who have been members of the national team since 2000 will be making their third appearance in Libya 2008 and this makes them the most experienced players in the Egyptian team.

Note: other profiles to follow




Courtesy: CAF


Everything is in place for the start of the 2008 championship futsal in Libya

21/03/2008

The organising committee of futsal of the Confederation of African Football met on Thursday, March 20, 2008 in Tripoli, the capital of Libya, to discuss all issues related to the organisation of the championship scheduled from 21 to 30 March 2008 in Tripoli. The countries participating in the tournament attended also this very important meeting.

The meeting was chaired by the vice-president of the Confederation of Africain Football, Dr. Molefi Oliphant, who commended the organizing committee Libyan futsa for putting in place a lot of resources in order to have an excellent championship.

Eight teams are in the race namely Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa and Morocco, the first two teams will represent Africa at the futsal World Cup scheduled in Brazil in October 2008.

The General manager of the local organizing committee, Ali Ftaita said his committee has put the necessary resources to ensure the full success of the tournament and wish good luck to all the participating teams.

At the end of the meeting, the head of Egyptian delegation of Mr. Mahmoud Bakr expressed his satisfaction on the organization, and said that "the championship is very open, no big or small teams"

"We are very determined to go further in this competition, we had to perform three weeks of preparations, we have also had friendly games in South Africa'' said the head of the delegation of South Africa Mr Obakeng Bucks Molatedi.

The head of the delegation of the Nigerian football federation Mr Paul Odebumi Taiwo said his country has a very good team to face positively the tournament.

"Here I must congratulate the organizing committee the excellent organisation and hospitality granted to the participating delegations, I am optimistic that our team will go far having had a very good preparation," said Mr Driss Merbah, the number two the Moroccan delegation .

The Confederation of African Football, in collaboration with the Libyan football federation, organised , from 17 to 20 March 2008, a seminar to update selected referees for the championship . The chairman of the referees committee of CAF, Mr Amadou Diakite, said that the seminar's objective is "to bring up to standard the referees on theoretical and physical aspect to face the championship ''




Courtesy: CAF


Futsal libya 2008 : Baptism of Fire for Futsal Indomitable Lions

21/03/2008

It was in 1997 that futsal was introduced in Cameroon. It was an initiative of two individuals Michel Tchoya et Lambert Yodiodi Emebe. In Decembre 1996, the two were watching on television a futsal finals between Russia and Spain before they decided to experiment football with 5players despite the absence of the necessary infrastructure.It was on roads, handball, volleyball and even basketball pitches that the first futsal competitions were organised in Yaounde in 1997 with the main objective of vulgarising the sport. At that time not even the media in Cameroon knew much about futsal. It is still with such conditions that futsal is today practised in the country and the few competitions organised mostly take place in Yaounde, the capital city.

In 1997, the Cameroon Futsal association under the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) officailly applied to the World Football Governing Body FIFA for an agreement to implement the sport in the country. The request was granted and in that same year the Ministry of sports also delivered an autorisation.

In 1998 a joint CAF/FIFA mission to cameroon led by Michel Zen Ruffinen and Slim Aloulou recommended to the board of the Cameroon Futsal Association to be incorporated within the Cameroon Football Federation so as to become a specialised league. The recommendation was accepted and implemented paving the way for the creation of the National Futsal Commission with two representatives at the Fecafoot General Assembly.

The commisssion has over the years been organising zonal competitions. The country is divided into four zones and regional champions are drafted to play the national championship. The last edition took place in 2006.

That is how futsal has been practised in Cameroom for 10years. However the discipline heavily relies on football as those who practise it are mostly youths in Football Training Centres or those playing in the civilian championship. Cameroon has never participated in an international competition. The Sahel of Maroua Training Centre has participated in a tournamentin Germany and also regularly participates in another tournament in Dijon France.

The eliminatories for the world championships which begins at the end of this month in Libya will the first major outing for the Cameroon futsal national team which has 12 players. Preparartions for the competition started on March 7, 2008 in Yaounde with 40 players. 20 of them were retained for the second phase amongst which 12 have been retained for the final phase of the praparations that began on March 15.

