The Futsal Premier League season of 2009 and 2010 promises to be one of great excitement.

There are new clubs competing, the most successful club of all is missing and many players have found new homes which brings a new spring into the step for the upcoming season.

Last season Futsal4all went pretty close with our predictions so here we are once again giving everyone an insight of what we can all possibly expect this season.

Under 12 Boys

The under 12s age group as always promises much excitement. Unlike last season where the top 4 was finalised midway through the season, this years competition promises to be a lot closer and much more exciting.

The Hawkesbury Commodores are the unbackable favourites. Coach Frank Zappia has a squad that every club would envy. With names such as Loupis, Tanner, Rizovski and star target Ritchie Darko this talent laden squad should easily take the Premiership title. The Commodores biggest threat should be that of Sydney Benfica. Lorenzo D’Addonas’ squad hold 2 of the most devastating attacking weapons in the competition in Steve Kuzmanovski and the brilliant Panos Armenakas, those two alone will wreak havoc, whilst Luke Perreira will also be a welcome addition. The minor spots in the top 4 could come from any of four squads. The Inner West Allstars and Sydney City Eagles seem to have the front running on the rest of the competition for 3rd and 4th whilst we wont be to quick to rule out the Warriors from Dural. The Young Warriors have put together a very handy little side whilst the Mascot Vipers also shouldn’t be written off.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Commodores, Benfica, Allstars, Eagles
Premiers: Commodores
Champions: Commodores

Under 12 Girls

The Under 12 girls age group is a new age group implemented for this season therefore has all the question marks. The Campelltown City Quake seem to be the front runners with their brilliant pre season form. They have been undefeated in the leadup to the new season and their performance at the 5 Star tournament final gives that opinion high credence.

The Western Raiders squad is a team that the Westerners have high aspirations for while the newly promoted Dural Warriors is another squad that will turn many heads this seasons led by Erin Pridmore. The final semi final position could go anywhere. The Inner West Allstars led by Emily Kos might just have the edge over a Princess Ibini led Eagles squad whilst Sydney Benfica could also challenge for that last top 4 spot.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Quake, Raiders, Dural, Allstars
Premiers: Quake
Champions: Raiders

Under 14 Boys

The under 14s competition is wide open, and is one which has many questions still to be answered. The Sydney City Eagles will start the competition as favourites. With the return of Bruno Antelmi and the very talented duo of Peter Makrillos and Blair Brown the Eagles are a very good chance to take out the title. Benfica have pulled off a nice little recruitment drive with the signings of young goal keeper Benji Maruca, Nicholas Tarasenko and the deadly Mohammed Quasimi from the Western Raiders. The Raiders are also a chance, any team that has Hagi Gligor in it has a shot and with Nick Pepper back again the Raiders are feeling confident.

The Inner West Allstars should also be there abouts and with the recruitment of last seasons goalkeeper of the year in John Dimitrakas and Pauli Zrno from Sydney City as well as Dylan Caton in their ranks the Allstars have a better than average chance. Last seasons Champions the Mascot Vipers under experienced coach Erkin Osman will be led by captain Daniel Fornito and with James Demetriou and Chris Economidis returning they could lead the Vipers to the title.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Eagles, Vipers, Allstars, Benfica
Premiers: Eagles
Champions: Vipers

Under 14 Girls

If you could bet on the Futsal Premier League the under 14 girls competition would be untenable, such is the strength of the Inner West Allstars side. Last season the Allstars were led by one standout player in Sarah Yatim, this season Yatim has the equally brilliant Kristy Pavlicevic to team up with. Without doubt the top 2 players in the entire competition in this age group. Together they should run amuck. Under the guidance of both Joe Baldacci and Zoran Pavlicevic three other members of the all conquering Commodores side from last season have also made the trek to Homebush along with Pavlicevic, Jess Dominello, Lucy Metcalfe and Charlene Borg also swapped jerseys and should see the Allstars take this one out.

Their main opposition will be that of the Rob Hill led Mascot Vipers. Hill who made the trek to Menai after the relegation of the West City Crusaders has put together a side that could rival the Allstars. Led by brilliant keeper Cassandra Nader the Vipers also have Zoi Gomes and Emily Usherwood ready to take the fight to their more fancied rivals. Campelltown City Quake is the other name suggested as finalists is this age group. The bottom spot in the four should come from either the Western Raiders, Sydney City or the Alysse Tasevski led Benfica side.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Allstars, Vipers, Quake, Benfica
Premiers: Inner West Allstars
Champions: Inner West Allstars

Under 16 Boys

The under 16 Boys is another age group which could go either way. The Inner West Allstars will start favourites for the competition with a squad that has been together for many seasons. The majority of Carmine Bortones’ squad which won this age group last season all return leaving the Allstars as rightful favourites. But there will be immense competition.

Campelltown City Quake, last seasons under 14s Champions will be one side the Allstars will need to look over their shoulder for. Having already beaten the Allstars in the 5 Star preseason Cup the young Quake side led by new signing Vince Costa and the enigmatic duo Daniel Vellonio and Mark Vukovic will be there abouts as will the Sydney City Eagles. Excellent young goal keeper Aaron Messina, Sam Perre and Jordan Crighton will be called upon to lead the young Eagle side whilst last seasons Premiers in the u/14s, the Mascot Vipers have to deal with the losses of Giancarlo Gallifouco and Steven Illic on a regular basis but still have the very talented Dimitri Daaboul and Dylan Vorster to press for semi final contention. The smoky in the 16 boys in our opinion are the Hawkesbury Commodores, the signings of Keifer Dotti and Alexander Doyle give the Commodores an outside chance.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Allstars, Quake, Eagles, Vipers
Premiers: Allstars
Champions: Quake

Under 16 Girls

The under 16 girls is another competition that will go down to the wire but in our opinion has only a handful of teams which can win the competition. The Inner West Allstars, last seasons champions Campelltown Quake and Sydney Benfica should be the 3 teams vying for the silver wear come seasons end.

