Courtesy: Tamworth Northern Daily Leader


Moves afoot to promote futsal around the north

30/09/2008

WITH the soccer season barely over, players will soon have the opportunity to keep their skills sharp over the summer months but on an indoor court, with the introduction of futsal to the sporting landscape.

A five-a-side game played on a netball-sized court, futsal has a huge following overseas and has gained a strong foothold in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.

And if Armidale District Football Association president Graham Parsons has his way, it will take off in northern NSW as well.

He is working on behalf of Viking, a company which administers and fosters futsal in Australia.

Parsons has conducted a number of sign-on days in Armidale and hopes to soon have a midweek competition up and running.

He also hopes to kick off other competitions across the New England and North West region, as well as schools-based tournaments.

“Futsal is a fast and exciting game, where every player on average touches the ball every 19 seconds,” he said.

“That allows all players to get involved in the game, no matter what their skill level.

“It also helps to develop skills and is especially good for young players who need to improve their skills.”

Parsons explained that Viking was helping to set up competitions and employing fulltime development officers to help grow the code in both metropolitan and regional areas.

“Futsal is the official indoor game of FIFA but it is not that well organised in Australia,” he said.

“Viking is a not-for-profit company that is addressing that situation.

“It started in Queensland but is now moving into NSW, and has 30,000 players participating in futsal across Australia.”

Parsons jumped at the opportunity when Viking approached him to get the sport off the ground in Armidale and his long-term aim is to have 100 teams playing the game in the city.

“If we can do that, Viking will employ a fulltime development officer,” he said.

“The biggest challenge is that we are competing for players with sports like basketball, indoor hockey and twilight soccer.

“But it is one of Australia’s fastest growing sports and I think once we get a few teams playing it will really take off.

“I also hope to get similar competitions going across the region.”

Parsons said futsal had an established representative structure in place, up to national level, and predicted Armidale would host the State Championships within two years.

“We have at least 10 venues in Armidale where the game can be played, meaning representative carnivals can easily be catered for,” he said.

“We already have 24 teams nominated for a schools gala day in October, which is great because the game really suits younger players.

“Getting the kids involved is also the best way for futsal to gain a foothold in the area as well.”

Anyone interested in playing futsal or setting up a local competition can contact Parsons on 0429 322 630 or phone 1800 futsal.





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