THE POWER OF FIVE #13 April 2015

ISSN 2324-3813

THE MAGAZINE OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL

ISSUE 13 APRIL 2015

Photo: WWW.PHOTOSPORT.CO.NZ

2014 YEAR IN REVIEW NATIONAL LEAGUE SPECIAL

NZSS“The FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIPS w Zealand Football| FUTSAL Power of Five” Black & White AROUND THE FEDERATIONS TACTICS BOARD RONAN NAICKER INTERVIEW

FIRST PICTURE CAPTION “THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND FOOTBALL CLUB AFTER THEIR WIN AGAINST AUT IN THE EXHIBITION FUTSAL MATCH AT AOTEA SQUARE, 2015”. (OR MORE TECHNICAL TITLE IF YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS…) SECOND PHOTO CAPTION “THE FOOTBALL CLUB WITH FUTSAL WHITE PLAYERS AT THE 2014 FUTSAL ROADSHOW, HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY RECREATION CENTRE”

The University of Auckland Football Club with Futsal Whites at the 2014 Futsal Roadshow, held at the University Recreation Centre.

The University of Auckland Football Club after their Futsal Festival win against AUT at Aotea Square during the Official Draw of the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015TM.

For more information on the University of Auckland futsal leagues visit www.universitysport.auckland.ac.nz

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WELCOME...

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

Photos: WWW.PHOTOSPORT.CO.NZ

Hello and welcome to the first edition of the Power of Five for 2015. We had another year of growth in 2014 seeing a rise by 33% in the number of participants in leagues and programmes across the country. Much of this growth is down to the fantastic support we have received from the FIFA U-20 World Cup Local Organising Committee in establishing the College Futsal Legacy Programme.

Through the FIFA U-20 World Cup legacy programme we were also gifted a portable futsal court to tour the country, spreading the message of futsal while promoting the amazing tournament we have coming to our shores this coming May. The court has been a huge success, reaching communities far and wide, and being placed in locations from Aotea Square in Central Auckland to Burnside High School in Christchurch.

The focused approach of delivery in the school sector and linking of educational pathways has broadened the reach of futsal even further and provided us with a new coach, referee, administration and player base. With the rapid rise in player numbers, the coaching/refereeing and administration arms of futsal development are becoming more important than ever to ensure that a quality experience is on at hand wherever futsal is played in New Zealand.

And while we are on Christchurch - a huge congratulations to Mainland Futsal who are the first side outside of Auckland to win the NZF Futsal National League - an outstanding performance by a committed group. The attacking and high pressure defence style of play by all teams in 2014 would no doubt have been a major contributor to the highly engaged viewer audience through the www.stuff.co.nz live streaming platform (which totalled 46,448 views over the three series!).

Finally, congratulations to all the participating teams at the New Zealand Secondary School Championships in Wellington of March this year. Winners in the three grades from three different cities is pleasing to see and with a record 63 teams entered from across the nation, the growth has provided us with the welcome problem of having to find more space next year. We look forward to expanding the competition to standalone grades across the whole summer tournament week next year and the addition of an athletes with disabilities grade.

I look forward to catching up with you on the courts of New Zealand as we tour the nation continuing to build and improve the sport we love.

Yours in futsal Dave Payne NZ Football Futsal Development Manager

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Photos: MASANORI UDAGAWA | WWW.PHOTOWELLINGTON.COM

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

© CreativeBank 2010

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FUTSAL REVIEW 2014 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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JANUARY - MARCH SINCLAIR APPOINTED TO FIFA REFEREE PANEL

In January, Mainland Football’s Chris Sinclair kicked off the year in style by being named on the panel of FIFA Futsal Referees, becoming the first New Zealand official in 15 years to reach international level. A regular on the local scene as a goalkeeper, coach and referee, the appointment was a just reward for 10 years of dedicated service to futsal.

“I was honoured to be selected on the FIFA panel and to represent New Zealand and put my success down to the support from my wife, family, all the referees I have worked with over the years, referee coaching assessors and a lot of hard work”, Sinclair said.

Sinclair continues to work hard towards his ambition of officiating in the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia and after an excellent National League season headed over the Tasman for the FFA Futsal Nationals in Sydney in January 2015.

Photo: WWW.PHOTOSPORT.CO.NZ

sides Cashmere High School and Auckland Grammar School.

celebrations from the crowd at the final whistle.

CAPITAL SCHOOLS IMPRESS ON HOME COURT

After Wellington College fell to Hamiltonians St Paul’s Collegiate 2-1 in a tight semi-final, St Patrick’s College prevailed 3-1 in the local derby with Wellington High School.

The fourth edition of the tournament brought 48 teams together at the ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie with Wellington schools occupying three of the four semi-final spots after some great performances over fancied

The final was a thrilling, see-sawing match where St Patrick’s went ahead twice before St Paul’s Collegiate pulled back the deficit.

The home side looked to have sealed it when they scored with just a few minutes left but St Paul’s Collegiate silenced the local supporters when they made it 3-3 in extra time. Eventually St Pat’s snatched the vital winner, setting off scenes of massive

In the junior competition, three of the four semi-final spots again went to Wellington sides, with St Patrick’s College Juniors looking to double the celebrations after the senior result. But Scots College showed some classy touches on the court to overrun the locals and take the title with a 4-2 win.

Wellington school sides took home two of the three titles on offer at the New Zealand Secondary School Futsal (NZSSF) Championships in March 2014.

In the Girls’ competition, Mount Albert Grammar overpowered Havelock North High school 8-0 in a one-sided final.

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FUTSAL REVIEW 2014

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

© CreativeBank 2010

© CreativeBank 2010

APRIL - JUNE STUNNING FIFA U20 WORLD CUP LEGACY UNVEILED New Zealand Football’s futsal community received a most welcome gift from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The LOC purchased New Zealand’s first international-standard, portable futsal pitch that can be set up in communities all over the country – either as one full size international court or two standard size courts.

“By purchasing this court, we were able to tie it into our football activities across the country in the countdown to the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015, as well as

leave a positive legacy for New Zealand’s active futsal community,” said Dave Beeche, Local Organising Committee CEO FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015.

Since its arrival, the new futsal court has been a regular traveller at various host regions up and down the country.

New Zealand Football’s Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne said the generous gift was a real bonus for the growth of the game.

FUTSAL WHITES ON THE ROAD AGAIN

“The new court will provide New Zealand Football with the opportunity of showcasing our key growth strategy of futsal. In the four short years that New Zealand Football has been administering futsal we have seen our leagues and programmes rise from just around 1000 participants to over 43,000.

Being able to now bring futsal to the community we are able to engage a wider audience with what futsal can offer.”

NZ Football Futsal and the Futsal Whites were on the road over once again over the winter with a series of futsal roadshows in each of the seven football federations of New Zealand.

A key feature of the popular events were the exhibtion matches that featured the Futsal Whites taking on local federation representative teams.

Excellent crowd numbers around the country enjoyed their first taste of top-notch futsal, with a number of teams proving great competition for the star-studded Futsal Whites line-ups.

Also on the menu was the ‘Introduction fo Futsal’ and ‘Futsal Level One’ Coaching Courses for those new to the game, as well as fun, festival styled activities for players of all ages and abilities.

