By Doug Reed @DougReedFutsalIn Zagreb, Croatia a full house produced noise, colour and passion to create an unforgettable atmosphere that has to be seen to be believed. They sung and swayed in harmony, shaking the stands for the full duration of the match. These were the devoted fans of Dinamo as they cheered their team to victory last week.
This was not a football match they were watching but rather futsal where 3500 fans were squeezed in to support the recently established Futsal Dinamo’s first game of the season. The futsal club was created in 2012 by their current captain and former Croatian international Matija Dulvat as a way to mix his two passions of futsal and the football club Dinamo Zagreb.
This year after continuing disagreements on how the football club is being managed between the club’s president and their well-known supporters group Bad Blue Boys (BBB), the latter decided they wanted to create their own club.
In the end BBB decided that as the futsal club was a tribute to their beloved club, and with links already established between the two clubs, they would take over the futsal club instead. And so this has become their new passion.
The result has been an incredible level of support for the team which competes in Croatian futsal’s second tier, with promotion being the objective this season. 4500 fans attended the official presentation of the new collaboration between the club and fans. In their first official fixture they broke the record attendance at a futsal match in Croatia with 3500 fans filling the Dom Sportova Sports Hall.
BBB are a famous supporters group, renowned internationally for their fanatical support of their team home and away. They feel driven out by the football team’s management with many barred from entering the football stadium. The futsal club is way to demonstrate their love for their club and city. It is somewhere they can cheer for their team without feeling persecuted.
The atmosphere at the matches is not threatening and everyone is enjoying themselves as they sing for their team. This is evident by the presence of many women and children.
Captain and founder Dulvat had this to say; “With this much energy and love Futsal Dinamo will become a world renowned club and I hope it will provide an example how to develop futsal to others that love this sport. Finally people will start to talk about futsal and will see how great this sport is. This is our chance to promote futsal and I hope fans in other countries will follow this example.”
The incredible spectacle can witnessed in the video and photos below and is being spoken about across the worldwide futsal community. This type of support is what futsal needs to become a truly professional and important sport. Dinamo is leading the way but it is hoped that their example will be replicated elsewhere.
Posted by Doug Reed -@DougReedFutsal -->
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