Futsal - School Competitions July 29, 2008 Futsal will be hosting school based competitions at the Campbelltown Leisure Centre from 20th/21st September. ... [view]
The game of Futsal (Foot-Sal) originally started in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1930. A man by the name of Juan Carlos Cermani invented a 5-a-side version of the outdoor game to be played on a small indoor court. The game has since travelled all around the world and there is now Futsal World Championships, European Championships and International Tournaments for the game.
The last FIFA Futsal World Championship (World Futsal Cup) was held in Chinese Taipei in 2004. International players the likes of Romario, Ronaldo, the legendary Pele and also Maradona have played the game in their younger days and they credit Futsal with the development of their skills..
Futsal in South Australia has been around for the last 15 years. In this time the game has been under the control of the SA Soccer Federation, but the game has always found opposition from the other Indoor games and a lot of Centres and Schools around the State have their own Futsal Competitions, which unfortunately have not been recognised by the governing body of Futsal. Due to this reason a lot of the players playng in these competitions have been missing out on State Representation at the National Level and perhaps even at International Level.
For the past five or so years the game started to get a little more recognition when Futsal SA Development Officers, Tony LaScala, Ray Grima, Rob Pepicelli and new comer Giancarlo Zumbo introduced the game to Primary and Secondary Schools by holding Futsal Clinics to the students.These Clinics proved to be very successful and Junior Competitions emerged in the East and in the North.
From the first junior competition held at the Campbelltown City Soccer Club Indoor Stadium where 115 players participated, in 2004 the competition grew to 500+ players boys and girls from the ages of 8 - 20..
Futsal Represenatative teams both in the Senior and Junior levels have participated at the National Futsal Championships in Canberra and in Sydney. South Australia has had some success at these National Championships, where one of the Junior teams has won the Under 12, 13 and 14 Boys title three successive years under the leadership of Head Coach and Futsal Development Officer Tony LaScala.
South Australian Futsal Referees have also had success in participating at the National Futsal Championships and being appointed to State Finals both in the Junior and Senior matches.
In 2006 Futsal SA will be looking to take 7 teams to the Gold Coast and these teams will be selected from the Futsal Competition at the Campbelltown Leisure Centre from September. Boys and Girls selected must be registered and playing in a Futsal SA sanctioned competition.
A Senior Men's Competition has been held all year round at the Magill Sports Centre on Tuesday nights for the last twelve years and is still going strong. This year Futsal SA had 2 Divisions and for the first time introduced the "John Warren Futsal Cup", named after the late John Warren who had a passion for Futsal.
Futsal SA is this year looking at expanding on their competitions by also holding a Women's Competition on Firday nights or Saturdays during the day to be held at the St Michael's College in Windsor Gardens.
There is a need for the game of Futsal to be played all year round in all areas of the State with the aim that one day hold Futsal State Championships and a National Futsal Competition. This can only be achieved by all outdoor clubs getting involved in the game and perhaps start their own Futsal Clubs.
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