Photo: JAMES BANNATYNE

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FUTSAL REVIEW 2014 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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JULY - SEPTEMBER FUTSALROOS RETAIN TRANS-TASMAN CUP The Australian Futsalroos were too strong for the Futsal Whites in the third annual TransTasman Cup in July with Rob Varela’s side taking out the series 3-0.

The series was run in parallel with the ASB National Junior and Youth Festival and played over three consecutive evenings at Wellington’s ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie.

After withstanding a Kiwi comeback in the first up 5-3 win, Australia hammered the Futsal Whites 6-0, before easing past the hosts in the third game 7-1. Former All White Leo Bertos shone for the Futsal Whites on debut, while other highlights included the Kareem Osman’s brace in Game One and the form of youngster Jan Fischer.

EXPANSION OF ASB JUNIOR & YOUTH YOUTH NATIONALS CONTINUES

55 teams descended on the ‘Home of Futsal’ to participate in the country’s premier futsal event, the three day ASB National Junior & Youth Championships in Wellington in July.

A magnificent weekend of futsal was capped off by an even spread of honours - with the five grades won by teams from five different federations. In the boys’ events WaiBOP won the U19s, Capital Yellow took out the U16s and Central White reigned in the U14s. In the girls’ events Auckland won the U19s and Futsal South triumphed in the U15s.

The 10s and 12s grades once again were played under the popular festival format featuring individual skills and games.

Photos: MASANORI UDAGAWA | WWW.PHOTOWELLINGTON.COM

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FUTSAL REVIEW 2014

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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JULY - SEPTEMBER Manickum and Hicham Kamri were on target for New Zealand, who led 2-0 at the break. Goalkeeper Atta Elayyan capped off a fine performance with a 35m punt following the breakdown of a Vanuatu power play.

FUTSAL WHITES SUFFER SETBACK AGAINST HOSTS New Caledonia propelled themselves to the top of the table with an excellent 2-1 victory over the Futsal Whites on Day 3 of the OFC Futsal Championship Invitational.

New Zealand led 1-0 at halftime through the outstanding Hicham Kamri, but Les Cagous, buoyed on by a parochial home crowd, equalised through Ivannoe Bamy five minutes after the break. Worse was to follow for the Futsal Whites just one minute later when Manon Kaouwai scored the decisive goal from a tight angle.

FUTSAL WHITES FINISH THIRD IN OFC INVITATIONAL

Photo: OFC

FUTSAL WHITES STUN MALAYSIA IN NOUMEA The Futsal Whites got off to a flyer in their opening fixture of 2014 OFC Futsal Invitational, in Noumea in August, hammering Malaysia 4-1.

The result was a complete turn around of the 7-1 drubbing handed out by the AFC side in the previous meeting between the two sides in 2013.

Jan FIscher (2) and Kareem Osman continued their goalscoring form from the Trans-Tasman Cup while Hicham Kamri’s outstanding contributions were rewarded with his first Futsal Whites goal.

FUTSAL WHITES TOO STRONG FOR VANUATU The Futsal Whites eased past Vanuatu 5-1 to claim top spot after Day 2 of the OFC Futsal Championship Invitational in Noumea. Marvin Eakins (2), Dylan

New Zealand’s quest to retain top spot in Oceania proved elusive at August’s OFC Futsal Invitational folllowing a 2-0 defeat to Tahiti in their fourth and final game.

A tense match was characterised by strong defence from both sides and it wasn’t until midway through the second half that Teaonui Tehau broke the dealdlock for the Arii Aito.

Pivot Smith Tino sealed the victory for Tahiti with the a decisive strike with two minutes left on the clock. Malaysia rebounded from an opening night defeat to win the tournament follwoign a comprehansive 6-3 win over New Caledonai in the final game.

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FUTSAL REVIEW 2014 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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OCTOBER - DECEMBER MAINLAND ON TOP AFTER SERIES ONE Mainland Futsal sat on top of the pile after Series One of the Futsal National League held in Napier in late October.

Mainland, featuring Futsal Whites Ryan Batty and Atta Elayyan, recorded four wins from their five outings at the Pettigrew Arena in Taradale with all four victories featuring come-from-behind efforts.

Sunday continued in the same manner with a 2-1 victory over Auckland Football Futsal followed by a resounding 10-4 result over Central Futsal Manawatu in their final match of the weekend.

ELAYYAN NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR Mainland and New Zealand goalkeeper Atta Elayyan (below) capped off an excellent year with his third honour of

Mainland’s sole defeat came at the hands of the defending champion Auckland side who sat in third place, a point behind Capital Futsal who were once again led by the attacking threat of Futsal White Miroslav Malivuk. The Capital pivot finished the weekend as the competition’s leading marksman with eight goals.

MAINLAND RETAIN TOP SPOT GOING INTO FINAL SERIES Mainland Futsal reeled off five straight wins from their five outings in Series Two of the competition in Wellington in November to retain top spot in the NZF Futsal National League.

Playing at the ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie, Mainland – leading the competition as the weekend began – got underway with a 5-2 win over Futsal South on Friday. Successive five-goal wins over Northern Futsal (5-4) and Waikato BOP (5-2) on Saturday further boosted their campaign.

Photo: OFC

2014 in December, the NZF Futsal Player of the Year. The award followed Elayyan’s Golden Glove winning performance (along with Elias Billeh) at the OFC Futsal Championship Invitational in August.

Elayyan capped off a great year in December in picking up his maiden NZF Futsal National League medal playing between the sticks with the all-conquering Mainland.

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Action from the National League Final in Auckland in December.

Main Photo: Mainland’s Ezequiel Junior takes on Kareem Osman.

Opposite Page: Daniel Burns is perfectly placed to score from the indirect free kick.

Photo: WWW.PHOTOSPORT.CO.NZ

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2014 NATIONAL LEAGUE New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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HEARTBREAK AGAIN FOR CAPITAL AS MAINLAND CLAIM MAIDEN TITLE Mainland Futsal won the 2014 Futsal National League after a dramatic 7-6 final win over Capital Futsal at the ASB Stadium in Kohimarama in December.

Mainland survived a late charge from the four-time runners-up in the closing stages of the final with Capital scoring twice in the last 15 seconds to give Ronan Naicker’s team a scare, but the leaders from Series One and Two held firm to earn their first national title.

Naicker said the group were delighted to lead the competition from the outset, finishing top of the standings after each of the three series’.

“It’s a great feeling really, Naicker said, “it’s a huge relief in many aspects because we started really well and we maintained it right through and it’s good that we could finish the job.

“Like I said to all the players, they answered every question that was asked of them and it’s been a long time coming for Mainland.”

After falling behind 3-1 in the early stages of Sunday’s final as league goalscoring machine Miroslav Malivuk made a hot start for Capital, Naicker said the team turned things

around late in the first half to build the buffer they eventually needed to claim the title.

“Capital started really, really well and caught us on the back foot and they were dictating play and doing what we wanted to do.”

“We got the boys in 10 minutes into the first half, calmed them down and as it played it out, we got back into it by halftime. Then after that we pretty much controlled the game for huge parts.

“At the end they were playing fifth man but we felt we had the game won. It was an exciting

finish and I’m sure everyone enjoyed it.”

