Courtesy: Richmond Review


National futsal camp set for oval

by Don Fennell

December 28, 2011

From its introduction in Uruguay in 1930 to the first world championships in Rio de Janeiro in 1971, futsal has evolved into one of the most popular variants of traditional soccer.

And the game is coming to Richmond.

Richmond Soccer is hosting the Canadian men’s national futsal team Jan. 7 and 8, 2012 at the Richmond Olympic Oval. The identification camp and East-West game at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 (admission is free, but non-perishable food items are being collected for the food bank) will help determine the final roster that will represent Canada at the 2012 North American world qualifier next spring. The 2012 Futsal World Cup is scheduled for next November in Thailand.

“Having a national ID camp and game here is huge for us because we want to expand our programs and futsal is a big part of that,” said Richmond Girls’ Soccer executive director Stewart MacPherson.

Coinciding with the national team’s appearance will be the U14 and U16 provincial championships. Richmond will be represented by four Select Division boys’ teams while the girls will be represented by the U13, U14, U15 and U16 High Performance League teams. Each team will play four games.

Played on a much smaller pitch and mainly indoors, futsal (which roughly translated from Spanish means hall football) is played between two teams of five players each. And unlike traditional soccer changes are permitted on the fly. A smaller ball, with less bounce, also promotes more control and touches on the ball.

“The premise is that if (the players) can learn to move the ball around in tight spaces imagine what they can do a full field outdoors,” said MacPherson. “It’s a great learning and teaching tool.”




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