The countdown to the OFC Futsal Championship Fiji 2009 can now begin after the release of the official draw by Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).

With four teams confirmed, the championship is set to take place from 6-10 July at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.

Match Day 1 action sees Fiji pitted against Vanuatu while New Caledonia will clash with defending champions the Solomon Islands.

The ‘Kurukuru’ team from the Solomon Islands head into the championship as favourites after gaining valuable experience as Oceania’s representative at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008. Vanuatu will be up for the challenge having beaten the Solomon Islands 5-1 last year while New Caledonia, who have arguably the best domestic league, are also likely to be strong contenders. Fiji meanwhile have the all-important home advantage so the stage is set for an intriguing title fight.

Since the conception of the OFC Futsal Championship in 1992, the event has been held every four years as part of the qualification process for the FIFA Futsal World Cup tournaments. Fiji 2009 marks the first year of the new annual format for the championship which shows OFC’s commitment to developing futsal by providing meaningful competition on a regular basis.

The popularity of futsal – an indoor form of football played with five players per side and a weighted ball – continues to grow throughout Oceania as a number of Member Associations start to build domestic structures to support the game.

This year’s championship will follow a round-robin format with the top two teams advancing to the final and the remaining teams playing off for third place.

OFC FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP FIJI 2009

Dates: 6-10 July (Match Days scheduled for 6, 7, 8, 10 July)
Venue: Vodafone Arena, Suva, Fiji
Teams: Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu

Draw:
1. Vanuatu
2. Fiji
3. New Caledonia
4. Solomon Islands

Match Day 1 – Monday 6 July
18:00 Vanuatu vs Fiji
20:00 New Caledonia vs Solomon Islands

Match Day 2 – Tuesday 7 July
18:00 Vanuatu vs New Caledonia
20:00 Solomon Islands vs Fiji

Match Day 3 – Wednesday 8 July
18:00 Solomon Islands vs Vanuatu
20:00 Fiji vs New Caledonia

Match Day 4 – Friday 10 July
18:00 3rd Place vs 4th Place
20:00 1st Place vs 2nd Place

OFC FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP – PREVIOUS WINNERS

Year – Host – Winner – Runner Up – Third
1992 – Australia – Australia – New Zealand – Vanuatu
1996 – Vanuatu - Australia – Fiji – Vanuatu
1999 - Vanuatu – Australia – Fiji – Vanuatu
2004 – Australia – Australia – New Zealand – Vanuatu
2008 – Fiji – Solomon Islands – Tahiti – Vanuatu

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Priscilla Duncan
Oceania Football Confederation
Media & Communications
T: +649 526 5651
F: +649 525 8164
M:+64 (0)21 884 018
E: priscilla@oceaniafootball.com

Joel Tiller
Oceania Football Confederation
Media & Communications
T: +649 526 5654
F: +649 525 8164
M:+64 (0)21 994 520
E: joel@oceaniafootball.com

After a very sucessful Provincial School Tournament season the New Zealand Champion of Champions Tournament will take place in Dunedin May 30 – June 1st. The winners and runners-up from each provincial tournament were invited to compete in this tournament and battle it out to be NZ Champions.
From this tournament the winning schools will be invited to the Australasian Champion of Champions to be held in Brisbane at the begining of October.

19 Boys
Linwood College (Canterbury)
Otago Gold (Otago)
Otago Blue (Otago)
Logan Park (Otago)
St Bedes (Canterbury)
Mt Aspiring (Central Otago)

19 Girls
Linwood College (Canterbury)
St Hildas (Otago)
Taieri (Otago)
Mt Aspiring (Central Otago)

16 Boys
Otago Blue (Otago)
Otago Gold (Otago)
Kings High (Otago)
Mt Aspiring (Central Otago)
Bayfield (Otago)

16/14 Girls
Logan Park 16 (Otago)
Otago Girls 16(Otago)
Logan Park 14 (Otago)
Queens 14 (Otago)
Cromwell 16 (Central Otago)

14 Boys
Otago Blue (Otago)
Dunedin North (Otago)
St Bedes (Canterbury)
Mt Aspiring (Central Otago)

A Copy of the draw can be found in the Vikings NZ Schools page or in the library.

The first of the Football Federation Australia Indigenous Football Development Program visits, have been held over the past week in Moree, NSW and Launceston/Hobart in Tasmania and haven proven to be a huge success.

The new initiative by the FFA to steer more indigenous players towards a career in football, kicked off in Moree where over 100 players came along, while the Launceston/Hobart events saw a number of trialists attend for selection in the Indigenous Football Festival tournament that will be held in Townsville later this year.