Earlier in the day, Mainland secured their final berth after seeing off the challenge of fourth-placed Futsal South with a 6-4 win in the first semi-final while Capital advanced after coming from 3-1 down late in their clash with defending champions Auckland to record a 4-3 win.

Mainland’s Ezequiel Junior (left) finished as the league Golden Boot while Northern’s Hicham Kamri was named overall Most Valuable Player. Auckland’s Elias Billeh picked up the Golden Gloves.

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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ASB NATIONAL FUTSAL LEAGUE Results 2014 Series 1 Pettigrew Arena, Napier

Series 2 ASB Sports Centre, Wellington

Series 3 ASB Stadium, Auckland

Central Manawatu 6 v Central Hawkes Bay 2 WaiBOP 2 v Northern 1 Central Manawatu 2 v Auckland 9 Capital 6 v Futsal South 4 Central Hawkes Bay 5 v Northern 5 Futsal South 4 v Mainland Federation 7 Auckland 3 v WaiBOP 2 Central Manawatu 5 v Mainland Federation 8 Northern 2 v Futsal South 10 Auckland 2 v Capital 5 WaiBOP 7 v Central Manawatu 4 Central Hawkes Bay 3 v Futsal South 7 Capital 9 v Northern 2 Central Hawkes Bay 2 v Mainland Federation 7 WaiBOP 6 v Futsal South 6 Auckland 3 v Mainland Federation 0 Northern 5 v Central Manawatu 2 Mainland Federation 4 v Capital 3 Central Hawkes Bay 5 v Auckland 2 Capital 4 v WaiBOP 4

Capital 12 v Central Manawatu 3 Futsal South 10 v Central Hawkes Bay 4 Auckland 7 v Central Manawatu 2 Northern 9 v WaiBOP 3 Mainland Federation 5 v Futsal South 2 Capital 3 v Central Hawkes Bay 2 Futsal South 3 v Auckland 4 Mainland Federation 5 v Northern 4 Central Hawkes Bay 6 v WaiBOP 1 Futsal South 7 v Central Manawatu 3 Northern 1 v Capital 2 Mainland Federation 5 v WaiBOP 2 Central Hawkes Bay 10 v Central Manawatu 4 Capital 2 v Auckland 0 Futsal South 6 v WaiBOP 1 Mainland Federation 2 v Auckland 1 Northern 4 v Central Hawkes Bay 4 WaiBOP 2 v Capital 2 Mainland Federation 10 v Central Manawatu 4 Northern 2 v Auckland 2

Auckland 1 v Northern 2 Central Manawatu 4 v WaiBOP 5 Central Hawkes Bay 2 v Auckland 7 Futsal South 2 v Northern 3 Central Manawatu 4 v Capital 4 Central Hawkes Bay 3 v Mainland Federation 3 Futsal South 3 v Capital 7 WaiBOP 5 v Mainland Federation 7 Central Manawatu 5 v Northern 9 Auckland 2 v Futsal South 2 Capital 3 v Mainland Federation 7 WaiBOP 4 v Central Hawkes Bay 2 Central Manawatu 1 v Futsal South 5 Capital 6 v Central Hawkes Bay 4 Auckland 5 v WaiBOP 0 Northern 4 v Mainland Federation 5

Mainland Capital Auckland Waikato/BOP

P W D L F A GD Pts 5 4 0 1 26 17 9 12 5 3 1 1 27 16 11 10 5 3 0 2 19 14 5 9 5 2 2 1 21 18 3 8

Mainland Capital Futsal South Auckland

P W D L F A GD Pts 10 9 0 1 53 30 23 27 10 7 2 1 48 24 24 23 10 5 1 4 59 41 18 16 10 5 1 4 33 25 8 16

Mainland Capital Auckland Futsal South

P W 14 12 14 9 14 7 14 6

Futsal South Central - HB Northern Central - Mwt

5 2 1 2 31 24 7 7 5 1 1 3 17 27 -10 4 5 1 1 3 15 28 -13 4 5 1 0 4 19 31 -12 3

Central - HB Northern Waikato/BOP Central - Mwt

10 3 2 5 43 49 -6 11 10 2 3 5 35 44 -9 9 10 2 3 5 30 46 -16 9 10 1 0 9 35 77 -42 3

Northern Waikato/BOP Central - HB Central - MWt

14 5 3 6 53 57 -4 18 14 4 3 7 44 64 -20 15 14 3 3 8 54 69 -15 12 14 1 1 12 49 100 -51 4

D 1 3 2 2

L F A GD Pts 1 75 45 30 37 2 68 42 26 30 5 48 31 17 23 6 71 54 17 20

Semi-Final 1 Mainland 6 (E. Junior 2, D. Burns, H. Mitchell, R. Batty, K. Karennang) Futsal South 4 (C. Herrmann, B. O’Farrell, P. Neto) Semi-Final 2 Capital 4 (M. Malivuk 2, K. Osman, L. Saker) Auckland 3 (S. Ashby-Peckham, D. Manickum, A. Scott) Grand Final Mainland 6 (E. Junior 2, D. Burns, A. Pestana, R. Batty, K. Karennang, L. Ebrahim) Capital 5 (M. Malivuk 5, M. Edridge) Golden Boot 22 Ezequiel Junior (Mainland) 21 Miroslav Malivuk (Capital) 16 Jono Steele (Central Manawatu) 13 Evandro Madruga (Mainland) 13 Josh Margetts (Central Manawatu) 13 Kareem Osman (Capital) 12 Carlos Herrmann (Futsal South) 12 Ernesto Lopez (Auckland) 12 Hicham Kamri (Northern)

11 11 11 11 9 9 8 8 8

Bakr Al Saudi (Northern) Daniel De Souza Valerio Goes (Futsal South) Josh Stevenson (Central Hawkes Bay) Peter Rae (Futsal South) Luis Augusto Ebrahim (Mainland) Michael Sannum (Futsal South) Kaiea Karennang (Mainland) Lucas Da Silva (Capital) Samuel Lapslie (Mainland)

Most Valuable Player: Hicham Kamri (Northern)

Golden Boot: Ezequiel Junior (Mainland)

Golden Gloves: Atta Elayyan (Mainland)

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ROUND-UP FEDERATION New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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Northern

It has been a busy few months for the Northern Football futsal team.

Northern and Auckland played an integral part supporting the delivery of the Futsal Festival in Aotea Square the week of the Official Draw of the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015TM. The week included over 556 participants between the AFF and NFF regions over the activation week with high traffic from the city centre.

The event also saw an exhibition match between the Futsal Whites and a celebrity team including The Crowd Goes Wild’s James McOnie.

Another exhibition match was the Battle of the Bridge clash between Auckland and Northern’s National League teams. NFF were 6-2 down and had to resort to fifth man which showcased an exciting game of futsal for all to witness before AFF stole the game to win 8-6.

Another ‘Battle of the Bridge’ saw the first ever AUT versus Auckland University, which too lived up to its reputation. AUT unexpectedly went 4-0 up against the favourites, who came back in the second half to level the scores at 4-4. The game went to extra time where University of Auckland went up 5-4 only to have AUT redeem a goal in the dying seconds of play. University of Auckland took the trophy after penalties were needed to find a winner, thanks to some fine saves from their keeper Viktor Yim. There’s more information about the week and the Official Draw of FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015TM on our website here and you can check out the photos here.