With their victory over Quake in the 5 Star tournament and Benficas disappointing performance the Allstars go into the season as favourites. Premiers last season, the squad remained and with the recruitment of talented duo Maree Patikas and Carmel Di Marco from Sydney University the Allstars go into the season as favourites.

Sydney Benfica have been a quality side for many seasons and it is now time for the Benfica girls to show what they have in the Premier League. Coached by Ross Anderson the squad led by Sherel Alpkaya and Jessica Beale should push Allstars all the way. Quake is the third squad that could win the title. Last seasons champions still have a number of players from the title winning squad available and with the always successful Tom Thompson as coach Quake have a great chance to repeat. The Mascot Vipers should see out the top 4 and with star Doris Osman wearing the green and black, the Vipers should be good enough to see off the remainder off the opposition to seal semi final Futsal.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Allstars, Benfica, Quake, Vipers
Premiers: Allstars
Champions: Allstars

Youth Mens

The Youth Mens will be one of the best competitions this year. Any team in could have aspirations to win the title. The two standout teams are the Sydney City Eagles and the Inner West Allstars.

The Eagles led by the stars Aaron Cimitile, Jamal Saliba and Chris Hanly plus the addition of new recruit Miki Awad the Eagles have a great chance to reverse last seasons Championship loss. While last seasons defending Champions the Allstars who come back totally intact for another run at the title. Any side with the likes of Daniel Fogarty and Kane Wright have a great chance and the inclusion of Shayne Ardle with only strengthen an already formidable side.

The Mascot Vipers are the F4A tip to make a massive splash within this season competition. Mitchell Stamatellis, Pat and twin brother Brad Di Salvo will again be the engine behind a well oiled Mascot Vipers machine who on their day can and will match any opposition. It wouldn’t surprise us if it is the Vipers who break the hold of the big two. The 4th semi final spot like suggested could go anywhere. Sydney Benfica would’ve originally been our tip with a squad that consists of players such as Pandolfa, Poniris and Oliveria but with Benfica icon and superstar Husky Akil having signed for Sydney F.C, the club have lost their prime player.

Quake who has dominated the age group for the past 3 seasons will always be a chance. Under the guidance of a very good coach Dom Helene the squad will rely on sizzling stars Emmanuel Harihuru and David Von Dinklage whilst the signings of Micheal Candy and Justin Faint give Quake a more than handy side. The Western Raiders will also be a squad which can’t be taken lightly, the loss of the freakish Raymond Miller to the Sydney F.C will hurt as will that of Shayne Ardle but with Reece Diaz in their squad the Raiders can cause an upset on any given night. But our tip to round out the top 4 is the Dural Warriors. Coached by the enigmatic Rob Varela. The Rhys Giovenali led squad have an abundance of talent and whilst being a very young squad under the guidance of Varela the Warriors have the making of a top 4 side.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Eagles, Allstars, Vipers, Dural
Premiers: Eagles
Champions: Allstars

Open Womens

The Open Womens competition like the Youth and the Open Mens is another very tight age group to call. Unfortunately this season quality players such as Cannulli, Uzunlar, Polias, Simon, Kingsley,and Jarvie will all be absent and unavailable to play because of their W League commitments which is a massive loss of talent within the competition.

The Sydney City Eagles will start the season as one of the favourites. With new signings Nichole Laws, Renee Tonkins and Kahlee Doyle to go along with experienced Eagles stalwards Cowie, Bowering and Perfillio, the new blend of young and experienced should see the Eagles reclaim their past glory days. Last seasons champions the Mascot Vipers will be out to retain their 3 peat of last season but the loss of Alex Smith and two of their main attacking weapons in Cergovski and Cannulli will hurt the reigning coach of the year Zvi Ben David’s chances. In their place have come in Tameka Wearing and Laura Elliott and with Hayley Buckingham and Georgina Stylianou as well as the experienced Antonella Oliva in goals the Vipers will still be there abouts.

Inner West Allstars have recruited the crown jewel in womens Futsal, Natalie Spirovski. Player of the Year for the past 2 seasons any team which has the irrepressible Spirovski on their team sheet have a chance. Joining Spirovski in the Allstars attack is young star Natasha Lo Giudice and new recruit Amanda Cergovski. This squad should go very close to finally attaining the title after being so near last season. Sydney Benfica under new coach Ian Skeogh have put together a very nice little side in their first foray into Premier league and looks more than capable of taking on the big guns. Skeogh has brought in the majority of his NSW Lightning squad from last season which includes Lauren Moore, Rio Fleming and Chanel Turner. The mixture of youth and experience should bide well for Benfica’s top 4 push.

Campelltown City Quake is a team F4A suggests everyone should keep an eye on. While the loss of Caitlin Jarvie will hurt, the team still has enough quality in Leesa Thompson, Claire Walsh and Rebecca Nelson to mount a serious challenge but must improve on their 5 Star performance. The Western Raiders might have a side that could surprise a few people, having signed some quality players in the offseason. With Daniela Pagano and Frances Dimino as well as ACT representative Shona Robson coach Madani is hopeful that he might just have a squad that can take him back to semi final Futsal.

The Dural Warriors will be the youngest of the clubs competing but have a host of talented young Futsal players such as Jackie Frier, Demelza Howard and the brilliant Rachel Hui which could cause a few shocks along the way. The Hawkesbury Commodores will again be led by Michelle Dingwall and the return of Justine Mc Laughlin should see the experienced side are no pushovers.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Eagles, Allstars, Quake, Vipers
Premiers: Eagles
Champions: Allstars

Open Mens

The Open Mens competition just like the Youth competition is very hard to call. Without doubt the closest of all the age groups it makes for a very close and interesting season.

