F4A Phoenix a newly formed squad have begun ramping up for the FNSW Winter State League 2009. The squad are very keen on getting under way and looking to dazzle the court with skill, flare and speed.

The competition held at the State Sport Centre in Homebush will see Phoenix come up against some of the heavyweight futsal clubs from NSW, such as SFL premiers Benfica and runners up Dural Warriors.

Players in the squad include

• Rodrigo Marsola
• Daniel Croci
• Jamal Boutkabout
• Shannon Chan
• Ahilan Ratnamohan
• Dan Kennedy (c)
• Ricardo Da Silva
• Young Namkung
• Bouda Lesty
• Kleber Fonseca

F4A Phoenix would like to thank FNSW Futsal and wish all clubs and players the best in the season.

Preston Men’s League : PGSC
Thursday Night Men’s Competition

Match times: 6:40pm-10:00pm
Competition: Men’s League
Vacancies: 1 team vacancy exists, contact us for an immediate start as new season games have recently commenced.

Vermont South
Tuesday Night Men’s Competition – League 2

Match times: 6:40pm-10:00pm
Competition: Men’s League
Vacancies: 4 team vacancies exist. Pre-season games have commenced and the official season will commence in late May 2009.

Vermont South
Sunday Night Men’s Competition – Division B

Match times: 6:00pm-9:20pm
Competition: Men’s League
Vacancies: 1 team vacancy exists in Division B! Immediate start available along with a reduced registration/insurance fee.

Vermont South
Wednesday Night Mixed League

Match times: 6:40pm-10:00pm
Competition: Mixed League
Vacancies: 5 team vacancies, please contact us for more information! Pre-season games are set to commence late May.

Vermont South
Wednesday Night Men’s League

Match times: 6:40pm-10:00pm
Competition: Men’s League
Vacancies: Several, please contact us for more information! Pre-season games are set to commence in early June.

Endeavour Hills
Wednesday Night Men’s Competition

Match times: 7:00pm-10:15pm
Competition: Men’s League
Vacancies: Several, please contact us for more information!

Further Information

If you are considering playing in one of the above leagues we strongly advise you to email us at info@super5s.org immediately to avoid disappointment!

Important Message: If the above leagues are not quite what you’re looking for, you can reserve an ordered spot on one of our many other league waiting lists. Please click on the Venues tab above and follow on by sending an email to info@super5s.org with your league preference and night of competition. We will then advise you what number you are ranked along with other information such as season conclusion dates.

Men’s Competitions

Open age (16 years and over) competitions catering to men are played at each venue (excluding Carlton Baths and Carlton North/Princes Hill), with some venues catering to more than one competition, Teams participating at such venues will be graded according to their ability and pooled into a competition suiting their standard.

At venues where there may only be a single men’s competition on a night, the standard will be kept to an average playing level.

Mixed Competitions

Competitions are open to persons 16 years and over. Competitions catering to men and women are played at each venue (excluding Box Hill, Camberwell, Hawthorn) with the purpose of offering participants who may not have the desire to play in one of the other senior competitions an opportunity to play. Mixed competitions will offer players the opportunity to play in a highly social, fun and friendly environment.

Women’s Competitions

Open age (16 years and over) competitions catering to women will be established wherever significant interest is shown, women are increasingly showing more and more interest in the game all the time and we at Futsal Super 5’s are very interested in being involved in developing women’s futsal. If you would like more information or believe that you can assist us in getting a ‘women only’ competition started, please contact us.

Hawkes Bay Futsal are hosting the NZ Futsal National Junior Tournament in July 2009. It will be held at the Pettigrew Green Arena in Napier on July 11/12.

All registrations need to be in by June 4 2009.

Five 30 minute games guaranteed.

$25 per player

Saturday 11th

12’s (players born 1997/98)
13’s (players born 1996)
Girls (players born 1995/96/97)

Sunday 12th

14’s (players born 1995)
15+ (players born 1993/94)

We will provide assistance with locating low cost accomodation and travel arrangements.

Please contact Sarah Payne 021 472 438 for further information.

The FFA kicks off its new Indigenous Football Development Program this month with seven coach mentors set to visit Aboriginal communities around Australia.

Throughout May coach mentors will visit Aboriginal communities around Australia to give children an opportunity to learn some football skills and to promote participation in FFA’s inaugural Indigenous Football Development Program.