The Men’s Premier League has welcomed a strong Massey University Football Club representative team into the competition.

The federation is working closely with local universities to help set-up leagues

Action from the Futsal Festival in Aotea Square, Auckland during the week of the Official Draw of the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015TM. and create pathways for players into the upcoming NZF Futsal University Championships and potential selection for National League.

The Federation is also working with AUT Football Club to set up their first Men’s Futsal league in April where interest has already resulted in league capacity in the early weeks of promotion. It looks as though some exciting University rivalry matches will take place later this year between the top teams from the trio.

Our inter-school College Futsal League kicks off on 1 May at Albany Junior High School. The league has so far received six team entries from year 7-8s, and six entries from year 9-10s. Schools include Albany, Rangitoto College, Pinehurst, Whangaparoa College, Ranui and Kingsway School. Albany is a new school we have been working with since the beginning of the year and they’re very passionate. We’ll be working with the school to bring in the College programme including accreditation of NCEA standards to their year 10 students in Term 2.

Another league highlight kicking off on 1 May is our first Female Club League.

The purpose of this league is to create a competitive offering for top female club players who are looking for extra training and game time to work on their technical aspects and fitness. We’ve introduced this league after much demand from our local club players who are seeking additional football pathways.

Our Junior Futsal Development Programme in Hibiscus Coast has proved more popular than ever with the first session fully booked and a second session introduced to satisfy demand.

Northern Football Futsal has also introduced new promotional material and marketing channels, including business cards to hand out at events and a new Instagram account as a communication channel for all our league entries and pictures of the week. Check us out at #NffFives. nff.org.nz

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

Auckland

East City Futsal does not stop at the home base of ASB Stadium with 2015 being no exception. Teams are well into their season in junior, youth and senior age groups. If you would like to get involved at this central/east Auckland venue then please go to the website below. www.eastcityfutsal.org.nz East City Futsal Youth Journey to Craig Foster Challenge Cup 2015 Three teams took part in the Brisbane tournament in the following age groups: U16 and U19 boys and U15 girls. The goal for this event was to develop better players and coaches. This happened on the court as well as off it with all taking part in individual and team goal setting.

The team environment and culture flowed from the players right through to the volunteers and parents.

We had great conditions for developing futsal players and this was the case with all three teams making the most of their opportunities to put in to place what they had learned, as well as express themselves on the court.

Congratulation go to the U16 boys for making the final and for the U15 girls for winning their final. The girls’ victory means they will continue their futsal journey to USA for a world futsal tournament later in the year.

Thanks must go to all the players, parents, coaches, volunteers as well as East City Futsal for helping create a great experience for all involved. Many are already looking forward to the 2016 tournament!

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Junior Girls College Futsal League Auckland schools have been locked into a battle with the Junior Girls title on the line. The second season has seen a new school get involved in Marist College and well as the now traditional Futsal schools of Diocesan School for Girls, Baradene College, Glendowie College and Selwyn College.

We are looking forward to driving futsal all over Auckland for all levels and ages and always welcome any feedback or ideas so please feel free to contact us with your ideas.

E: marvin@aucklandfootball.org.nz E: nic@aucklandfootball.org.nz www.aucklandfootball.org.nz

Boys College Futsal League Auckland Netball has been the host of the first Boys’ College Futsal League on Friday afternoons. Selwyn College, Glendowie College are no strangers to Futsal but new schools Onehunga High School, Mt Roskill Grammar School and St Paul’s College are enjoying the new experience.

NCEA College Programme The start of the year has seen a number of secondary schools taking part or planning to take part in curriculum and lunchtime futsal sessions throughout 2015. Onehunga High School and St Paul’s College, new participants in the secondary school futsal leagues, have been engaged in regular ‘give it a go’ sessions during term one to develop their knowledge of the game and skills on the court.

This year is also an exciting time on the college scene as schools prepare for the first phase of the NCEA Futsal in Schools programme. Sancta Maria College will begin the initial delivery of this programme in the final weeks of term one with Year 11 students. The activation will include students playing and coaching with their peers, and organising and officiating for junior students. Moving into term two, AFF is working with Selwyn College and Mt Roskill Grammar School, running the NCEA programme in a variety of different ways across multiple classes.

Wai-BOP

It has been a busy start to 2015 with further growth around the region and more people wanting to get involved in futsal.

Term 1 has seen an increase in interest throughout the region particularly at junior level with the introduction of the U9 program in Hamilton and Tauranga giving younger kids the opportunity to get involved and develop. Girls and woman’s futsal has seen an increase in participation with some great talent also on show, which highlights the bright future for the game.

We have also had Futsal Whites coach Scott Gilligan in the region for a week, using his expertise in various school/club visits, as well as him offering advice at the leagues and programmes to players, coaches and teams. Scott was also able to deliver the NZF Futsal Level 1 Coaching Course to a group of keen coaches passionate to learn more about the game and develop the players they are involved with.

With the futsal season coming to an end our attention turns to preparing our representative squads for the youth nationals and spreading the word of futsal through the school and college programs.

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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We are also fortunate to have the portable Futsal court in Hamilton for the duration of FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015TM, which will offer lots of opportunities for people to experience the game for the first time!

E: joe.d@waibop.co.nz www.waibop.co.nz

Central

2015 has seen a rapid start in futsal in the Central Football Federation with a number of exciting happenings on the horizon within the region.

Hawke’s Bay continues to be a ‘hot spot’ for the game in New Zealand with approximately 100 teams again competing in Tuesday and Friday night leagues from U8 through to senior men’s grades. These leagues have again proved successful with a number of exciting and engaging games gripping the attention of the Hawke’s Bay futsal community.

These leagues have been followed closely by the Hawke’s Bay age group coaches in preparation for trials that will commence in early May. The black and white side of the Central Federation will again be sending a number of teams to New Zealand’s show piece youth tournament with the aim of improving on last year’s success where two teams walked away with national titles.

Manawatu has also seen a great start to the year in terms of competitions with around 40 teams competing on Monday night. The teams within these leagues are showing great futsal technique and understanding of the game. The high school teams especially are involved in a close battle for the top spot in the league.

Age group representative teams will also be sent to the NZF Futsal Junior and Youth Festival and Championships after a highly successful start to the year. This process

will commence shortly after our leagues finish in April with identification and trials being held. This is the first year that two regions within Central Football will be represented which shows how these pathways are continuing to develop across the entire federation.

March saw the Hawke’s Bay Secondary School Tournament take place at Napier’s PG Arena in what was essentially dress rehearsal for those teams competing at this year’s National Tournament. Havelock North High School (above) took out the

senior boys final 4-2 over Napier Boys’ High School ensuring they continued their recent dominance with a third consecutive title. Making that result even more intriguing was the fact that Napier had beaten Havelock 8-0 in pool play in the 7 team tournament. Hastings Boys’ High meanwhile, appear to be an awakening giant and easily took out the Junior Boy’s final 10-2 over Havelock North. With nine teams also having represented Hawke’s Bay in Wellington at the end of March, expectations and hope within the region are high about the rise of futsal in schools.

