The 2013 Intercontinental Futsal Cup competition will take place in the Greensboro Coliseum June 27-30. Now in its 13th year, the tournament will pit six of the world’s best futsal clubs against each other, including the 2012 Intercontinental Futsal Cup Champion Carlos Barbosa and the new South American Champions Intelli Orlândia featuring world-famous player Falcão.

Futsal is a variant of football (American soccer) that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a hard court surface delimited by lines; walls or boards are not used. Futsal also is played with a smaller ball with less bounce than a regular football. The surface, ball and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.

The sport was developed in Uruguay in the 1930s and 1940s as a solution to the lack of available football fields. In Brazil and Spain, futsal is played by more people than soccer. All of the best soccer players in the world grew up playing futsal first. Ronaldinho, Robinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and even the great Pelé attribute their success in soccer to the game of futsal.

“Greensboro will be the site of the greatest futsal competition of 2013 and certainly has the potential to be the greatest tournament in the history of this prestigious tournament,” Rob Andrews, USA Futsal director, said. “We like to say that futsal has all the global appeal of soccer but was made for an American audience. Lots of scoring, players displaying technique and coaching strategy give it the excitement and intensity Americans are looking for when watching sports live.”

Tickets are on sale now.

Teams schedule to compete in the 2013 Intercontinental Futsal Cup in Greensboro include:

Boca Juniors
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Boca Juniors are the futsal division of the world-renowned soccer club from Argentina. They play in the AFA Liga Futsal, the top division for futsal in Argentina. This year they were the Argentinian Champion of the Torneo Apertura 2012, giving them the birth into this year’s Intercontinental Futsal Cup. This will be the club’s second Intercontinental Futsal Cup appearance in two years.

Carlos Barbosa
Carlos Barbosa, Brazil
Founded in 1976, Carlos Barbosa are a professional futsal club from Carlos Barbosa, Brazil. They play in the Liga Futsal (Brazil’s Top Division). The club plays its home games at the Centro Municipal de Eventos. During the team’s history, the club has won the Intercontinental Futsal Cup two times. (2004 and 2012) They are four-time Liga Futsal Champions – more than any other team in history.

Dinamo Moscow
Moscow, Russia
Founded in 2002, Dinamo Moscow are a professional futsal club from Moscow that competes in the Russian Super League. The club plays its home games at Sport Hall “Druzhba.” During its history, the club has won the UEFA Futsal Cup once in 2007, finished runners-up three times (2005, 2006 and 2012) and became back-to-back Champions of the Russian Futsal Super League in 2011/2012.

ElPozo Murcia
Murcia, Spain
Founded in 1989, ElPozo Murcia are a professional futsal club from Murcia, Spain. The team competes in the Liga de Honor (Spain’s Top Division). The club plays home games at the Palacio de Deportes. During its history, the club has won the Spanish Liga de Honor 5 times. In 2012, ElPozo won their 4th Super Copa de España title.

FSC Glucosoral
Guatemala City, Guatemala
FSC Glucosoral is a professional futsal club from Guatemala. The team competes in the Liga Futsal de Guatemala, the most advanced futsal league in all of CONCACAF. They have won the Guatemalan league 4 times and the cup 3 times. This year the club won the League Cup, giving the team a birth into this year’s Intercontinental Futsal Cup. This will be the club’s first Intercontinental Futsal Cup. FSC Glucosoral are the first CONCACAF representative in Cup History.

ADC Intelli Orlândia
Orlândia, São Paulo, Brazil
Founded in 1977, the Associação Desportiva Classista Intelli are a professional Brazilian futsal club from Orlândia, São Paulo. The team competes in the Liga Futsal and plays home games at Ginásio Maurício Leite de Moraes. During its history, the club has won the Paulista A1 League three times (2003, 2010 and 2011) and became Champions of the Liga Futsal in 2012.





Posted by Kevin Hartwell -->