Courtesy: UEFA


Focus on Futsal in Madrid

Thursday, 19 January 2006

Final preparations are being put in place for the second UEFA Futsal Conference which will be held at Las Rozas, Madrid from 13 to 15 February, in conjunction with the Spanish Football Federation.

Respected names
Among the respected names lending their expertise about the small-sided game will be UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh and UEFA Futsal Committee chairman Petr Fousek. Some of Futsal's biggest figures will also be in attendance including Javier Lozano, the coach of reigning world and European champions Spain, Russia's Futsal Committee chairman Semen Andreev and respected Dutch coach Vic Hermans.

Rapid growth
The three-day event has been organised by UEFA's football development division and will follow on from the success of the first UEFA Futsal Conference staged in Coverciano, Italy in November 2002. As before this year's event will concentrate on the continued success of the UEFA Futsal Cup and UEFA European Futsal Championship. It will also focus on the sport's rapid growth, not least with the work being done by national associations in tandem with UEFA's continued commitment.

Practical sessions
Those present from UEFA's 52 member associations will also participate in discussion groups regarding the various topics that arise and also watch practical sessions involving local youngsters in the Spanish capital. In addition, there will be the opportunity to hear about FIFA's Futsal activities, with development manager Jaime Yarza giving a talk about how the world governing body has worked to promote Futsal, not least through the FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Strength to strength
UEFA is firmly committed to taking Futsal forward. A UEFA Futsal Workshop was staged in Ostrava a year ago, designed to help those nations new to the sport to learn about the game and its sporting and marketing possibilities. The UEFA Futsal Cup was founded in the 2001/02 season for Europe's top club sides, building on the success of the UEFA European Futsal Championship for national teams which has gone from strength to strength since 1999.



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