Darrel Smith, Coach for the NSW U/16 girls’ regional team was accompanied by Indigenous Football Program Mentors, Westfield Matilda and Central Coast Mariners W-League star Kyah Simon and Qantas Futsalroos captain Lachlan Wright.

The visit was not only a participation day for children in and around Moree, but also coincided a trial for the NSW U/16 girls’ regional team. Players from Mungindi, Walgett, Tamworth and Armidale were all involved and the response received in these communities was very positive.

The day included a visit to the Moree East Public School, where Kyah and Lachlan took several skills and drills session with the Year 5 and 6 classes. It’s fair to say that everyone one of the kids that participated in the session were very excited and eager to learn from the two players. As well, the pair gave out McDonald’s vouchers and signed loads of autographs for the kids.

It was then time for the Pre-Schooler’s, who were all just as keen, with one 4-year-old showing he is a talent for the future, with terrific control of the ball for one so young.

After the school visit, the actual participation visit was conducted at Ron Harbourne Oval in Moree. By 4.30pm the number of kids in attendance was over 100, with the NSW U16 girls regional team trialists taken to a different area by Darrel, while Kyah and Lachlan did their best to keep the excited kids occupied on five small-sided fields.

For the trialists, a trip to Townsville later this year to participate in the inaugural Indigenous Football Festival is on offer, so the battle for places was intense.

The day ended with a sausage sizzle and Lachlan and Kyah chatted and signed more autographs.

The FFA would like to thank Darrel, Lachlan, Kyah, Barbara Beady for Moree East PS, Nikki from Moree Football Club and Moree Council for use of some extra lighting. The response and numbers that attended exceeded all expectations and the support and comments from everyone had been very positive in relation to the Indigenous Football Development Program.

Meanwhile in Tasmania, over 30 children were involved in a Indigenous Football Festival participation session on Sunday 17 May in Launceston and Hobart. These sessions were coordinated and conducted by Football Federation Tasmania Game Development Staff.

Indigenous Football Development Program ambassador John Moriarty and coach mentor Fox Sports Football Analyst Andy Harper were in attendance at these sessions and passed on many useful tips to the children. The children ranged from those who played club football in Tasmania to those experiencing football for the first time.

Of special note was the effort that many parents, teachers and children made to travel to the sessions from outside Hobart and Launceston. In particular two young children who travelled to Launceston by charter flight from Cape Barren accompanied by their teacher to take part in the day.

Andy Harper said, “Having seen some of these kids today, the Socceroos and Matildas teams and the FFA elite pathway would benefit greatly in the future, if football could make a meaningful inroad into Indigenous communities.”

Townsville here we come !!!!!!!!

Kurukuru, the National Futsal team have named their final 12-member squad for the Oceania Futsal Championship in Fiji July this year.

As the current Oceania Futsal Champions, the Kurukuru will again have the opportunity to prove in this year’s tournament why they are dubbed the Oceania’s best.

The young national side named their final squad after few months of intensive training.

The squad, which competed in the Futsal World Cup in Brazil last year, also included some new players. Among them is goalkeeper Paul Huia.

Kurukuru’s crowd favourites Captain Elliot Ragomo and Jack Whitney retained their places and are optimistic about the championship.

Both Ragomo and Whitney are expected to torment their Oceania opponents with their speed and silky foot works that won admiration in the country and Fiji last year when they were crowned Oceania Champions.

This week the Kurukuru boys were fortunate to have the service of the Oceania Futsal Development Officer, Scott Gilligan, who assisted in their trainings.

Gilligan is currently in the country conducting a Futsal Coaching Clinic under the ‘Win in Oceania Project’.

He had been a huge help for the Kurukuru in their preparation for the Oceania Championship under their new coach Dickson Kadau.

Kurukuru Final 12 men squad are:

Elliot Ragomo
Jack Whitney
James Egeta
Micah Lealafa
Stanley Puirana
Roni Ginio
Moffat Skwa’ae
Philip Houtarau
Jenan Kapu
Francis Lafai
Junior Lioka (GK)
Paul Huia (GK)

Non-travelling reserves:
Alfred Pamoana
Mathias Sari

Coach: Dickson Kadau

Rivermount College has won its first ever Coomera River Cup (Schools) after an undefeated run in the 14 Girls tournament played at UCSC this evening. In a commanding display, the Rivermount girls accounted for UCSC, Robina SHS and Assisi College to become the 7th different school from the Gold Coast to win a ‘Viking’.

