Courtesy: Indian Express


Without proper organisation to boot, Futsal hoping to find foothold

by Rohan Swamy

Sun Jan 29 2012

While football might be finding a new resurgent fan following in the city after getting an I-League team and the owners of an EPL team being based in the city, the game of Futsal is something that is virtually unheard of.

A smaller cousin of the 90-minute version of the game, Futsal is termed to be a breeding ground for professional players. The likes of Ronaldinho and Christiano Ronaldo have all grown up playing this version of the game to become ace footballers. While the scale might not be as grand to churn out footballers of their calibre in the immediate future, the game is taking its first baby steps in the city with the ongoing Redcarpet Academy Futsal Championship that will end on Sunday.

Jehan Kothary, one of the organisers of the championship, said , “Futsal is played on a proper league basis in South America, Europe and Central America. It is a five a side tournament that is played for 40 minutes. It helps young players develop their stamina and skills and the game is very necessary for a country like India.”

The tournament that is on at the Vikhe Patil Memorial School has seen as many as 75 schools take part in the championship.

Kothary said the game is currently administered globally by FIFA and even has a world cup.

In India, however, there is no face for the sport. “There is no national organisation for Futsal,” he said, adding, technically under FIFA regulations every national football organisation should have a Futsal sub-committee. However, we don’t have anything of this sort under the AIFF. In fact, if the state football organisations come together interest can be generated among players and spectators,” he said.

The current version of the tourney has nine all girls teams.

Kothary said the aim of the tournament is to generate interest among children. “Once we start building up a foundation for the sport, it will naturally help children take up professional football as their career. It will prepare them to play 90-minute games with ease,” he said.

Kothary said they have plans to start a full-fledged Futsal academy in the city giving its growing interest in football. “The academy will be on the lines of a professional football club but will be smaller in size. We are looking to build a proper indoor stadium for the same. The funds may pose a problem but we are optimistic,” he added.




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