Courtesy: Amandala


Futsal (five-a-side) - What is Belize waiting for?

17/06/2008

Futsal (five-a-side football) has been catching on fast in the region and, like the FIFA Club World Cup, there is also now a FIFA Futsal World Cup, with the CONCACAF representatives going on to represent the region in the world finals.

Five-a-side was played at Bird’s Isle in Belize City back in the late 1970’s and was quite popular as an off season spectacle. It also helped to improve the ball handling and shooting skills of our 1st division players. Presently, the Choco Committee of Corozal is coordinating the Corozal Interoffice five-a-side competition, and they are also running the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino 6-a-side (a slight variation). But Belize is yet to participate in the CONCACAF Futsal tournament. Why not?

The bottom line is that our athletes are talented and hungry for action and “exposure”. And FIFA has been providing the funds to foster the training and development of our product; but who knows what the FIFA money is spent on? It’s time for us to enter the 21st century and start asserting ourselves as a nation in this region, besides giving our athletes more opportunities to develop and display their skills at home and abroad. (See edited articles below from the CONCACAF website.)

About CONCACAF Futsal

Concacaf.com - Formerly known as Five-A-Side until 1992, Futsal has grown rapidly throughout the CONCACAF region as the Confederation have staged three tournaments which have doubled as FIFA qualifiers to the World Championships in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Six teams participated in 1996 CONCACAF event in Guatemala that was won by the USA and also qualified Cuba to FIFA tournament in Spain 1996. In 2000, eight squads took part in the Confederation competition in Costa Rica, which was claimed by the host and Cuba once again took second as both teams progressed to the FIFA World Championship in Guatemala.

Four years later, a preliminary qualification round was needed as a total of 15 nations entered the CONCACAF Futsal Tournament. Eight teams were determined and competed in the CONCACAF event held in Costa Rica, where the USA and Cuba claimed first and second places, respectively.

Futsal Guatemala top Cuba on penalties to claim CONCACAF crown; USA qualifies Mon. June 9, 2008 concacaf.com – Guatemala topped Cuba on penalties 5:3 after a 3:3 draw in the finals of the 2008 CONCACAF Futsal Championship at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City on Sunday.

Guatemala claim their first CONCACAF Futsal Championship as they progressed along with Cuba to the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008.

Also joining Cuba and Guatemala as the third Confederation representative at the FIFA event will be the USA, who defeated Panama by a score of 7:1 to capture the bronze medal at the CONCACAF Tournament on Sunday at the Domo Polideportivo.




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