What the hell is futsal?
5/09/2007 12:00:00 a.m.
PELE learned his skills from it. Ronaldo says it is the game he loves the most. But it’s not football, it’s futsal.
Brazil’s most successful sporting export (after Pele and Ronaldo), futsal is five-a-side version of the round ball game (the only FIFA approved form of indoor football) that is starting to make inroads in New Zealand.
In August, College Sport Wellington began taking futsal into local schools. There is a regular weekly league. And Wellington Phoenix players will join local futsal players for demonstration games in Civic Square this Friday, to coincide with Brazilian Independence Day.
Wellington City Council Push Play coordinator Craig Ireson is looking forward to getting thrashed.
Ireson is one of the council team that will take on a Capital City Futsal selection. It will be a bit like watching the Harlem Globetrotters take on a pick up basketball team, he says.
“We are gonna get creamed. But I love it – I’m a Push Play [council’s community recreation team] coordinator,” he laughs.
Futsal is played with a small, heavy ball on a field around the size of a basketball court. While usually played indoors, it is different from indoor soccer in that there are no walls around the court, and no restriction on how high you can play the ball (Kiwi indoor is usually played below shoulder height).
Futsal is a very fast sport which rewards skill and vision more than fitness or strength, making it the ideal version of the game for developing young footballers. Because the ball lacks bounce, players must use skill and timing to generate power rather than rely on the elasticity of the ball.
“It’s played on small courts, with a lot of emphasis on passing. It’s not about athletes, it’s about quick movement and skill,” says Ireson.
“It introduces kids to the joy of playing. It’s about joga bonito – playing the beautiful game – the evidence from Brazil speaks volumes,” he says.
Futsal came to Brazil from Uruguay in the 1930s. It became the game of choice for young footballers and it is probably no coincidence that Brazil has won five Football World Cups since that time.
Brazil has also won three of the last five Futsal World Championships.
In 2004, FIFA declared that all national associations must take responsibility for Futsal in their countries. New Zealand is planning to enter the next Futsal World Cup in 2008.
Futsal demonstration featuring Brazilian music and dance, Civic Square, 12.30pm, Sep 7.
Brazil’s most successful sporting export (after Pele and Ronaldo), futsal is five-a-side version of the round ball game (the only FIFA approved form of indoor football) that is starting to make inroads in New Zealand.
In August, College Sport Wellington began taking futsal into local schools. There is a regular weekly league. And Wellington Phoenix players will join local futsal players for demonstration games in Civic Square this Friday, to coincide with Brazilian Independence Day.
Wellington City Council Push Play coordinator Craig Ireson is looking forward to getting thrashed.
Ireson is one of the council team that will take on a Capital City Futsal selection. It will be a bit like watching the Harlem Globetrotters take on a pick up basketball team, he says.
“We are gonna get creamed. But I love it – I’m a Push Play [council’s community recreation team] coordinator,” he laughs.
Futsal is played with a small, heavy ball on a field around the size of a basketball court. While usually played indoors, it is different from indoor soccer in that there are no walls around the court, and no restriction on how high you can play the ball (Kiwi indoor is usually played below shoulder height).
Futsal is a very fast sport which rewards skill and vision more than fitness or strength, making it the ideal version of the game for developing young footballers. Because the ball lacks bounce, players must use skill and timing to generate power rather than rely on the elasticity of the ball.
“It’s played on small courts, with a lot of emphasis on passing. It’s not about athletes, it’s about quick movement and skill,” says Ireson.
“It introduces kids to the joy of playing. It’s about joga bonito – playing the beautiful game – the evidence from Brazil speaks volumes,” he says.
Futsal came to Brazil from Uruguay in the 1930s. It became the game of choice for young footballers and it is probably no coincidence that Brazil has won five Football World Cups since that time.
Brazil has also won three of the last five Futsal World Championships.
In 2004, FIFA declared that all national associations must take responsibility for Futsal in their countries. New Zealand is planning to enter the next Futsal World Cup in 2008.
Futsal demonstration featuring Brazilian music and dance, Civic Square, 12.30pm, Sep 7.
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