The Sydney City Eagles will start the season favourites. Coached by NSW Thunder coach Jamie Amendolia the Eagles have recruited the entire Magic men’s team who have been winners for the past two seasons and includes NSW players Musumeci, Gomes, Paine and Maloney. When you add Futsalroos Zeballos and Spathis the team looks unbeatable. The remaining clubs vying for second position and down could be anyone. Campelltown City Quake under new coach and former Eagle Ralph Capasso have gone for a youthful team this season and will rely upon representative stars Martinez, Symmington, Cao and the return of prodigal son Gavin O Brien to lead the Minto based club back to the final.

Sydney Benfica, last seasons Super League Champions have retained the majority of their winning squad of last season which include their always present Brazilian contingent led by Osmar De Barros while the always reliable Josh Da Palma returns in goals. The Benfica side are very physical and unpredictable and will be a real thorn in many teams side this season. The Dural Warriors the Premiers of last seasons Super League have some great talent and in Rhys Giovenali and Ben Lawson the Warriors have a one, two punch as good as anyone else in the competition.

The Inner West Allstars for all their talent over the years became very stale and under the tutorledge of Futsalroo Captain Lachlan Wright the Allstars have a whole new look this season. In comes former Futsalroo Ben Lam and NSW goal keeper Roberto Maiorana whilst Troy Eedy will be the revelation of the season and F4As preseason tip for end of season silverware. Throw in Futsalroo Adrian Vizzari and the Allstars have a good chance to break back into the top 4. The Mascot Vipers are another club that could just as easily finish in the top 4. The combination of the Issa brothers and Ruben Lagos are instrumental in the luck of the side whilst the return of Daniel Mc Cann will also strengthen the squad but as always Yavus Ekinci is the man that will define the Vipers season. Last seasons Player of the Year, Ekinci will decide why, where, when, how and if the Vipers play semi final Futsal this season such is his quality, but it’s not anything the star hasn’t had resting on his shoulders before.

The Hawkesbury Commodores under Brett Duval are always a strong and intimidating side and any team with the Dingwall brothers, Shane Linton and Billy Tsioumos are always competitive. With the competition being so close, the experience and continuity of the Commodores might just be enough to see themselves fighting for title come seasons end. The Western Raiders and experienced coach Mark Cotter’s dependence on Youth might be its short fall this season. With last seasons Goal keeper of the year in Peter Akers back on board Mark Lancaster and the signing of heralded Simon Zarah the Raiders won’t be a pushover. Never one to be shy on promoting talented youth players this season might be the start of someone special for years to come for Cotter and the Raiders but not this season.

F4A Prediction

Top 4: Eagles, Commodores, Benfica, Quake
Premiers: Eagles
Champions: Eagles

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

Without Sydney Magic this time round, the all important Club Championship trophy will find a new home for the first time in four seasons.

But it might not be too far away from those who have held it throughout that time.

The Inner West Allstars will start clear favourites for the title as best club in the state having secured many players and coaches from the previous Champions. The Allstars have a number of teams that should take home silverware come seasons end with the u/14 girls being the standout.

As always the powerful Bankstown based club the Sydney City Eagles will be soaring near the top of the table and look to be the Allstars biggest threat. The Eagles have quite a few squads that look the goods. Their Open Men’s side are the pick of the bunch.

Campelltown City Quake is another club that are always toward to the top end and this season shouldn’t be any different. The 16 boys look to be their best bet for a title come seasons end.

The remaining clubs all seem quite evening matched.

Sydney Benfica whilst only just promoted should defy the odds of being promoted and going straight back down and could even finish in the top half of the table, battling it out with the Mascot Vipers for 4th Position.

The Dural Warriors another club who played Super League Futsal last season should also defy the odds of being relegated and will battle the Western Raiders for the next spot on the table while the season looks grim for the proud Hawkesbury Commodores club. Their reliance of their always powerful female program which has left the club this season could prove a massive hit for the Commodores but with excellent sides in the 12 boys and Mens the Commodores will be out to defy the critics and retain their Premier League status.

 

Do you agree or disagree with our predictions? Let us know below…

Related to the Blog entry from Les Murray recently on the SBS Website (see the article here), there are two excellent Videos now available on the SBS Website promoting the virtues of Futsal. A big thanks to Les Murray and Craig Foster for getting our game out in the public eye more. Click on the pictures below to start each Video.

In the first clip, Les Murray after being impressed by the Sydney Magic/Campbelltown Quake Gala day extolls the virtues of Futsal.

In this second video, the Futsal commentary kicks in at about 5mins 23 seconds, after the initial discussion about Referees. Craig Foster comments on some of the political rubbish we still have in our sport, but agrees with Les that Futsal is an excellent source for building great technique.

To view these videos if the direct links don’t work, you will need to go the theworldgame.sbs.com.au Experts Videos page and find the videos in there by date and/or title.

Source : SBS The World Game

With the NSW Futsal Premier League season only a week away we though we would go and have a look at how all the Premier League clubs are shaping up and give a Futsal4all prediction for the new season.

Under 12s

In what will be another very close competition last seasons top two clubs are predicted to once again finish one two.

The Sydney City Eagles seem to be the stand-out side coming into the season. Signing from the Western Raiders is the very talented Paul Katsetis who is one of the real great up coming talents in the sport. Paul along with young star Robbie Perre and the current unknown Kevin Ly are a trio of fantastic young Futsal players. These names alone should guarantee the Eagles a top two finish.

Mascot Vipers are our tip for second position. The Vipers after a Grand final appearance last season should once again be strong and should be the side that pushes the Eagles the hardest.

