Courtesy: www.stuff.co.nz

Futsal National League set to go

The fifth edition of the Futsal National League kicks off on Friday with eight teams from the seven football federations competing in Series One of the competition over three days at Napier’s Pettigrew Green Arena.

The competing teams will be looking to topple defending competition champions AFF Futsal who will once again be led by Futsal Whites captain Marvin Eakins and international team mate Dylan Manickum.

Elsewhere, 2012 champions Northern are boosted by the inclusion of their Futsal Whites contingent of Jan Fischer and Ouadhah Ragued while Waikato BOP’s challenge will be sustained by their rising young stars including Kyle Wisnewski.

Central Hawke’s Bay will rely heavily on the attacking threat of powerhouse pivot Josh Stevenson and dynamic youngster Harrison Gregory while their Manawatu counterparts will be led by the ASB Premiership tested talents of Nathan Cooksley and Adam Cowan.

Capital’s push once again will be influenced by the goalscoring talents of Futsal White Miroslav Malivuk as well as international team mates Kareem Osman and Lucas Da Silva.

Mainland Futsal’s campaign will be spearheaded by Futsal Whites trio Daniel Burns, Ryan Batty and goalkeeper Atta Elayyan.

Leading scorer for Futsal South last year, Carlos Herrmann will again be a key figure in the campaign of the southerners.

New Zealand Football Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne says the national league forms a vital part of the futsal player pathway for the growing player base in New Zealand.

“The Futsal National League is in many ways the pinnacle event on the domestic futsal calendar,” Payne said.

“Not only is it a competition all young futsal players can aspire to play in, it is also the competition from which the majority of the New Zealand national team, the Futsal Whites, is chosen.”

Futsal Whites coach Scott GiIligan will head the Technical Study Group at all three series’, scouting players for the OFC Futsal Championships in 2015 – the tournament that will decide Oceania’s representative at FIFA Futsal Wold Cup Columbia 2016.

The Solomon Islands have been Oceania’s representatives at the previous two World Cups, but Payne believes the Futsal Whites are well-placed to challenge for Oceania’s solitary qualifying spot at futsal’s ultimate tournament.

“The competition will be tough, because we have seen a tremendous rise in the quality of futsal right across Oceania, particularly since the last qualifying tournament in 2011.

“But since that time, the Futsal Whites have played over 20 games against strong opposition. Next year we will also have a busy lead-up to the tournament, and we are confident that we will arrive at the qualifier in the best possible shape,” Payne said.

Series One of the Futsal National League begins on Friday 17 October with Central Manawatu taking on Central Hawke’s Bay at Pettigrew Arena at 1pm. Live streaming coverage of the Series will be available on www.stuff.co.nz/sport from the first game.

Click here for the full Futsal National League Series One programme (PDF).

NZ Football Futsal National League 2014

Series One: October 17-19, Napier
Series Two: November 6-8, Wellington
Series Three: December 5-7, Auckland

Teams:
Northern (Champions 2012), Auckland (Champions 2011, 2013), WaiBOP, Central – Hawke’s Bay, Central – Manawatu, Capital, Mainland, Futsal South

Coverage:
Games will be streamed live on www.stuff.co.nz/sport from Friday at 1pm.






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