Courtesy: The Bleacher Report


Why Futsal Should Replace Football as an Olympic Sport

by Garry Hayes

Aug 22, 2016

Brazil had come close on plenty of occasions before, but on home soil and in the iconic Maracana stadium, they were finally realising the dream of generations. That victory came against Germany made it all the more cathartic for Brazilians, as it had been Die Mannschaft who had humiliated them at their own World Cup in 2014.

Neymar and Brazil's celebrations were unique. History and heartbreak dictate a nation's fascination with Olympic football, which is not something repeated elsewhere. That sense of destiny and importance is hard to replicate with other countries.

Rio 2016 has shown us again the power of the Olympic Games, but when it comes to football, there are much bigger and better showcases. For Europeans, think the European Championships and World Cup; for South Americans, swap the Euros for the Copa America.

With its age-limit format—only three players over the age of 23 are allowed in each Olympic football squad—it's nothing more than a glorified youth competition. The biggest and best players are often missing because of this, and the scheduling, which clashes with the start of the club season, means the attraction isn't there.

Neymar's presence for Brazil bucked the trend this year. Not only did the Barcelona star have a sense of needing to finish the job he failed to complete in 2014, but a home Olympics for a country so thirsty for Olympic gold was not one to be missed.

Will Tokyo 2020 have the same appeal? Will Neymar's employers, be that Barcelona or another of Europe's giants, entertain the idea of him going missing for a month at the start of a new campaign?

The answer has to be no. Rio was unique for him and Brazilian football. It's for that reason you have to fear for the future of the sport at the Olympics. With so much focus elsewhere, football doesn't feel relevant; it's almost like it's been tacked on to attract a certain demographic in the hope they can get sucked into watching the more niche sports such as judo and fencing.

Those sports are what the Olympic spirit is about, though. The Games champion the underdog in a sense, giving massive exposure for sports that struggle for attention in the four-year window that separates each Olympiad.

When we put it like that, football doesn't have a place at the Games. It's the antithesis of what the Olympics represent.

But if the IOC are so keen to attract football fans, why not put a twist on its inclusion? Why not innovate? We've already seen in Rio that rugby sevens is becoming a bona fide Olympic sport to be reckoned with, so why not add futsal to the list of new sports and do away with 11-a-side?

A big part of Rio 2016's success was the IOC's attempts to keep the Games current. Golf's return and the introduction of sevens helped that. They attracted fans to the sport—particularly sevens, which was breathtaking at times—and we saw new stars emerge.

Fiji had never won a medal at any Olympics until this year. The country's gold medal in sevens has made the players from Ben Ryan's squad heroes for a lifetime now.

Despite being the inaugural event for sevens at the Olympics, what we saw in Rio hints at the Games becoming the pinnacle for the sport. There's a global series competed for every year, but coming every four years, the Olympics can be the unofficial sevens World Cup. It slots in perfectly.

And isn't that what the Olympics should strive to achieve anyway? For those competing, it should be the top priority. The four-year cycles should be about athletes building up to it, not adding it to an already-congested schedule and turning up half-hearted.

That's what football does. The sport is hindered by so many outside sources when it comes to the Olympics; ask the clubs who release their players, it's more a hindrance than anything.

Futsal is a game on the rise. From its origins on the basketball courts of Argentina, it's in the 21st century that we've seen its growth become rapid. UEFA have taken it under their wing in Europe, and their influence is adding more structure to the format to attract more players and fans.

Compare futsal with its richer and more high-profile cousin, football, however, and there's little point. It gets smothered; it's eaten alive.

Whereas football humours the Olympics almost, futsal would champion it. The unique nature of the sport will captivate an audience and, in turn, help its growth. We'll see new stars emerge and new legacies made. From a British perspective, we may even see a team compete.

New England boss Sam Allardyce has jumped on the bandwagon with his comments about Team GB entering men's and women's football teams for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. "To turn it down is a great shame," he told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek (via BBC Sport) of Team GB's failure to have men and women competing in football in Rio. "It's something we may look at in the future and try to compete in."

It's the view of one man, and England manager or not, Allardyce doesn't have the clout to make it happen. It's just a soundbite, as politics among the four home nations has shown us Britain coming together as a footballing power under one flag at the Olympics isn't going to be on cards any time soon.

For futsal, a sport privileged without such in-fighting, a collective Team GB every four years seems much more plausible. The hockey teams are able to do it, and this year, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland competed as one in rugby sevens.

Those sports aren't big enough that they can afford to ignore the Olympic ideals. Football is. It flourishes quite well by itself; it doesn't need the Olympics, which is why the four home-nation associations can dictate their terms.

From a spectator's view, who wants to watch average international football players going head-to-head when the Premier League is just starting at the same time anyway? La Liga started this weekend, too, so the focus was elsewhere. It was only the unique nature of Brazil's win that meant fans got interested at the last moment.

For futsal, we would be seeing the cream of the crop; the best player would be going for gold. That guarantees the quality that is missing in Olympic football.

Give 11-a-side the boot and try something different. It might just work.



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