Joël Alioum Kada

The force of attack

He is regarded as the best futsal player at the moment in Cameroon. Kada is a player of the reserve team of Cameroon champions Cotonsport of Garouaand alternates his career between football and futsal.He was part of the Cotonsport Futsal team that won the cup of cameroon in 2003.At 19 (born on the 03-09-1988), Kada is seen the pivot of the Cameroon futsal team with his speed, quality and goalscoring abilities.


Zibi Bernard Gilbert Christian

Keeper of the temple

At 30 (16-01-1978), the man who is widely referred to as «Lama» or«the cat» for his goalkeeping skills, has a long which will certainly be important for Cameroon in libya. Zibi was part of the cameroon under 23 team that won football gold at the 1999 All Africa Games in Johannesburg- South Africa.

Two times champion of Cameroon with Sable of Batié (1999) and Canon of Yaoundé (2002), he played with these clubs in the African Champions league. En 1994 he played with Cameroon legend Albert Roger Milla in the cup of cameroon finals.



Louis René Epée, Coach of the Cameroon Futsal team

« We don’t yet know our opponents but we are preparing as if we are going to play the best team in the world which is Brazil. Our preparation was done in three phase and i am counting on the enthusiasm, physical potential and technical abilities of my players.»




Courtesy: CAF

Oyekale hopes to Nigeria's futsal team to glory

21/03/2008

Former junior international Abel Oladunni Oyekale says his boys have no experience for the big stage, but he hopes they will challenge for the African Futsal Championship title in the true spirit of the Nigerian.

“We have had little time to train and learn so much about 5-A-Side football. But we have watched so much of the game and how to play it and we are confident that we can do well.

“The truth is, we have not played in the competition for more than decade-and-half now. That is a disadvantage. But we have a good idea of what we’re up against and when everything else fails, that typical Nigerian attitude of ‘never say die, go for it, persevere’ will stand us in good stead”, said Oyekale.

As they left Nigeria shores on Wednesday night, not many Nigerians were aware of their trip, or the essence of what they were going for. But then, 23 years ago, when one Sebastien Brodericks led out a bunch of small boys to play at the inaugural FIFA U-16 World Cup in China, not many Nigerians took notice. The team’s sojourn was not newspaper headlines until they reached the final, and subsequently beat then West Germany 2-0 to win Nigeria’s first world title in football.

There is really nothing much to the history of 5-A-Side football in Nigeria. There is the joke that Nigerians generally, being outgoing people, don’t like indoor games!

In 1992, Nigeria qualified to play in the World Futsal Championship for the first time. But the outing in Hong Kong was not memorable as the side led by Coach Olatunde Disu fell flat in the face of superior fire-power.

Ironically, Disu was the man who had taken the National U-20 team, Flying Eagles to a wonderful outing at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia three years earlier. That team reached the Final only to lose to Portugal, which had the likes of Joao Pinto, Luis Figo and others. In that team was Oladunni Oyekale.

Oyekale, who is from the South West of Nigeria but has lived most of his life in the North, was also a member of the Nigeria U-17 team that reached the Final at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Canada in 1987, losing to USSR on penalties.


Is a Final bungler?

“Not really. We should have won that Final match in Canada against the USSR and we were unlucky against the Portuguese in Riyadh. You know, some of our players were under suspension due to card offence”.

As he heads to his first international assignment as a coach, Oyekale expects that the players he has will thrown in everything they’ve got in order to excel and win adulation from Nigerians, and perhaps attention and reward from the Government.

The Nigeria Delegation is led by Paul Taiwo Odebunmi, a former footballer who could not reach international level due to injury, and the Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association, Mazi Amanze Uchegbulam, also a former provincial star and Deputy Chairman of the CAF Appeal Board.