To round out the top four, last seasons NSW coach Manny Duarte’s Hawkesbury Commodores should be right up there after making some very astute pre season signings. This includes a number of the all conquering PCYC u/10s outdoor side. In our opinion the Western Raiders should round out the semi finalists. Keanu Baccas is in great form and after his sensational showing in the 5 Star Pre Season tournament the youngest of the very talented Baccas brothers should steer the Raiders finish in the top 4. If the teams pre season form is anything to go by an even better finish isn’t out of the question.

F4A Grandfinal Prediction: Sydney City Eagles vs Mascot Vipers.

Under 14s

In what could be one of the hardest fought age groups in the entire league there are any of three separate clubs that have legitimate Championship aspirations. The Mascot Vipers are one of those.

Last seasons Premiers have managed to retain the majority of last seasons squad and have improved again. The retention of Giancarlo Callifouco and Dylan Vorster both NSW Thunder team members will hold the squad in good stead and should give the team some quality which could see the Vipers win something in this age group this season. Having already played three trial games the squad has amassed over 50 goals.

Like the u/12s the Sydney City Eagles will once again be battling the Vipers for end of season honours. Last seasons Champions coached by the enigmatic Roy Perre will again be right up there and with names such as Josh Da Silva in their line up there should be no reason why the Eagles cant go into the competition feeling very confident.

The third of the big three is Campelltown City Quake. Quake were the winners of the 5 Star Pre Season tournament and any side with star Patrick Antelmi is in with a chance to win any game.

Along with Antelmi, Quake have the current u/12s M.V.P Shannon Fielding in their line up and those two young lads should see the Quake pushing for a top 4 finish. How far Quake go into the competition will depend on how the squad will go once the teams star Antelmi heads over to England in the new year.

4th spot however is extremely open.

Inner West and Sydney Magic would be the next two teams in line to grab that coveted last semi final position. Inner West led by Futsalroo Captain Lachlan Wright have retained the majority of their semi final side from last season which should leave them in good stead whilst Magic with former M.V.P Alex Doyle and the signing from Sydney City of Andres Vais might just be enough to give them the edge in the race for the 4th position.

4FA Grandfinal Prediction: Mascot Vipers vs Sydney City Eagles.

13 Girls

The under 13 girls like last season should be another very close competition.

The Hawkesbury Commodores should once again be strong this season. Led by mainstay Zoran Pavlicic and daughter and star player Kristy Pavlicic once again donning a Commodores jersey, along with Lizzy Ralston player her 3rd season in the 13 Girls comp the team from Hawkesbury should be Grand finalists once again.

Sydney City Eagles only just missed the Grandfinal last season, losing in penalties to Campelltown City Quake but this year there shouldn’t be a repeat of that, as the Eagles on paper look to be a very very strong side and even the title wouldn’t be a shock come seasons end. Melissa Caceras one of the best young female players going around today will once again be in the black and white of the Eagles whilst Alana Kennedy has also flown into the Eagles den via Campelltown.

The Inner West Allstars should also have high aspirations with prize new recruit Sarah Yatim from the Western Raiders wearing the navy and gold of the Home Bush based club. Yatin alone won the Raiders many points last season and it shouldn’t be much different come the new season.

4th place should be a battle of Yatims old club the Western Raiders and Sydney Magic PCYC. The Raiders have also gone down Campbelltown way to find new players with young sister of Matilda Leena Khamis, Shamiran, last seasons Goalkeeper of the year joining the Westerners.

The Magic the 5 Star Pre Season champion side led by Alysse Tasevski and Georgia Klapos should be an improved side on last seasons second last position and could easily have a say in this years proceedings.

4FA Grandfinal Prediction: Hawkesbury Commodores vs Sydney City Eagles

16 Boys

The Under 16s should be one the most exciting age groups in the entire competition. The talent which will be on show almost every week is nothing short of sensational and so it makes this age group one of the hardest to pick a top 4 for.

The Sydney City Eagles will without doubt start the season as almost unbackable favourites. The brilliant Dimitri Petratos will once again reign supreme for the Eagles and will be supported by Bernie Ibini Isei who are a wonderful one two combination. Add to the Eagles new signings Daniel Castrogiovanni and last seasons u/16 goal keeper of the year in Andrew Mercuri from Inner West and the return of Joey Mitchell Mallia and you can see why the Eagles will be almost unbeatable.

Sydney Magic PCYC should be the Eagles biggest threat this season. Led again by coach Carmine Bortone the return of stars George Khoury and David Talevski and last seasons Golden Boot and M.V.P double winner Jake Mason should no doubt give Magic the firepower to compete with the Eagles.

The Inner West Allstars led by Futsalroo Adrian Vizzari is another side that has another big name in their ranks and that is of Shervin Adeli. At only 16 years of age Adeli has already played along side his Futsalroo team mates in the Allstar Mens side and has even broken into the NSW Mens Thunder side. Along side Adeli will be Emi Moustafa, another long term state representative.

F4A will take a punt and go with the West City Crusaders as our pick for the 4th and final semi finalist in the u/16s. The Crusaders under the guidance of ex New Zealand National team coach Erkin Osman won last seasons Premiership Championship double going undefeated along the way. That being the case and good player recruitment and a season under their belt, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this being the Crusaders best performing team, and the side from Penrith led my last seasons Golden Boot Klime Fekutkovski and Kerim Kumsuz should really pushing the more fancied sides in the age group potentially securing a Grand final birth.

F4A Grand Final Prediction: Sydney City Eagles vs Sydney Magic PCYC

16 Girls

Whilst you can never be certain of many things come futsal season, the Sydney Magic PCYC 16 Girls look certainties to take out this seasons u/16 girls.