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

Futsal has commenced in Taranaki! During two weeks in January, New Plymouth were lucky enough to again have the international futsal court installed, as part of the continuing tour around the country in promotion of FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015TM. This was a highly successful two weeks, with over 100 kids registered on holiday programmes; 12 business house teams playing in 2 separate week-long competitions; high school, women’s and men’s competitions; mayoral and celebrity challenges; and family ‘Have-a go futsal’ days.

This great summer event was used to kick-start futsal leagues in New Plymouth. With limited time and resource for schools, it has been great to have four schools (NPBHS, NPGHS, FDMC, SHGC) send teams along to start it off, and we now have 12 teams competing in the eight week high school league on Mondays. In promoting the community/ club division, we were competing against a long-standing historical summer 5-a-side competition, but managed to get 4 teams to register for the Monday league (all coming from the summer futsal court promotion). It has also been great to have half a dozen new futsal referees learn their trade in this fledgling league, and aspire to greater things. Congratulations also to New Plymouth Girls High School, who represented Taranaki at the NZSS Nationals in Wellington. www.hbfutsal.org.nz www.centralfootball.co.nz

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© CreativeBank 2010

Capital

The last few months have seen some really special moments for the Capital Futsal family.

Last December we were lucky enough to be involved in the ‘Football Remembers’ tournament. In conjunction with the British High Commission, French Embassy and the Belgian Consulate, 32 college futsal teams played against each other, to commemorate the 100 year remembrance of a time when the British and German forces put down their arms on Christmas Day and played football together. We were lucky enough to have representatives of the various countries present, along with the Governor General and Prime Minister.

It was a very special day for all of us and one that will live long in our memories.

Our college programme continues to be the ‘jewel in the crown’ for Capital Futsal.

We have 131 college teams playing in three locations around the district. College regionals and College nationals both recently took place and were enjoyed by all players, coaches and supporters.

Our development staff continue to work hard on our college programme, with Aotea College taking part in a leadership programme that sees them going providing coaching sessions to the primary school students of Rangikura School. It has been a huge success and the Capital Futsal staff, college and primary school students have all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. www.capitalfootball.org.nz

Mainland Futsal

The beginning of each year starts at a sprint, and 2015 hasn’t been any different for Mainland. A busy schedule can only be seen as a massive positive for futsal.

New Staff Sam Lapslie has been appointed our new Futsal in Schools Development Officer. Sam will be tasked with the delivery of all our primary and college programmes which includes the NCEA Level 1 programme that has been rolled out this year. Welcome Sam. FIFA Futsal Court The FIFA Futsal court is in Christchurch until April 16th and looks brilliant. We’ve been running a number of different programmes on it but a few highlights would have to be our Regional Secondary Schools Tournament and the FTC sessions we’ve held on the court. The court is at Burnside High School who have made great use of it during school hours and we’re looking forward to more upcoming events in the next month. Watch this space.

Regional Secondary Schools Championships Our Regional championship was held at the end of February with a number of schools entering teams from across the region. The quality on display was great to see across all three categories and the girls’ competition was particularly pleasing.

Going in to their final game, three schools could have finished on the same amount of points with only a two goal difference separating them. Congratulations to St. Andrews College who won both the Open Girls and Junior Boys competition and Papanui High School who won the Senior Boys competition.

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

© CreativeB

© CreativeBank 2010

and more popular within our regular futsal schools but it is good to see new schools entering teams for the first time. This is only expected to grow given the number of different college products we have available and are running through the year.

First up for us next are our trials and squad announcement for Junior & Youth Festival and Championships in July. Mainland will be sending six teams, one in each grade, as we did last year. Well done to all our schools who competed in the NZF Nationals Secondary School Championships!

Futsal South

Futsal South began 2015 where it left off in 2014. The competitions we run for all ages over the four days from Monday to Thursday are again at full stretch with 383 teams competing.

Primary schools competitions remain steady with increases in intermediate, high school and adult teams.

The NCEA combined with the FIFA legacy tournaments sees five high schools working towards credits. The bonus for Futsal South is we have introduced more futsal courses into the schools. Term One alone saw 175 students benefitting from the NZF Introduction to Futsal Refereeing Course.

Courses This is a key target area for us this year and, with that in mind, our referee and coach education is already underway.

We’ve held a NZF Futsal Level 1 coaching course as well as a NZF Futsal Referee Level 1 course this year with more planned for each term. Next stop is Nelson where will be holding a NZF Introduction to Futsal Coaching course and a NZF Futsal Referee Level 1 course.

Term 1 Competitions Term 1 is our quietest time of the year with our recreational leagues but with 48 teams playing, it has still been a full schedule. This is in many ways due to our newest full court competition, Division 2, has proved quite popular and gives us a welcome problem for next term when all our regular teams return and space is limited.

Our KiwiSport coaching in schools programme is in its early stages, and we look forward to developing this further when funding becomes available in the coming months.

Trials and training has commenced for the boys Under 16 & 19 grade for the July championships.

www.footballsouth.co.nz Schools The school competitions has grown again with 52 teams entering our leagues - the most we’ve had yet. Futsal is becoming more

Action from the Senior Boys’ Final betwen St Patrick’s College and Rongatai College.

Photo: MASANORI UDAGAWA | WWW.PHOTOWELLINGTON.COM

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NZ SECONDARY SCHOOLS’ New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

Championships 2015 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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ST PATRICK’S AND MAGS RETAIN TITLES A tense penalty shootout and a highscoring win were the order of the day as St Patrick’s College and Mt Albert Grammar retained their senior titles in contrasting styles at the New Zealand Secondary School Futsal (NZSSF) Championships in Wellington in March.

St Patrick’s required a dramatic penalty shootout in a local derby against Rongotai College to secure their second successful senior boys’ title, while Mt Albert Grammar made it three in a row in the girls’ open final by cruising to victory over Cashmere High School.

The fifth edition of the tournament brought 63 teams to the ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie late March and Wellington schools once again demonstrated the strength of the college futsal programme in the capital as they occupied three of the four semifinal spots in the boys’ senior competition.

Rongotai College eased themselves into the final with an 8-1 demolition of Hamilton Boys High School, while St Patrick’s College, prevailed in their first shoot out of the afternoon, following an epic 1-1 stalemate with much fancied Wellington College.

As expected, the final was a tense affair with St Patrick’s enjoying plenty of possession in the early stages. Rongotai were happy to sit deep and hit their

opponents on the counter attack, and they took the lead from one such sweeping move in the seventh minute. St Patrick’s equalised before the break and despite having the better chances of the second half, they could not come up with a winner, meaning they and their army of vocal supporters had to endure the tension of a shootout once again. St Patrick’s held their nerve to win 6-5 and retain their title.

With their controlled power game, the Paul Marshall-coached Mt Albert Grammar were too strong for all comers in picking up their third consecutive national open girls’ title.

The Aucklanders scored a staggering 52 goals in six games, conceding just two, and in thumping previously unbeaten Cashmere High School 14-1 in a one sided final, Mt Albert saved their best for last.

In the junior boys’ final, Hamilton Boys’ High School took an early lead over St Andrew’s College before the Canterbury side took control of an excellent match to secure their first national title with a 5-3 victory.

New Zealand Football Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne was delighted not only with the expanded competition in 2015, but also the level of skill on display and the passion of the players and their supporters.

