Courtesy: AFC.com

Kuala Lumpur: Just like the name of the programme, a FIFA/AFC Futsal Seminar held in the Malaysian capital has left a profound legacy for its participants which will go a long way in developing their futsal game that in turn will take the Asian game higher on the world stage.

The four-day event, aptly titled ‘FIFA/AFC Futsal Seminar on the FIFA/AFC Futsal World Cup 2012 Legacy for Asia’, closed on Sunday having analysed the performance of Asian teams at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand, compared their show with that of the top teams and discussed new trends in futsal.

Forty-eight participants took part in the seminar where speakers such as Spain national assistant coach Federico Vidal Montaldo, Thailand head coach Victor Hermans and FIFA Technical Study Group member Mico Martic shared their views.

FIFA Beach Soccer and Futsal Coordinator Brent Rahim gave a presentation on FIFA Futsal Development Programmes while AFC Futsal Development Director Ali Targholizadeh compared Asian teams’ performances with that of teams from the other confederations and presented on the Asian Futsal Strategic Plan 2013-2018.

Shahabeddin Sofalmanesh of the Iran Football Federation and Japan Football Association’s Futsal Committee Chairman Yasuhiro Matsuzaki gave a glimpse into the futsal programmes in their countries during the seminar.

One of the seminar participants, Luis Manuel Anorim Da Silva Hung (pictured, right), is an assistant coach for the national team of Macau whose players are gaining their experience by playing in neighbours China and also a regional league as the nation does not yet have their own futsal league.

“It’s really good that we got to soak in the experience of the top teams in the World Cup in Thailand,” Hung told The-AFC.com. “Top European countries like Spain and also our own Asian teams like the hosts Thailand, Japan and Iran shared a lot of information during the seminar which we can use and adapt to our country.

“The development topics covered by the seminar were also interesting and the most important and useful part to me was the discussion sessions where ideas were shared. These really opened my eyes and learning from these, I can combine a lot of good ideas to strengthen Macau national team back home.”

Ahmed Almannai (pictured, left), who is assistant coach to the national team of Qatar where the domestic league has been in operation for about seven years , is also appreciative of the legacy the FIFA/AFC seminar has left.

“The seminar on the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 Thailand, like the name of the event, really left a legacy and a strong mark on us the participants,” he said. “We learned a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the participating teams in Asia and also outside the continent.

“This new knowledge definitely shortens the curve in learning the important things from the teams’ preparations and performances in the world futsal showpiece. I especially appreciate the lectures by the coaches of the tops teams such as Spain who were the runners-up in Thailand 2012.”