Coach Matteo Maiorana has assembled what may be the best young female team to ever compete in the competition. Last seasons dual award winner Natasha Lo Giudice will once again be the focal point for the Magic and this season will have young Matilda and former Allstar Jenna Kingsley helping her score the goals this season which could the best young strike force in the land. With the signatures of former and now defunct Liverpool Fusion duo in Helen Petinos and Juliana Dundovic, its going to take something or a very special team to get one over the Magic this season.

The West City Crusaders are one the teams that will give the Magic their biggest challenge. Led by Doris Osman the daughter of Former Futsalroo Erkin Osman and Captain Rebecca Allen the Crusdaders are a squad on the rise and their early and good preseason form are a testament to that. Their superb victory over another competition heavyweight in the Western Raiders should have the Crusaders feeling confident.

Western Raiders will definitely have a say though and with the recruitment of former Magician Stephanie Haaring and Ivana Bojovanic from the Commodores along with Institute player Liz O Rielly the Raiders should also be fighting out for a top two position.

The Inner West Allstars have also made some astute signings in the offseason, none more so than the signing of Amanda Horafios. Formally of Vipers and Magic fame, Horafios should give the Allstars that extra bite in defence. After 2 brilliant seasons in goals a lot of the Allstar hopes will lay with the talented goalkeeper and that of Elanor Rug. Youngster Sarah Yatim will also be called upon to spearhead the Allstar Attack.

The always powerful Hawkesbury Commodores should also feature at the business end of the season.

F4A Grandfinal Prediction: Sydney Magic PCYC vs Western Raiders.

Youth Mens

Last season the Western Raiders bucked the trend and stopped the strange hold of Campelltown Quake, Sydney Magic, Inner West Allstars and Sydney City Eagles in their continual hogging of the top four positions in this age group. The Raiders went all the way to the big dance. Can they repeat and go as far again ?

Well anything is possible in this seasons Youth Mens Competition. The only assurances we here at F4A is that Campelltown Quake and Inner West Allstars will finish top two. Anything less than a top two finish for either club will be deemed a disappointment as they are the two standout squads.

Quake will go into the competition as unbackable favourites. They have won the competition the competition for the past two seasons and this year should make it the hat trick. The return of former Central Coast Mariner Ian Mc Andrew and the signings of Ediz Alpkaya from Magic and David Von Dinklage from Inner West should make this and even more formidable side then in previous seasons. The mercurial Mark Symmington will also be plying his trade in the purple and orange again this season but the side will have to make do without their leader for the first few weeks as Symmington is in England.

The Inner West Allstars have a new face at the helm with Damian Baker getting the lead role as coach for this season. Baker will have the majority of Plumpton players who made the semi finals in the Mens Winter Super League competition at his disposal including Kane Wright and the brilliant Daniel Fogarty. Fogarty who came of age last season will hope the form that has seen him rise to NSW Mens Thunder team calculations will continue and lead the Allstars to a minimum Grandfinal appearance. Along side these two talented boys will be youngster 16 year old Shervin Adeli who will command minutes in the youth team having already played minutes within the Mens set up as well as Allstar mainstays and senior team members Dario Espejel and Sebastian Petralito.

That clash between Inner West and Campbelltown is already one marked on our calendars as a “cant wait”. Anyone else in the competition will have legitimate thoughts they can take the bottom two semi final positions.

Our tip for 3rd are the Young Eagles from Sydney City. This team will be the youngest Youth side to compete this season but will be one of the most talented. The side will be made up of the all conquering u/16 boys side from last season. Aron Cimitile, Jamal Saliba and Harrick Sinapaespth will lead the side and the return “home” from Sydney Magic of the brilliant Kerryn Baccas should give the side enough continuity to make the semis. Full congratulations go to the Eagles for sticking true to their talented youngsters.

Like third, 4th position is also very open.

Magic are very much up there, led by FNSW goalkeeper of the year of the past 2 years Roberto Maiorana the return of Albert Crocco and the signing of Rizwan Bawani should see the Magic up there.

Our tip for 4th position are the Mascot Vipers. The Vipers will be the quiet achievers this season but this team can play. Having had 3 trial games so far the impressive side have played some delightful futsal and have amassed a small mountain of goals. Led by last seasons u/16 Player of the year Pat Disalvo and the classy Mitchell Stamatellis the Vipers will surprise many sides this season and are therefore our tip to take the 4th position.

The Magic, Raiders, Crusaders and Commodores could all make the top 4 such is the closeness of this years competition.

4FA Grandfinal Prediction: Campelltown City Quake vs Inner West Allstars.

Open Womens

This seasons Open Womens competition is going to be one of the closest and most competitive in history.

The inception of the new W League hasn’t made it any easier to select a potential winner in fact it has actually made it harder.

Pre W League our thoughts on the top four would’ve gone something like this : The Western Raiders like last season were the outright favourites for the Winners trophy once again but the loss of names such as Ledbrook, Gilbert, Brogan and Khamis would decimate any team. The squad will rely on young guns Britt Simmons a former young Matilda and Chanel Turner previously from last seasons finalists Liverpool Fusion and Alicia Cavangnah to lead them to the semis.

Sydney Magic PCYC would’ve liked their chances to take out the competition with Matildas Servet Uzunlar and Teresa Polias in their squad.

Sydney City will be without their main player maker in Jodie Bain while Campelltown Quake have lost Stephanie Haim to the same competition and Caitlin Jarvie to injury.

Post W league announcement the Mascot Vipers are now installed as competition favourites along with the Inner West Allstars. Both sides have recruited extremely well in the offseason with the Vipers managing to snare the signatures of last seasons Goal Keeper of the year Antonella Oliva and also that of Hayley Buckingham. Another name to watch out for this season for the Vipers is that of former Young Matilda Catherine Cannulli. Cannulli will be relied upon along with Elycce Goss to score the goals for the Vipers while the Allstars are another side that have been extremely busy in the off season sealing the signatures of four members of last seasons Grandfinalists Liverpool Fusion with two of those, Nichole Laws and Renee Tomkins returning to their former club.
A third member of that squad Tani Rosekelly, will replace Oliva in goals.