The mentors include Hyundai A-League players, Travis Dodd (Adelaide United) and Fred Agius (North Queensland Fury), Qantas Futsalroo captain Lachlan Wright, Westfield W-League players Kyah Simon (Central Coast Mariners) and Tanya Oxtoby (Perth Glory). Former Qantas Socceroo Alistair Edwards and media commentator and football analyst Andy Harper, will also be part of the program.

“A dedicated team of coach mentors has been established and will showcase the positive benefits football can bring to young people,” said FFA CEO, Ben Buckley.

Buckley said the heart of the Indigenous Football Development Program is an annual Indigenous Football Festival to be held in July in Townsville.

“The Indigenous Football Festival is an important component of the program and these visits will also give children an opportunity to express their interest in participating in the Festival,” he said.

“The most effective development method is for people to play the game, and any coach will tell you that development is more enduring if there is a sense of purpose.”

Buckley said the Indigenous Football Festival gives young people from communities something to aspire to participate in each year.

The coach mentors will provide the initial coaching clinics for the 12 communities participating in the Indigenous Football Festival, as well as ongoing mentoring for teachers or individuals managing the teams.

The visits will commence with football training days Moree, Launceston, Shepparton, Alice Springs, Borroloola, Port Augusta, Dubbo and Townsville.

Buckley added: “The aim of the Indigenous Football Development Program is to have at least 5% of players in all national teams and major competitions of Indigenous background and these visits are the first step in making this a reality.

“We encourage all young people in Indigenous communities to attend their local football training day.”

Indigenous Football Festival training days

Moree

Where: Ron Harborne Oval – Boundary Street, Moree
When: Thursday 14 May, 4.30pm – 6.30pm

Launceston

Where: Churchill Park – Churchill Park Drive, Launceston
When: Sunday 17 May, 1.00pm – 3.00pm

Shepparton

Where: Rumbalara Football Club – Mercury Drive, Shepparton
When: Sunday 24 May, 11.00am – 1.00pm

Alice Springs

Where: Yirara College, Alice Springs
When: Thursday 28 May, 3.00pm – 5.00pm

Borroloola

Where: Yanyula Oval, Borroloola
When: Saturday 30 May, 10.00am – 12.00pm

Port Augusta

Where: Braddock Park Oval – Flinders Terrace, Port Augusta
When: Saturday 30 May, 1.00pm – 4.00pm

Dubbo

Where: Lady Cutler Oval – Sandy Beach Road, Dubbo
When: Saturday 30 May, 10.00am – 12.00pm

Townsville

Where: Brolga Park – Mervyn Crossman Drive, Townsville
When: Sunday 31 May, 1.00pm – 3.00pm

F4A thanks to  Anthony Grima from Football Federation Victoria for the article.

There is much to look forward to from the desk of FFA technical director Han Berger over the next 3½ years, as he has accomplished in three short months what former TD Rob Baan was incapable of doing in two long years.

He has rejected much of what Baan developed, and rightly so. His restructuring of small-sided games (SSG) has created more work for grassroots clubs, but we now have the blueprint for a cohesive, integrated and uniform approach to both building highly accomplished players and allowing every child to enjoy football.

The new national curriculum is one of the most important documents in the history of football here and, while questions remain over its composition and implementation, it is a leap forward – and a seminal moment in Australia’s quest to win the World Cup.

What of Berger himself?

He proudly points out that as a coach he is in the top five most experienced Dutch coaches of all time with 630 games, so we can say that match experience and time spent at the heart of the game is beyond question.

Most crucially, he has shown that he is, first and foremost, a football man, a devotee of the game.

This will be critically important in weeding out the politicians and salesmen in the coaching system. A strong constitution will be required to clean out the dead weights and bring back the thousands of ethical, talented coaches who left through frustration.

The story goes that when at Dutch club De Graafschap, Berger called all of his staff together to give them one simple message: that the game is about the players, the field, the technicians, the former greats, without whom there would be no club. If this is the attitude he brings to our top role, all the better.

And he works. Hard. What a revelation that is. After 12 months in the job, Rob Baan revealed on SBS, when questioned over when the curriculum would be released, that he had “not had the time to watch a junior match in Australia yet”.