Congratulations to David Perry and his team for a well deserved victory. As always, a big thanks to the refs and officials for their work on the night. For full results click on http://www.isport.com.au/futsal/qcrc/

FINAL RESULTS : 14 GIRLS : MAY 21st, 2009:
ASSISI COLLEGE 1 defeated UCSC 0
RIVERMOUNT COLLEGE 2 defeated UCSC 0
RIVERMOUNT COLLEGE 4 defeated ROBINA SHS 1
UCSC 3 defeated ROBINA SHS 2
RIVERMOUNT COLLEGE 4 defeated ASSISI COLLEGE 2
ASSISI COLLEGE 1 defeated ROBINA SHS 0

FINAL STANDINGS:
1. RIVERMOUNT
2. ASSISI COLLEGE
3. UCSC
4. ROBINA SHS

The tournament will occur over the long weekend with the Ladies competition on Saturday June 6 and the Mens competition on Sunday June 7.

Registration for the tournament is $100 per team and the format is as follows:

Group stages of 4 teams – each team plays each other once.

Top 2 teams from each group continue to knockout stage.

The ladies tournament will begin on Saturday at 12 noon and the mens will begin on Sunday at 10am. Both finals will be played at approximately 7pm on their respective days.

Prizes will be presented after the finals;

1st Prize : $600 to club being represented, $200 bar tab, $400 vouchers to players
2nd Prize : $100 bar and food tab, $200 vouchers
3rd&4th Prize : $75 bar and food tab

REGISTER NOW BY COMPLETING THE FORM BELOW AND EMAILING TO info@nbfa.com.au

Registration Form (XLS)

Sydney Benfica FC’s keeper Josh Da Palma will take his place in Iran to contest the AFC Futsal Club Championship, which will take place at Pirouzi Stadium from the 4th July to 12th July 2009.

Josh was one of three keepers selected along with current Futsalroo Peter Spathis and Sydney Magic’s Roberto Maiorana.

This past year has been unbelievable for Josh given his performances, with Sydney Benfica FC taking the coveted Men’s title over the Dural Warriors. He represented NSW at the Nationals and has also been recently selected for the FFA Australian Beach World Cup squad.

Sydney Benfica FC have an abundance of goalkeeping talent in their ranks, as they prepare for this years FNSW Futsal Premier League.

Congratulations to Josh and all the boys who have been selected for NSW Thunder.

Do our state and country proud !

Futsal is gaining popularity and is spreading to remote rural areas in the country.

The spreading of futsal gospel is make possible through the Outreach Programme funded under the Community Sector Programme and Dural Sports and Leisure Centre in Australia.

Under the programme, Futsal officials conducted a four-day workshop at Marau, East Guadalcanal last week.

The training was the first of its kind this year and focused on the introduction of coaching and refereeing.

Eighteen participants who took part in the four-day workshop were privileged to acquire valuable knowledge through theory and practical sessions.

Solomon Islands National Futsal team’s Head Coach Dickson Kadau and officials Daniel Belo and Alick Buga, conducted the workshop.

The visit to Marau was the beginning of the Futsal Outreach Programme that aimed to develop the sport in the country.

Moved by the community’s increasing interest in sport, Festal officials handed over five balls to the kids as an introduction to playing Futsal with proper balls.

Belo, a representative of the Solomon Islands Futsal Committee, said the donation was to assist the community to start their own Futsal league this year.

“These rural dwellers are new to the sport but the interest in getting to know the game is overwhelming,” he said.

As part of the outreach, he said, they will conduct follow-up tours to areas already visited to monitor the progress of Futsal in the area.

Belo thanked the community, sponsors and Marau school for the training venue.

A similar workshop is planned for Tulagi and other parts of the country this year, pending confirmation.

Belo said the interested Provincial Football Associations are encouraged to contact the Futsal office at SIFF or Lawson tama for enquiries.

Round two of the Football NSW Futsal Winter State league took place at the Sports Hall, Sydney Olympic Park, with another 12 great games of Futsal.

In the women’s action match of the round saw Sydney City Quake take on V.I.M with both sides having a number of high profile players who have played together in the Open Women’s team at the Futsal Nationals this was always going to be a tough encounter. This match was a match for the keepers with both Ashley Brown (Sydney City Quake) and Tani Rosekelly (V.I.M) making a number of fine saves throughout the contest. V.I.M had the best of the chances but were unable to break the deadlock. Both sides may walk away a little disappointed have played out a nil-all draw.