In our opinion this is the hardest competition to call in regard to naming a top four as any of the 8 clubs could feature.

Magic the Winter League Champions, have the most influential player in the game in last seasons MVP Natalie Spirovski and with new signings Clare Tyson and Nina Blundell and an already fantastic young cast should be in contention come seasons end.

The same can be said about the experienced Sydney City Eagles. The loss of Jodie Bain however will be a major blow as will the long term injury to Fabiana Perfillio. The side has brought back club stalwart Amanda Bowering and with the dangerous Effie Radopolous wearing the black and white this season the Eagles might just be able to take that last top 4 spot.

The West City Crusaders, last seasons Super League Premiers and Champions will also turn a few heads with star player Laura Elliot and goal keeper Melissa Khoury forming a great partnership which should allow the Crusaders to win more games then they lose.

Campelltown City Quake were another side that was expected to go close to winning the competition such was their form in the Winter Super league but the loss of the experienced Amanda Bowering and that of two of the best young attackers in the game in Stephanie Haim and Caitin Jarvie has the Quake girls rocking. Whilst still having Clare Walsh, Leesa Thompson and Sarah Semaan in the side, the team now lacks the attacking depth of the other teams.

And finally the Hawkesbury Commodores. The Commodores are the dark horse of the competition and if the side gets their best players on the court continually these girls could even take out the competition. Hawkesbury signed another two of last seasons Fusions girls in target Samantha Muscat and pivot Kathryn Mladineo whilst the signing of Ashleigh Connor will have the Commodores supporters in raptures. The retention of last seasons u/16 Player of the year Trudy Camilleri should hold the team in great stead.

In what should be the most entertaining season in many years we are going to go out on a limb and say there will only be a matter of a handful of points separating first and last position.

F4A Grand Final Prediction: Mascot Vipers and Inner West Allstars.

Open Mens

The Open Mens competition just like the Open Womens is a very hard to pick as it has been for the past few seasons.

Last seasons Premiers the Sydney City Eagles look to have strengthened their side even further this season with coach Ralph Capasso making some quality off season signings. Marconi player Jason Trifiro and Penrith United star Devrim Hussein have been signed, add them into the mix with Superstar Leo Carle and futsalroos Issac Waddick and Chris Zeballos we cant see many teams beating the Eagles this season. Coach Capasso’s major concern will be come end of the season will his big name outdoor players still be around.

We couldn’t decide on either Sydney Magic or Campelltown City Quake as the second place side so on last seasons finish we went with the Magic.

The defending Champions under the watchful eye of current NSW Thunder coach Jamie Amendolia have done very little in retooling their squad in the offseason with the only notable inclusion is that of former Allstar and former Futsalroo Captain Andrew Nolan. Nolan will bring a vast amount of experience to a very young side which can only help in their quest for a repeat. Futsalroos Peter Spathis and Andrew Paine will again be called upon to lead the young Magic side around the court.

Campelltown City Quake are our tip to be next in line. Any side that has 5 Futsalroos in their squad will be hard to beat. Once again Simon Keith will be their lynch pin whilst youngsters Dean Lockhart and Tuan Cao will need to step and show why they are constantly in the yellow and gold. The Quake have also been quiet in the offseason with their only notable inclusions are that of Heber Carvalho formally of Magic and Daniel Seamaan from Commodores.

Our outside tip for the title and after a number of seasons of poor form the Inner West Allstars should make a return to the top of the pile this year. Ernie Bivona has the reigns this year and the Allstars are the sharpest and hungriest they’ve been for a number of years. Futsalroo terrific duo Adrian Vizzari and Futsalroo Captain Lachlan Wright will again be looked at to spearhead the Homebush based side while James Gullotta in goals is always dependable. The return of Dean Story and Joe Foti will also add a little bit of fire to the belly of a side which has underachieved in past seasons.

The remainder of the competition in our opinion are slight adrift. Hawkesbury Commodores led by the enigmatic Dingwall brothers and the recruitment of Tom Geekie should give the Commodores a little extra whilst the Mascot Vipers and the return of their prodigal son Yavus Ekinci seem to be the best of the rest.

F4A Grandfinal Prediction: Campelltown City Quake vs Inner West Allstars.

F4A are tipping this season to be one of the most intense and fiercely played out competitions since its inception. Full credit must go to the organizers for creating such a great competition and to all the clubs on their effort in making their own club and therefore the competition such a success.

Going by our predictions Semi Finalists numbers will be as follows :

Sydney City Eagles: 7
Sydney Magic PCYC: 6
Inner West Allstars: 5
Mascot Vipers: 4
Campelltwon Quake: 3
Western Raiders: 3
West City Crusaders: 2
Hawkesbury Commodores: 2

Which means every club we are predicting should have a minimum of 2 semi finalists.

Going on these numbers we also believe the Club Championship to determine the best club in the state will once again be a battle of the two competition heavy weights the defending Champions Sydney Magic PCYC and the Sydney City Eagles.

The Magic have without doubt been the most successful club in the past few seasons but we think their status as top club could come to end after three consecutive years at the top and the Eagles from Bankstown will this season reign supreme.

Daylight will separate these top two clubs from their next competitor which we believe will be either Quake or Inner West.

All in all this season promises so much and will probably deliver even more!!

We therefore encourage everyone to get out there and support the clubs, teams and players throughout the upcoming season.

Referees are only human.

We can be Fathers, Mothers, Brothers, Sisters, Uncles, Aunties, Sons or even Daughters.

We come in all shapes and sizes.

A lot of us are only kids.

Some of us are as young as 14 trying to earn a little pocket money.

