Futsal nations target finals

Monday 4 November 2002

The race to qualify for the 2003 UEFA European Futsal Championship gets under way on Tuesday with 28 countries competing in the qualifying round.

Third event
This will be the third edition of the prestigious competition for national teams, which will culminate in a final tournament in Italy in February. The hosts qualify automatically, with the seven winners of the mini-tournaments being staged this month joining Italy in the finals.

Seven hosts
Each mini-tournament features four teams, one of which acts as host. The seven hosts are Hungary, Finland, Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Portugal, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Teams play each other once, with three points awarded for a win and one for a draw.

Busy period
Five of the seven mini-tournaments will be completed this week with matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday in Groups 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7. Group 5 will be played from 6-9 November while Group 2 will take place between 20 and 23 November.

Russian triumph
Russia won the inaugural UEFA event in 1999, defeating hosts Spain on penalties. The next edition in 2001 saw Spain make amends with a 2-1 final victory against Ukraine to lift the trophy in Moscow.

What is Futsal?
For the uninitiated, Futsal is a five-a-side version of football which is particularly popular in southern and eastern Europe. An exciting indoor sport, it uses a smaller ball and is played without side walls or boards.