My criticism of Baan was always that he lacked the CV or quality to develop his own adaptations to the KNVB (the Dutch football association) system, and that any attempt at doing so was likely to be disastrous.

Now in Berger’s opus we see major corrections to Baan’s skewed attempt, with some revisions to the SSG format that integrate perfectly with the philosophy behind the system that takes youngsters through the stages.

Under Berger’s system, five-a-side is removed, so the progression from four- to 11-a-side games is completed a year earlier, at age 12 (not 13). Thus youngsters will play 1-3-3 games at eight and nine, 1-3-2-3 at 10 and 11, and 1-4-3-3 at 12.

And now, crucially and finally, booklets and videos will explain how this progression works and should be coached – supported by a new and extensive online resource.

But is the Dutch methodology the right choice, and is this simply a copy of the Dutch way?

The first issue comes down to a matter of opinion, and mine is that it is a reasonable choice of several possibilities, although not my personal preference. However, it is important to understand two factors.

Firstly, while the Dutch are synonymous with a 1-4-3-3 system, at youth level it is implemented in most major football nations, such as France, Portugal and Spain (and in some clubs in Brazil), though they like also to focus on a 1-4-4-2 configuration, with a diamond or box midfield giving tactical variety.

The advantage here is that the Netherlands are only one of these countries to aggressively export the methodology and the curriculum for teaching it, speeding progression.

Secondly, though no mention was made of the work of FFA technical consultant Alistair Edwards, the former Socceroo has worked with Berger since the turn of the year. His input has no doubt protected Australian interests.

Indeed, I continue to call for an “Australian Technical Committee” to oversee the entire process. Had such a body been in existence earlier, the SSG mess now in place would surely have been avoided.

To date Australia has conducted only a systemic review of methods in other football countries, not a philosophical or methodological one, and that no work exists on the best youth development programs – including those of the world’s best nation, Brazil, and world No.1, Spain.

How a country can aim to be the best without assessing the leaders is beyond me, and the place of Futsal, a game undervalued in the Netherlands, remains ambiguous.

Yet this is an excellent start as we move towards a system which has the potential to lead the world.

Adopt and adapt is the mantra, and it is important to get started immediately with a curriculum light years ahead of anything we have previously been presented.

For the record, it’s not about being “a world leader in the world game” as the new document trumpets, but about becoming “the” world leader – and winning the World Cup.

The Western NSW Futsal Association Incorporated has secured agreement with the Management Committee of the Wallerawang Indoor Sports Association Incorporated and NSW Department of Education and Training to organise Futsal within the Centre and region.

The Western NSW Futsal Association Incorporated has been created and established as a non profit Sporting Association by its President Jonathan Simnett and Secretary Ruth Guerreiro to give every opportunity to the region for it to finally see the Sport represented at local, regional, state and national level. The Futsal Association will organise local competitions, clinics, schools competition, Futsal referees and coaching courses.

FIFA Futsal laws of the game will be played with qualified Futsal administration and referees assisting the WNSW Futsal Association Management Committee in delivery of the competitions. This agreement will cement the future of both the Centre and Futsal within the Community and its surrounding districts.

Local Futsal competitions will commence in Wallerawang late May 2009 with seniors playing Wednesday nights and juniors playing Friday nights.

For more information contact Carleen Chapman 0402 205 070 and or Ruth Guerreiro 0405 215 940 and or secretary@shirefutsal.com.au

As you can see Futsal4all has had a facelift.

We’ve been running for a year now so the new look has been a little while in the making. We hope you like the changes. Not all of them are complete yet, so we are rolling them out bit by bit.

If anything breaks, and most likely it will, please let us know (admin@futsal4all.com)

On the front page we are no longer seperating Local and International News. The new layout allows you to view all the headlines easily along with a quick summary. We are also making use of a ‘featured content’ area at the top of the page, allowing us to highlight specific news on a rotating basis instead of being limited to static images taking up space.

On the articles pages we’ve cleaned it up and made it more obvious as to where the original article was sourced, rather than having it at the end of  the article.