Sometimes we referee games without a second referee.

Some of us are only new. We only learn by doing.

Sometimes we make mistakes. Even experienced Referees.

Sometimes we view the play from a different angle to a Coach or a spectator.

Sometimes our view is obstructed especially when there are 10 players on the court.

Sometimes we don’t see everything. No video referees in our sport.

Sometimes we look away for that split second.

Sometimes we have to interpret rules that are ambiguous.

Sometimes we get upset and take comments to heart.

After all, we are only human. Please give us a fair go.

-The Whistle Blower

Welcome readers to my first foray of many, fully devoted 100% on futsal.

Whilst my opinions might ring true to some, to others I’m sure there will be topics and comments made throughout many a thoughts that will tingle a nerve.

If you like it and agree, continue reading, if you don’t continue reading anyway and then leave a comment and have a sook below.

Remember these are my views and not that of Futsal4all.

 

 

 
Three years ago Soccer Australia was abolished and was on its way to being replaced by the current FFA.

At the time we had 2 divided Futsal fraternities, NSW Futsal and ISA 5 a side.
As part of the FFA reform, Futsal had its hand forced to join with Soccer NSW at the time.

Many might say it wasn’t forced,

But when Robert Waddell, the at the time C.E.O of Soccer NSW waddled in and met with all Futsal representatives he sold a great story so much so he instantly became the front runner of Sales Person of the Year. He sold a story so grand which went along the lines of FFA wants Futsal under the governing body of your state, if you don’t agree to it and go at it alone no players will be able to represent Australia as it wont be supported by the FFA.

Like previously mentioned we weren’t forced.

The one positive of minimal choices about having to join with Soccer NSW was the two bodies would no longer be recognized as individual bodies and they formed the Futsal Clubs, Centres and Organizations we see before us today.

Now three years on Futsal NSW has become a part of Football NSW, the biggest non National Sporting company in Australia and it still beggars belief what on earth has Football NSW really done for our sport.

Our registration numbers have dived south with 30 thousand registered players between the two organisations expected with the forming of the two bodies, give or take 5 thousand as dual registered players that registered in both ISA and NSW Futsal and we should still have at least with the growth of sport over the past three years 30 thousand registered players.

We currently have give or take 16 thousand registered players. Yep that’s right 16 thousand so where have the other 14 thousand players gone?

Now is it just me or does it seem every season a lot more people are talking about the Futsal Premier and Super leagues and their kids wanting to play in it. Every season the competition gets bigger with more clubs entering and its getting so much stronger with more players playing.

So the question I ask again is where have 14 thousand paying futsal players gone?

There are two logical scenarios.

1. That centre administrators are simply not forwarding the registrations onto FuNSW, pocketing the money from registrations and leaving FuNSW out of pocket making themselves possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout the year.
or
2. Centres and competition administrators are noticing that paying FuNSW $67.50 is just not worth it and can do it cheaper themselves.

See centre administrators, especially Futsal ones, are some of the shrewdest in the business. With the registration format as it currently stands, it is flawed beyond fascination and needs a major overhaul if the sport wants to make some money.

As the old cliché goes “You need to spend money to make money”.

Take this as an example -

A player “Little Johnny” heads down to Centre X and pays his $47.50, the competition administrator gets little Johnny and his parents to sign his FFA registration book, hands Little Johnny’s Dad his copy which is also is receipt and proof that he has paid and wollah, bobs your uncle – Little Johnny is registered to play a game of futsal because he is allowed to play with his Yellow form.

Where to that $47.50? Could Little Johnny be one of those 14 thousand players that have gone missing?

You may sit and read this and a little light blub goes off and you think – Well what ever happened to that rule no card no play?
Well that’s a good question, and apparently that rule still stands.

So how does Little Johnny play if he just paid that night and the administrator has to send in his registration details into FNSW?
Another very good question.

At the moment the way around that problem is to let the player play with his coloured FFA form until the player gets his ID card back from FuNSW.
But this is where the problem lies see. If the administrators don’t send in that Registration form with that passport photo to FuNSW they don’t have any idea that Little Johnny was just registered.

Futsal these days especially with the costs of running such centres and even more so clubs has become ridiculously expensive – Referee fees are increasing, Court hire increases, less court hiring available to generate more income and the extraordinary costs of running a club in the current PL/SL as well as time consumption makes life very difficult for most people. Such is the importance of running competitions to PL/SL clubs sees centres now which are affiliated with clubs paying what were volunteers to administer competitions and they really have no choice such is the importance of the game fees towards running their club. Nowadays even more so every penny counts.

The risk of an administrator not sending in his players registration is dangerous indeed, especially in the case of someone getting injured and in regards to insurance.

So what happens if a player does get Injured and the administrators haven’t sent their forms to be registered in ………? Well simply the player is deemed insured from the moment he is registered.

This exact scenario only took place weeks ago involving a current Super League club who also run local competitions.

So again why would any administrator send in their registrations to FNSW besides of those that are needed to compete in SL/PL?

Loyalty is one of the main reasons, but most importantly it is where clubs need to be for their players to be selected for the various State and National representative sides, to be involved in tournaments such as the current School, State and National Championships.

But what about the Centres which aren’t affiliated with a club in Premier League or are just a local centre which is exactly that and just runs local competitions?

These people /centres are in fact the main source of potential income for FuNSW.

Example Fivedock Leisure Centre – One of the biggest if not the biggest independent running centre not affiliated with a “club”. They have over 1000 registered players within their junior, mixed and senior competitions which are played over 4 nights throughout the week. They were once affiliated with NSW Futsal and were also affiliated with club Fivedock Wanderers and Fivedock Force (now Inner West Allstars).

As part of NSW Futsal Fivedock Leisure Centre became a member of FNSW – that relationship lasted one year.