The players are Goalkeepers Chigozie Agbim and Emmanuel Abah, with players being Gambo Mohammed, Aliyu Usman, Akeem Akin Hosseny, Segun Atere, Sani Gidado, Ifeanyi Eweruzor, Julius Ayoola Filani, Olaniyi Rilwan Jejeola, Musa Mustapha, Suleiman Mohammed and Sylvester Francis, who is team captain.

The most famous names in the team include Segun Atere, a former junior international who has played for a string of foreign clubs but has retraced his steps back to the Nigeria home League, and now plays for Kwara United.

Emmanuel Abbah is an experienced goalkeeper of no mean repute, who has seen it all on the local scene. He was a pillar of strength for two-time African champions Enyimba FC of Aba, for many years.

Chigozie Agbim was goalkeeper for the Nigeria U-17 team that played at the FIFA U-17 World Cup finals in Finland five years ago.

As they departed Nigeria for Tripoli on Wednesday night, Uchegbulam said: “This is a national assignment and the boys and their Coach see it that way. It is an indoor game, otherwise it is the same football that we all know.

“The thing is to see it as a mission and go in there and do the job. I have spoken to the boys and they fear no foe.

“It is important that they look at themselves as Ambassadors of Nigeria and that they must not return to Nigeria without the trophy. Just like it is happening to them now, it happened to the Beach Soccer team when they were first leaving Nigeria to take part in the African Championship in South Africa two years ago.

“Nobody knew, or cared about them outside the Nigeria Football Association. But the Beach Soccer team did well enough to qualify for the World Cup in 2006 and everybody took notice. Last year, they went to South Africa and won the African Championship, and then reached the quarter –finals at the World Cup in Brazil. Steadily, they have become a force to reckon with in Beach Soccer in the universe”.

The Nigeria team will play hosts Libya in the competition’s opening match on Friday, 21st March and then face Cameroon on Saturday. Oladunni Oyekale’s team will also play Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon in a tricky Group A.



THE NIGERIA SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS
1) Emmanuel Abbah
2) Chigozie Agbim

PLAYERS
3) Gambo Mohammed
4) Aiyu Usman
5) Akeem Akin Hosseny
6) Segun Atere
7) Sani Gidado
8) Ifeanyi Eweruzor
9) Julius Ayoola Filani
10) Olaniyi Rilwan Jejeola
11) Musa Mustapha
12) Suleiman Mohammed
13) Sylvester Francis (C)

COACH: Abel Oladunni Oyekale





Courtesy: CAF


Futsal Libya 2008: Morocco and Libya teams’ profile

20/03/2008

Libya will be hosting the 4th of the African Futsal Championships from March 21-30, also serving as the preliminaries of world event slated for Brazil later in the year.

The ten participating countries are divided in two groups of five teams.

In group A are Libya, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Cameroon with Group B consisted by Egypt, Zambia, South Africa, Angola and Mozambique.

The matches will be played in two venues : Cortuba and African Union


Morocco – Aiming a step higher

Morocco is one of the African countries that can boast of a tradition in playing futsal.

The country had to wait till the 1980`s to see the introduction of the sport in the kingdom.

It was the town of Kénitra, which first embraced futsal thanks to a basketball star Hassan Benkhdouj. The first Ramadan tournament organized in 1980 became an annual event.

This led to the vulgarization of the sport, attracting interest from players and teams of renown. Among those who embraced futsal are Jamal, Houate, Touahria and Daadi.

The anxiety created by the sport in Kénitra easily spread to other cities like Tanger, Casablanca, Khemisset, Tétouan, and even the capital Rabat, all of whom had regular tournaments.

The success on the national and international level of Ajax Kenitra led to a rapid development of the sport.

But it was in 1995 that a Futsal commission was created in the as a division of the Morocco Football Federation. It is this commission that has over the years been involved in structuring the sport and organising the national championship.

The first edition of the national championship, which grouped the champions of the regional leagues, was held in Tanger in 1999.

The core of the national team is made up of products of the championship. Thanks to efforts put in by the national commission, futsal is fast becoming more popular in the country.