“It’s great to see the competition going from strength to strength, and it is particularly rewarding to see the increasingly important role that futsal is playing in the college sporting scene in New Zealand,” he says.

“This tournament really demonstrates how much futsal means to the players, and as we saw on both days, what it means to their supporters as well. We’ve also seen another lift in the technical and tactical levels of the teams this year, right across the grades.”

Payne says one of the challenges for the future is coping with the increasing popularity of the tournament.

“With more schools wanting to take part in the NZSSF Championships, the challenge we face is accommodating as many teams as possible, while retaining the quality of the tournament, on and off the court. Futsal is growing rapidly, and with that comes numerous logistical challenges. But for sure they are challenges we relish”, Payne says.

“We will now look to expand the competition so each grade is a standalone event. In addition we are also looking to add an Athletes with Disabilities grade”, he added.

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TABLES/RESULTS/AWARDS SENIOR BOYS

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

GROUP A

P W D L F A GD PTS Wellington College 4 4 0 0 19 3 16 12 Auckland Grammar 4 3 0 1 15 5 10 9 Hastings Boys’ High 4 2 0 2 13 12 1 6 Linwood College 4 1 0 3 3 15 -12 3 Shirley Boys High 4 0 0 4 6 21 -15 0

GROUP B

P W D L F A GD PTS Havelock North High 4 4 0 0 16 2 14 12 Papanui High 4 3 0 1 28 9 19 9 Cashmere High 4 2 0 2 7 8 -1 6 Glendowie College 4 1 0 3 7 15 -8 3 Wainuiomata High 4 0 0 4 7 31 -24 0 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

GROUP C

P W D L F A GD PTS St Patrick’s College 4 4 0 0 23 5 18 12 St Pauls Collegiate 4 3 0 1 31 12 19 9 Otago Boys’ 4 2 0 2 11 15 -4 6 Buller High 4 1 0 3 5 23 -18 3 Horowhenua College 4 0 0 4 2 17 -15 0 GROUP D

P W D L F A GD PTS Hamilton Boys’ High 4 3 0 1 24 5 19 9 Nelson Boys College 4 3 0 1 17 8 9 9 Scots College 4 3 0 1 14 9 5 9 St Andrew’s College 4 1 0 3 11 11 0 3 Bayfield High 4 0 0 4 5 38 -33 0 GROUP E

Rongotai College Taradale High Bishop Viard Mt Aspiring Boys Greymouth High

P W D L F A GD PTS 4 4 0 0 25 9 16 12 4 3 0 1 21 12 9 9 4 2 0 2 21 21 0 6 4 1 0 3 22 24 -2 3 4 0 0 4 4 27 -23 0

GROUP F

P W D L F A GD PTS Napier Boys High 4 3 0 1 18 9 9 9 Lincoln High 4 3 0 1 12 4 8 9 St Patrick’s College 4 3 0 1 14 12 2 9 Marlborough Boys’ 4 1 0 3 10 17 -7 3 Onslow College 4 0 0 4 5 17 -12 0

Photos: MASANORI UDAGAWA WWW.PHOTOWELLINGTON.COM

PLAYOFFS/FINALS Onslow College 4 Shirley Boys High 4 Wainuiomata High 4 Bayfield High 5 © CreativeBank 2010 Horowhenua College 4 Greymouth High 4 Linwood College 1 Buller High School 0 Wellington College 5 Napier Boys High 2 Havelock North High 2 Hamilton Boys’ High 4 St Andrew’s College Senior Boys 4 Mt Aspiring Boys 5 St Pauls Collegiate School 2 Papanui High 6 Marlborough Boys’ College 2 Glendowie College 2 Auckland Grammar School 7 Taradale High School 2 Hastings Boys’ High School 5 Bishop Viard 2 Lincoln High 1 Nelson Boys College 2 Scots College 1 St Patrick’s Silverstream 3 Cashmere High 2 Otago Boys’ 9 © CreativeBank 2010

SEMI FINALS Rongotai College 8 Hamilton Boys’ High 1 St Patrick’s College 1 Wellington College 1 [St Patrick’s College win on PSO] FINAL St Patrick’s College 1 Rongotai College 1 [St Patrick’s College win on PSO] AWARDS Winner – St Patrick’s College, Wellington Runner-up – Rongotai College Golden Boot – Rimu Roode (Mount Aspiring College) Golden Gloves – Havelock North High MVP – Nelsone Mukisa (Horowhenua College)

JUNIOR BOYS GROUP A

P W D L F A GD PTS Hamilton Boys’ High 5 5 0 0 34 11 23 15 St Patrick’s College 5 4 0 1 32 14 18 12 Hastings Boys’ High 5 2 1 2 12 15 -3 7 Onslow College 5 1 2 2 17 16 1 5 Linwood College 5 1 0 4 15 41 -26 3 Waimea College 5 0 1 4 17 30 -13 1

GROUP B

P W D L F A GD PTS St Andrew’s College 5 5 0 0 40 8 32 15 Wellington College 5 4 0 1 48 13 35 12 Havelock North High 5 3 0 2 22 16 6 9 Mt Roskill Grammar 5 1 1 3 16 27 -11 4 Scots College 5 1 1 3 10 23 -13 4 Marlborough Boys’ 5 0 0 5 4 53 -49 0 GROUP C Shirley Boys’ High 5 4 0 1 39 9 30 12 Napier Boys’ High 5 4 0 1 41 18 23 12 St Peter’s College 5 4 0 1 30 17 13 12 Horowhenua College 5 2 0 3 13 30 -17 6 Rongotai College 5 1 0 4 15 24 -9 3 Wellington High 5 0 0 5 12 52 -40 0

21 PLAYOFFS/FINALS Wellington High 4 Marlborough Boys’ College 3 Linwood College 2 Waimea College 3 Scots College 3 Rongotai College 3 Napier Boys High 7 St Patrick’s College 8 Onslow College 10 Mt Roskill Grammar 1 Hastings Boys’ High 11 Horowhenua College 0 St Peter’s College 4 Havelock North High 5 SEMI FINALS St Andrew’s College 3 Wellington College 2 Hamilton Boys’ High 5 Shirley Boys’ High 1 PLAYOFF FOR 3/4 Wellington College 9 Shirley Boys’ High 7 FINAL St Andrew’s College 5 Hamilton Boys’ High 3 AWARDS Winner – St Andrew’s College Runner-up – Hamilton Boys High School Golden Boot – Seth Ward – Wellington College Golden Gloves – St Andrew’s College MVP – Lucas Bertos (Rongotai College)

GIRLS OPEN

PLAYOFFS/FINALS HOME TEAM St Andrew’s College 2 Mt Aspiring 2 GROUP A New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White Marian College 4 Whangarei Girls’ High 2

P W D L F A GD PTS Mt Albert Grammar 4 4 0 0 30 1 29 12 Wellington East Girls College 1 Napier Girls High 4 Marian College 4 2 1 1 14 14 0 7 St Oran’s College 2 Wellington High School 1 Onslow College 4 0 3 1 7 16 -9 3 St Andrew’s College 1 Marian College 1 Wellington High 4 0 2 2 5 15 -10 2 Mt Aspiring Girls 8 Whangarei Girls’ High 3 Napier Girls High 4 0 2 2 5 15 -10 2 Onslow College 5 Havelock North High 11 Woodford House 4 Wellington East College 10 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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© CreativeBank 2010