Comments are now much improved. We are making use of the IntenseDebate plugin, which give a bunch of additional features we were unable to have previously. Comment threading (replying directly to a specific comment), Commenter profiles and ratings and being able to get replies via email are just a few of the new features. ** 5/5/09 : Note the IntenseDebate plugin has more issues in it than we are comfortable with. We’re reverting back to the normal comments for the time being and will look at alternatives in the next week or so **

In the next two weeks any bugs will be ironed out and we’ll then get the speed a lot better…fingers crossed.

Futsal4all in conjunction with Gorilla Sports is proud to announce the next edition of the monthly competition.

You have a chance to win Futsal and Football related gear from Gorilla Sports each and every month by simply answering a question.

It is open to all ages. Entries will be compiled each month and Gorilla Sports will draw and announce the winner.

The prize for May 2009 is a Gorilla Futsal Ball.

If you want to win it simply answer the following Question :

True or False – A goal can be scored directly from a Kick Off?

[This competition has now closed]

Good luck to everyone!!

Competition FAQ

* Is the competition open to all ages?

Yes. Anyone of any age can enter the comp each month.

* How is the winner chosen?

All entries submitted via email throughout the month are compiled by Gorilla Sports, and the General Manager of Gorilla Sports NSW will draw the winner. All valid entries are numbered as they are received. During the draw itself, all numbers are put into a hat and one is drawn at random. That number is matched to the number of the email that was submitted.

The winner will be announced on Futsal4all.

* Can I enter more than once?

No, one entry per person per month is all that will be covered. You are welcome to submit more, but after your first entry for that month, your other submissions will not be counted.

* But what if I think I got the question wrong and want to try again?

Sorry your first submission will be the only one that is counted.

* If I enter will my email details be used for anything else and will they be passed on to any other companies?

Your email address will be kept on file for the Gorilla Sports Newsletter only. It will not be passed on to any other companies, and will not be used by Futsal4all.

You must use a valid email address. Any addresses that cannot be contacted will be removed from the competition.

* Will it cost me anything to enter?

No there are no costs involved. It will not cost you to enter, or to have the prize shipped to you should you win.

* I entered the comp last month already, does my entry automatically go into the next months competition?

No, you need to submit an entry for each month, as the question will change each time.

* I’ve won, how and when do I get my prize?

Gorilla Sports will contact you via email to let you know and to request your address. You prize can be posted to you (at no cost to you), or depending on your location hand-delivered by Gorilla Sports, or you could even collect it from the Gorilla Sports shop. Where possible we would love to get a shot of you with your newly won gear so we can put it up here on the website.

If you win, and you do not respond to the initial contact by Gorilla Sports within one week, another winner will be chosen.

Referees wishing to officiate on the Winter State League need to enter their availability into the NSWFRA.com.au web site as soon as possible.

The competition starts on Monday May 11th and will include players from the Football NSW Futsal Premier and State Futsal Leagues. All matches are at the Sports Halls, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush.

The competition will consist of 12 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams and matches will start at 7:00pm.

This competition represents a great opportunity for any referee who wishes to be considered for next season’s State (Premier & Super) League competitions. The TSC see this tournament as an opportunity to assess and develop our up and coming under 25-year-old referees while teaming them with our more experienced referees.

Instructions on how to enter your availability are available in the library under the link “Web site documentation – Availability“

With over 400 coaches taking part in Capital Football Coach Education courses and seminars since January the demand for additional coach education opportunities has never been higher. In response to the increased interest in Coach Education, Capital Football is proud to add yet another course to the coaching calendar with the confirmation today of a Futsal Level 1 Coaching course to be held in June.

‘The vision of the Capital Football board and our executive leadership has led to an increase of resources dedicated to Coach Education and subsequently the approval of many more courses for all levels of coaching and our local coaches are responding in droves,’ said Capital Football Assistant Technical Director, Pat McCann.

‘In addition our good relationship with Football NSW has also allowed us to bring in Steven Knight, Futsalroo Assistant Coach for the 2008 World Cup qualifiers and Rob Varela the current NSW Futsal Coaching & Development officer to instruct this course’, McCann continued. ‘With instructors of this calibre we expect places in this course to be snapped up quickly.’

Register for this course

For more information on Coach Education please contact Pat McCann
Phone: 6175-7116

Course Event ID: 4239
Date/Details: Sunday June 21, 9:00am-5:30pm
Location: Mpowerdome, 56 Coyne St, Fadden

Cost: $120