Profile of Morocco
The national team is seen as one of the few that have had a marked progress in futsal, even though it has never qualified for the world championship. Rated 39th out of 131 countries by FIFA, Morocco is the second most powerful country on the continent behind neighbours Egypt.

The 4th African championships in Libya will be an opportunity for Morocco to prove its abilities in the sport and especially challenge the leadership status of Egypt.

To meet Egypt, the Moroccans will need to overcome hosts Libya, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Nigeria in the first round of the competition.

Ajax Kenitra, the most celebrated futsal club in the kingdom has its key players playing for the national team. For the first training ahead of the African championships, which held in Mehdia between the 11th to 22 of February, they had 6 players in the squad.

Other clubs who have players in the national team were Chabab Khouribga, Ittihad Chabab Tetouan, Ittihad Khemisset ands Najm Rif El Houcima



Libya – Serious contenders for the Title

Playing at home for the 4th edition of the African Futsal championship, Libya intends not to just fill the numbers.

The team has adequately prepared to win the competition and book a ticket for the world championship. For the group stages of the competition, Libya will face Morocco, a team they are familiar with their style; and Tunisia with whom they participated with at the Arab futsal championship.

Nigeria and Cameroon, the two other two teams in Group A are not well known by the Libyan public. Egypt, three times African champions and rated favourites is Libya’s principal adversary.

Hazem El-Hawary, the President of the futsal commission at the Egyptian Football Federation said “We are aware that we will have a serious challenge from the host country, Libya. The Libyan team is one of the most solid and they have been fortified by the friendly matches, which they have played against some of the best sides in the world notably in Europe and South America.

“The Libyans have so much improved their game this few years which has made futsal a popular sport in the country.”

From the 10th to the 19th of January, Libya hosted the Arab futsal Championship which they won on the eve of the African Cup of Nations in Ghana.

In the finals of the competition Egypt was on a goalless parity with Libya before the break and after interval the Egyptians refused to return to the field for the second half, giving way for the Libyans to be declared champions.

According to Le Soir d’Algérie in its edition of Tuesday January 22 2008, A Tunisian referee noticing that the Egyptians were no longer returning to the field declared Libya winner by 2-0.

The Egyptians had complained of the physical integrity of their players who were being verbally abused by the Libyan fans, even though they just needed a draw to win the championships.

Conscious of the fact that the African championship will be a much more serious and important competition, the Futsal Commission of the Libyan Football Federation President, Ben Niran Yousef, in collaboration with the president of the Football Federation El-Saadi Kadhafi, have spared no effort to make sure the team has a good preparation with friendly matches lined up against team like Brazil and Argentina.

On Thursday March 6th, Libya hosted Argentina in Benghazi. Argentina won the match 4-3. Two days before the game between the two teams ended in a similar score. Libya which is one of the first African countries to have embraced futsal is ranked 40th in the world by FIFA with 1037 points, just behind Morocco. Libya is the 3rd African country in the world classification far behind Egypt - 20th.




Courtesy: CAF


CAF releases referee list for futsal

11/03/2008

Sixteen referees from six countries will officiate in the African preliminaries of Futsal World Championship Brazil 2008 taking place in Libya from 21-31 March 2008.

The referees are from Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mozambique and Libya. Each of the countries is producing three referees except Cameroon and Morocco with two each.

Ten countries are participating the futsal competition. The draws will take on March 15 in Tripoli. The ten countries will be divided in two groups of five teams. They are Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia.

The list of referees
1 Mahmood Yasser - Egypt
2 Kadara Said Abd “
3 Soliman Sherif Rashwan “
4 Boulifa Abdellah - Morocco
5 Zadani Abdelali - “
6 Ayeni Saheed - Nigeria
7 Ozor Osmond - “
8 Zakowi Abraham - “
9 Ongolo Claude - Cameroun
10 Tchatchou Amedee - “
11 Machava Dionise - Mozambique
12 Cacachal Jose - “
13 Khani Asselam - “
14 El Haola Mustafa - Libya
15 AL Dawi Tawfik - “
16 Fasani Al sharef - “