GROUP B Cashmere High 4 4 0 0 32 5 27 12 SEMI FINALS New Plymouth Girls’ 4 3 0 1 32 4 28 9 Mt Albert Grammar 8 New Plymouth Girls High 0 Whangarei Girls’ 4 2 0 2 13 16 -3 6 Cashmere High 5 Hutt Valley High School 3 St Oran’s College 4 1 0 3 7 25 -18 3 Woodford House 4 0 0 4 7 41 -34 0 PLAYOFF FOR 3/4 New Plymouth Girls’ 4 Hutt Vally High 1

GROUP C Hutt Valley High 4 3 0 1 17 14 3 9 FINALS St Andrew’s College 4 3 0 1 18 17 1 9 Mt Albert Grammar 14 Cashmere High 1 Mt Aspiring Girls 4 2 0 2 19 14 5 6 Havelock North High 4 1 0 3 15 19 -4 3 AWARDS Winner – Mount Albert Grammar Wellington East Girls’ 4 1 0 3 10 15 -5 3 Runner-up – Cashmere High School

Golden Boot – Beth Elliot – Cashmere High School Golden Gloves – Mount Albert Grammar MVP – Jaimee Paterson (New Plymouth Girls High School)

Photo: Phototek

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

© CreativeBank 2010

© CreativeBank 2010

Photo: WWW.PHOTOSPORT.CO.NZ

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RONAN NAICKER New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

© CreativeBank 2010

INTERVIEW

A couple of weeks out from the 2014 NZF Futsal National League, Mainland’s campaign looked over before it started, following the resignation of the team coach.

Up stepped former player, and current referee and coaching mainstay Ronan Naicker to plot the direction for a richly talented and diverse squad. The rest - as they say - is history, as Naicker powered the Cantabrians first of all to the top of the table, and ultimately, to the title. Power of Five caught up with the Mainland Futsal Development Officer to get the story behind the champions - the first team outside Auckland to win the coveted National League.

First up Ronan, congratulations on Mainland’s victory in the 2014 National Futsal League. You must be absolutely delighted...

Thank you. Yes, we are delighted to have completed the job and brought the trophy home. The boys deserved it after the performance they put in.

Tell us about preseason. You only took over the team in the week leading up to Series One - is that correct?

We didn’t have the best preseason, no.

I stepped in about two or three weeks before Series One to replace our outgoing coach. I had already been at all the training session leading up to it, but hadn’t had much input into training.

What were your expectations heading into the season? Despite the interruptions with

preparations, did you foresee the possibility of winning the league back on the opening day?

We didn’t really set any expectations after I took over, given our preparation. We knew we had a good squad, that would only improve with time, but just wanted to focus on short term goals and do the basics right. To be honest, we had only set a target of eight points in Series One. Mainland were an interesting team this year. You had a crop of Brazilians, some very experienced New Zealanders like Daniel Burns and Ryan Batty, some promising youngsters, and of course the New Zealand player of the year in goalkeeper Atta Elayyan. To the neutral you almost had two or quite distinct three teams within the group - is that how you saw it? If so, was it difficult to mould all the elements together?

When I came into my role as Futsal Development Officer last year, I knew Mainland had the talent and quality, it was just a case of getting them together as a team and squad. The difference between years past and this year is that we had distinct teams/groups within the squad, whereas this year, we had different combinations within the squad but one team. We tried to put the players together, who played together regularly on a Sunday, because they knew each other better. So yes, we did have three distinct combinations but they were able to ‘crossover’ as well. In the end, it wasn’t difficult to mould them because we just needed to be clear about our objectives. I needed to be as fair and honest as possible with the

squad and use the experienced players I had for their knowledge and leadership.

Any other key factors that ultimately contributed to winning the title? The team seemed very composed in the final in particular, despite falling two goals behind...

Character. There were a number of tough games where we needed to come back from behind and we did it. The experience was there and the squad showed great character in tough situations. That stems from having a unified squad. The players trusted each other and helped each other when required and our squad got stronger from series to series. We arrived at Series 3 with our strongest squad and knew that it was ours to lose. We just needed to be calm and composed and stick to our game. We managed to do that and were rewarded.

The goals of Ezequiel Junior were a telling factor - he won the Golden Boot despite only playing in Series One and Two and he really gave Mainland an edge. Tell us a little bit about him - he made a big impression on everyone...

Ziki was only able to play Series 2 and 3 and we were more than happy to have him. He’s hasn’t been in NZ long and is still learning English, so he was very quiet at the beginning. He’s very relaxed though so it didn’t take long to fit in and he plays same way on the court. He’s relaxed and lethal. Ezequiel has the ability to go past players, even when they know that what he’s going to try and do. With excellent acceleration and a lethal finish, Ziki has

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“

THIS YEAR, WE HAD DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS WITHIN THE SQUAD BUT ONE TEAM... THE PLAYERS TRUSTED EACH OTHER AND HELPED EACH OTHER WHEN REQUIRED

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

the typical trait that most South American players have, they love to play the game, but they also have a burning desire to win.

Before Series 2, he told us that he was going to score 8 goals and he surpassed that. We asked him how many he was going to score in Series 3 and he said, “I don’t care how many, as long as we win”.

Do you think you will be able to keep this group together for next season?

We should be able to keep 90% of the squad together so it looks good for 2015.

You’ll have to ask me again come October.

We’ve got a number of exiting youngsters coming though as well so it bodes well for the future.

Tell us a little bit about the scene in Mainland - as Futsal Development Officer are you happy with how the game is progressing in your region? Canterbury has always been a hotbed for futsal...

I’m happy with 2014 but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Venues are an issue across the country and that’s no different

© CreativeBank 2010

© CreativeBank 2010

for Mainland. Most of our Futsal is played at two venues: Bishopdale YMCA, CPIT and Catholic Cathedral College with our school competitions held at Cashmere and Shirley Boys High Schools as well. The sport is steadily growing in our region and I’m confident, as we secure more venues across the region, it will grow further. The live-stream of the National League has given us great exposure, especially since we’ve done so well and that can only help the development of the game down here.

What about the youth and women’s game?

Are you encouraged by the numbers playing the game and level you are seeing?

The youth has been our biggest growth area and is constantly improving in quality and increasing in numbers. There a more girls and girls teams playing at Youth level now than any other age band. The women’s game needs a lot more attention too and, nationally, we have to try and improve on this area. We are fortunate to have a solid, committed base of women playing the game in Christchurch but we need to find ways to

”

get new players playing. It’s a key area for us in 2015.

Finally, a little about yourself Ronan, how long have you been involved with futsal, what’s next for you and what would you like to achieve in the game?

I’ve been involved in futsal since around 2007. Initially as a player, then referee and finally as coach and in my position as Futsal Development Officer. I’ve just finished my first year in the role so the next step for me is becoming more efficient at what I do and improving the quality of futsal, in all areas, in our region. We have a number of key areas both locally and nationally, that we’d like to improve and I want to ensure that Mainland achieve those goals. As a coach, it’s very early on and I have a lot to learn. I was very fortunate to have an exceptionally talented squad and delighted that we managed to win the National League. My goal is to continue my development as a coach and take every opportunity I can to do so. I’ve enjoyed every aspect of the game and look forward to the future.