Match Stats

Sydney City Quake: 1. Ashley Brown, 8. Rebecca Nelson, 3. Claire Walsh, 4. Stephanie Haim, 6. Leesa Thomson, 2. Ashley Francis, 9. Brooke Cowie, 10. Caitlin Javie
V.I.M: 21. Tani Rosekelly, 3. Kahlee Doyle, 5. Renee Tomkins, 8. Amanda Bowering, 23. Jenna Kingsley, 4. Elyce Goss, 7. Natalie Spirovski, 9. Nichole Laws.
Yellow Cards: Natalie Spirovski
Referees: Brendon Skinner and Rob Porritt

Other the Women’s results from round two…

Just 4 Kicks 2 (H. Buckingham 5′, E. Rodopoulos 30′) def. Pirates 0
Force 10 4 (C.Tyson 8′, 23′, J. Saliba 33′, S. Yatim 33′) def. Hachies 1 (R. Fleming 26′)
Wadey’s Army 3 (H. Vousden 10′, A. Hulme 14′, T. Black 16′) def. Sienna 1 (M. Tuema 19′)

In the Men’s action Sydney Tigers took on Quake Youth in what can only be described as a heated contest. Quake Youth got off to a flyer care of J. Gilligan who calmly slotted home after some nice build up play by E. Harihru. Both sides continued to create a number of chances in the first half but no side could find the back of the net and Quake held a narrow advantage going into the break.

The second half was full of drama with neither side prepared to give an inch as the tackles started to fly in. Quake were playing the better Futsal and extended their lead thanks to C. Sherin’s strike that doubled Quake’s advantage. Sydney Tigers seemed to click into gear and they managed to pull back two goals back within a minute with D. Kleat scoring both to get the Tigers level. Tigers then took the lead in a dramatic come back with C. Vella shot beating J. Faint in the Quake goal. The drama started to build and it took a turn for the worse for Tigers when they had D. Farre and goal scorer D. Kleat both seeing red, while A. Hasthiber also saw red for Quake in a dramatic couple of minutes. Quake seemed to be the first to settle down and equalized again care of Gilligan who was on hand to slot that ball into an empty net. In the dying seconds Gilligan completed his Hat-trick with a well worked corner which found Gilligan lurking outside the “D” and his strike found its way into the bottom corner of the net giving J. Hussary no chance in the Tigers goal to give the Quake Youth all three points.

Match Stats

Sydney Tigers: 10. J. Hussary, 3. D. Petralito, 11. D. Kleat, 7. B. Waite, 4. R. Mellino, 5. D. Farre, 2. C. Vella.
Goals: D. Kleat 26′, 27′, C. Vella 28′
Yellow Cards: D. Kleat x2
Red Cards: D. Kleat, D. Farre

Quake Youth: 1. J. Faint, 23. C. Sherin, 17. T. Valentiner, 18. E. Harihru, 11. J. Gilligan, 16. A. Hasthiber 14. D. Von Dinklage
Goals: J. Gilligan 7′, 32′, 35′, C. Sherin 20′
Yellow Cards: T. Valentiner
Red Cards: A. Hasthiber
Referees: Brendon Skinner and Rob Porritt

Other Men’s results from the round two…

Maccabi Maulers 2 (P. Meltz 5′, A Tow 11′) def. Futsal4All Phoenix 1 (Y. Namkung 15′)
PGA 5 (I. Batista 3′ 26′, C. Ongaratto 7′, 10′, 14′) def. Pirates 1 (R. Teixeira 33′)
Academy 11 ( E. Alpkaya 3′, 15′, 19′, 32′ 34′, M. Candy 2′ 23′ 33′, J. Pasons 20′, R. Greenway 24′ 29′) def. Riff Raff 1 (B. Lam 33′)
Northern Tigers 1 ( A. Smajovic 19′) def. Barcelona 0
Enfield Rovers 3 (I. Kerem 6′, S. Tonkin 13′, 34′) drew with. Dural Warriors 3 (Daniel Murchinson 14′, 36′, E. Rumora 22′)

Flames Futsal are running the Knox Hornets Futsal Club for the 2009 season. Primarily, the Knox Hornets will play in the “Supa Liga” competition staged by Victoria Futsal.

Supa Liga is a high-level competition featuring the best players in under 10, 12, 14 & 16 and senior women’s and men’s. The season is short and sharp, some nine competition weeks played at the Oakleigh Recreation Centre on Saturday afternoons/evenings from October through to December.

Last season the entire event (juniors and seniors) was televised on Channel 31 and among the many talented players on display was Fernando De Moraes, current member of the senior Futsalroo squad.