Fivedock Leisure Centre now independently run their own competitions with all the incomes going directly to their centre keeping the money “in house” whilst using Sports Co health cover, the insurance for the centre as their insurance company charging half the price. FNSW in that one centre alone lost anywhere between 5 and 8 thousand dollars.

Another organization which could prove extremely dangerous for FNSW are the PCYC. Thankfully for FNSW the relationship between the PCYC and FNSW currently seems to be workmanlike with PCYC having clubs in both the Outdoor and Futsal fraternities but PCYC only charge a $5 registration cost. That’s right $5.

PCYC have 21 Centres within metro areas of NSW as well as 38 regional centres with Futsal competitions being played in 35 of those centres throughout NSW. All those centres have been made to pay the $67.50 registration by their Chairman even though they could just pay the $5 registration within their own organisation as well as using their own insurance at no extra cost. Should the relationship between the two organisations sour, FuNSW could lose possibly another 10-15 thousand dollars.

Now if an organization such as PCYC can get their insurance to be so cheap that they only have to charge their members $5 and be covered by insurance then where are we going wrong?

That’s a difference of $62.50 for an adult in registration costs.

Quite simply as we speak the structure that is the registration process as it stands is flawed and possibly costing FNSW between 25 to 100 thousand dollars a year and within 3 years of working within SNSW/FNSW they haven’t come out up with a solution on how to fix it or quite possibly maybe they don’t think they have a problem.

Looking from afar it is quite evident to me that there are two major issues with the current registration system which are a major problem for FNSW…..

a) Administators whom use their affiliation with FNSW as a way to attract players and teams are taking advantage of this.
Going purely on the numbers, some centres are signing up players and not passing on their registration fees to the governing body therefore costing FuNSW many thousands of dollars
and
b) The price of FNSW registration is forcing centres away from being affiliated with FuNSW and at the same time possibly forcing futsal players to pay 2 registrations. First for their local non FNSW affiliated centre and Second if they are selected to play in the PL or SL competitions.

There are two possible scenarios which could possibly help FNSW with this money and player loss.

The idea which has been suggested now many a times and that’s increase the outdoor registration fee by a minimal amount even $5 and make every Football NSW member an automatic Futsal registered player.

Lets do the numbers, currently FuNSW has 16,000 futsal players.

The numbers are almost 50-50 in regard to Senior and Junior Players. Lets say
9000 Senior Players @ $67.50 = $607,500.00
7000 Junior Players @ $47.50 = $332,500.00
That’s $940,000.00

Unbelievably the cost of just producing that plastic ID card is a whopping $6.
$6 @ 16,000 players = $96,000.000

So that equates to roughly $840,000.000 profit via FuNSW registrations.

Currently FNSW has 190,000 registered outdoor players. If FNSW would increase the registration by only $5 and that increase going to FuNSW and making every outdoor player a readily registered Futsal player FuNSW makes $950,000.00 clear on the spot.

If that was the case the Futsal registration would surely no longer need to be $67.50 as the insurance component would decrease as the numbers would increase with the merger of numbers combining both Futsal and Outdoor therefore also possibly reducing the registration fees to non FNSW members to even possibly half.

Add to that figure of $950k another say 7 out of the 16 thousand players that play Futsal for recreation that aren’t part of Youth League or Senior Outdoor Leagues at half the current price and that’s another possible $245,000.00, taking the possibility of Registration intake from $840k to $1.2mil.

In that scenario you also wouldn’t have the burden of the loss of $100k on registration cards as all players would have the same ID number for both Futsal and Outdoor except for those 5 thousand players which is a massive decrease from 16,000 resulting in only a loss of $30k from $96k.

a) Futsal makes a massive windfall.
b) Playing Futsal numbers would dramatically increase as all players would more than likely play Futsal as they don’t have to pay an extra fee.
c) Outdoor competitions such as 6 a side and 7 a side would struggle to compete with Futsal as any registration fee those competition charge would be dearer than what Futsal competitions would charge.
d) Its easier to manage players for both Futsal / Outdoor and most importantly
e) Centres can’t take advantage of the system by not registering their players.

If they want to charge an additional registration fee then they have every right to via their centres but FuNSW no longer suffer because of it.

With that extra $400,000.00 FuNSW now have they could possibly take a leaf out of the old regime at NSW Futsal and give every affiliated FuNSW Centre a laptop where centres can simply take a photo of their non registered FNSW players and get them sent directly to the offices at FuNSW and a card can be sent within a week of being registered.

Where the solution to the other problem of players playing with their coloured slip would also come to an end and would not cost FuNSW any money what so ever. There would be no excuse with the laptop system.

If you don’t send those registrations through within 2 weeks of registration the centre should be fined a massive amount of money i.e $1000 per player. In fact I think that Futsal NSW should apply that rule as we speak and any player who hasn’t had their registrations sent in within 21 days becomes ineligible for insurance forcing the centres to send in ALL their registrations as they wouldn’t be able to take the risk of having a player get injured.

The centres continue to make money whilst running their competitions, FuNSW make extra money to develop the sport, Football NSW aren’t fazed either way and continue in their money making schemes and everyone is happy.

So I go back to the original question posed at the beginning of this blog, What has Football NSW really done for our sport?

Sure we have the best PL/SL competitions in the last decade, advertising has increased via newspapers and televisions shows but have they helped out at the grass roots levels and helping increase numbers within our sport the answer is simply NO in fact numbers have decreased.

The evidence is there.

The write ups in the paper and the televisions shows are solely on the back on the quality of one competition not the sport as a whole.

If Football NSW would come to the party with something along the lines that is being suggested then the question is undoubtedly YES.

Until they do, then FuNSW as it currently stands will only continue to run a prestigious and envious league with decreasing numbers and increasing fees.

-Balls ‘n all