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THE TACTICS BOARD New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

FUTSAL LEVEL 1 COACHING AWARD

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FUTSAL LEVEL 1 COACHING AWARD

NATIONAL LEAGUE FINAL 2014 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

In this edition of ‘The Tactics Board’, we take a look at the goals of 2014 National League final, a see-sawing 13 goal thriller that is surely the most exciting game seen in the competition’s four year history.

Capital were desperate to win the title for the first time in their history following defeats in the finals of 2010, 2012 and 2013, while Mainland - who dominated regular season play looked ‘on track’ for their first national title.

Despite the tiredness that both sides experienced following a tough Series 3 and associated playoffs, the final turned out to be a festival of quality goals, many of which had the hallmarks of the ‘classic’ build-up play and finishing that is distinctive to futsal. Both sides truly played their part in a game which saw goals from almost every situation - from solo efforts, to free kicks, penalties, back post tap-ins, counter attacks and power plays.

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION) E

C

C

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

1-2-1 (IN

C

9

D

9

C

8

9 3

B 8

A

7 5

9

FUTSAL LEVEL 1 FUTSAL LEVEL 1 MAINLAND 1-2 COACHING AWARD COACHING AWARD

CAPITAL 1-0

CAPITAL 2-0

[9] MALIVUK

[7] BATTY

After collecting ball the behind halfway, the Capital pivot [9] dribbles at pace, changes direction twice and beats two markers before unleashing a crashing drive into the top right hand corner.

Solo stunner.

Malivuk [9] carves up Mainland with two one-twos from deep within his own half, first with Mereilles [5] and then Barham [8], the latter of whom sends a beautifully weighted diagonal ball across the ‘keeper to Malivuk who meets it perfectly at the back post.

A nice turn and flick with the outside of the foot from Kerranang [3] after Silva gives the ball away cheaply for Capital.

Then a good first touch away from the body and a fine left-footed finish from Batty [7].

[9] MALIVUK

C

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

C

9 9

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

1-2-1 (IN

C

11 9

For Capital it was heartbreak once again, but particularly after having taken a 3-1 lead and failing to score twice from the 10 metre penalty mark.

Mainland’s five unanswered goals (from 1-3 down to 6-3 up) ultimately took the game away from Capital, but a stunning fightback from the Wellingtonians ensured that New Zealand’s domestic showpiece match was a fitting finale that went right down to the wire...

© CreativeBank 2010

9

11 9

CAPITAL 3-1

[9] MALIVUK After another dribble from his own half, Malivuk [9] ‘rolls’ the keeper but can’t finish into an empty net. He squares for Silva [10] who misses the ball. The onrushing Osman [11] then collects the ball and squares for Malivuk to finish at the back post.

6 4

MAINLAND 2-3

MAINLAND 3-3

From a kick-in, Pestana’s [9] good first touch and simple feint gives him enough room to move inside Silva and drill the ball home.

10 metre penalty converted by EZEQUIEL [4] through he legs of the advancing keeper.

[7] PESTANA

[4] EZEQUIEL JNR

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

© CreativeBank 2010

FUTSAL LEVEL 1 COACHING AWARD New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

FUTSAL LEVEL 1 COACHING AWARD

© CreativeBank 2010

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

C

FUTSAL LEVEL 1 COACHING AWARD

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

1-2-1 (IN

9 9

4

8 4

10

8

9 3

8

MAINLAND 4-3

FUTSAL LEVEL 1 FUTSAL LEVEL 1 FUTSAL LEVEL 1 MAINLAND 5-3 MAINLAND 6-3 CAPITAL 4-6 COACHING AWARD COACHING AWARD COACHING AWARD

[9] PESTANA

[4] EZEQUIEL JNR

[9] MALIVUK

Nicely worked indirect free kick: the dead ball is tapped square [4 plays to 9], who then plays a parallel ball to Burns [8] for a simple tap in at the back post.

After a controlled phase of possession Siquendra’s [8] back heel with his back to the goal allows Karrenang [3] to square for Pestana [9] who finishes in the opposite corner.

From deep Pestana [9] plays a diagonal ball to Ezequiel [4], operating as a pivot in the centre circle. He receives nicely, spins his marker and dribbles into the Capital half before deftly chipping the advancing goalkeeper for a fine finish.

Penalty kick struck low to goalkeeper’s left.

[8] BURNS

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION) 4

9

4

8

8

LEGEND

Pass

10

11

11

1-2-1 (IN POSSESSION)

9

Run

8

10

Dribble

4

11

9

MAINLAND 7-4

CAPITAL 5-7

CAPITAL 6-7

A quick counter attack from Mainland sees Ezequiel [4] break from halfway before squaring for an easy finish for Pestana [9].

A nicely controlled five man power-play from Capital ends with Osman’s [11] diagonal ball through the ‘D’ across to the back post for another Malivuk [9] finish.

Capital employ a final power play with Silva [10] cutting in from the right beforing squaring to Osman [11]. Osman’s ball to the near post is neatly flicked in by Edridge [4] right on the final whistle.

[9] PESTANA

[9] MALIVUK

[4] EDRIDGE

11

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

© CreativeBank 2010

GRAND FINAL SHOTS / GOALS/ASSISTS

E. Junior 2, D. Burns, A. Pestana 2, R. Batty, L. Ebrahim

M. Malivuk 5, M. Edridge

7

6

TOTAL SHOTS

ON TARGET

BLOCKED

OFF TARGET

GOALS

ASSISTS

22

H. MITCHELL [GK]

0

0

0

0

0

0

6

L. EBRAHIM

6

3

1

2

1

0

8

D. BURNS

6

5

0

1

1

0

9

A. PESTANA

2

2

0

0

2

1

10

E. MADRUGA

9

2

5

2

0

2

1

A. ELAYYAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

S. VAILU’U

1

0

1

0

0

0

3

K. KARENNANG

0

0

0

0

0

2

4

E. JUNIOR

14

9

1

4

2

1

5

T. MCGOWAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

7

R. BATTY

6

3

1

2

1

0

11

M. BERGIN

0

0

0

0

0

0

12

S. LAPSLIE

0

0

0

0

0

0

13

S. MITCHELL

12

M. MADDAH [GK]

0

0

0

0

0

0

44

24

9

11

7

5

TOTAL SHOTS

ON TARGET

BLOCKED

OFF TARGET

GOALS

ASSISTS

0

0

0

0

0

0

5

E. MEIRELLES

2

1

1

0

0

1

9

M. MALIVUK

8

6

1

1

5

0

7

L. SAKER

6

0

0

6

0

0

11

K. OSMAN

12

3

2

7

0

4

2

S. SOLEIMANPOUR

1

0

0

1

0

0

3

M SHENAVAEI

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

M. EDRIDGE

7

2

3

2

1

0

6

S. INA

2

1

0

1

0

0

8

T. BARHAM

1

0

0

1

0

1

10

L. DA SILVA

9

4

3

2

0

0

13

J. MANN

0

0

0

0

0

0

14

J. SINKORA

0

0

0

0

0

0

48

17

10

21

6

6

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