THE POWER OF FIVE #4 May 2012

THE MAGAZINE OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL

PHOTO: RICHARD BELL

ISSUE 4 MAy 2012

PHOTO: ALPHAPIX

ASB FUTSAL NATIONAL LEAGUE JOse Venancio Lopez Hierro SCOTT INTERVIEW w Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The PowerGILLIGAN of Five” Black & White ELLIOT RAGOMO OTARA FUTSAL PROGRAMME

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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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A BUSY FIRST QUARTER...

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

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Hello and welcome to the second edition of the Power of Five for 2012. The events calendar for this year was heavily stacked in favour of the first quarter.

From educational seminars to national competitions, national team head coach appointment, to regional development staff appointments - all areas of the game were covered.

We were extremely privileged to co-host with OFC the visit of the Spanish Head Coach Venancio López. Venancio is undoubtedly one of the best futsal coaches in the game and the knowledge he shared with the key members of the futsal community in the Oceania region will benefit us all for years to come.

What impressed me the most with Spanish futsal development methods was their focus on the development of the player over winning the game in the junior and youth age groups. It is something we are only just embarking on here. But when you hear it from the world’s best, it reinforces your belief in the cultural shift we are striving for, to ensure this generation of kiwi junior and youth players compete on the world stage in their senior years.

The ASB Futsal National League attracted larger audiences than ever with all three series and the grand final aired on Sky Sports.

AFF Futsal East City Futsal were sheer magic to watch on the court. They have set a benchmark of excellence that the other six regional federations know will require many hours of training in the off season to match.

Hats off to all teams involved - the number of youth players playing at this level was very pleasing to see and bodes well for the future of the league.

PHOTO: OFC

Throughout March we had a number of additional promotional events, the largest of these supporting our ever supportive sponsor ASB at the annual ASB PolyFest. An event with an average of 90,000 attendance was very daunting but all credit to the crew at New Zealand Football and Auckland Football Federation for the execution of the futsal showcase at the three day event.

A portable futsal court was transported up from Wellington for the event with fun, games and the Futsal Whites on displays for the crowd.

Just to top it off we have secured the services of the highly regarded former Australian Coach and FIFA Futsal Instructor Scott Gilligan to drive the development of the national team to FIFA Futsal World Cup qualification in 2016. A long way off but plenty of work to be done!

Sit back and celebrate with us the wrap up of what was the energy packed first quarter of 2012.

Dave Payne NZF Futsal Development Manager

At the end of March we were rewarded with a great example of the growth of the game in the youth framework with a record 28 teams registered for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Sports Council (NZSSSC) National Futsal Championships.

Some excellent futsal was on display in both boys and girls competition grades with teams from as far north as Whangerai to the southern town of Mt Aspiring.

And finally, in order to bring continued success for the future and to support our amazing current workforce, we have appointed four new futsal development officers in Nelson, Waikato, Auckland and Northern regions.

PHOTO: OFC

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

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PHOTO: OFC

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

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

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NZ FOOTBALL FUTSAL HOST OFC REGIONAL WORKSHOP WITH LEADING SPANISH FUTSAL TECHNICIAN A two day futsal coaching workshop presented by legendary Spanish national Futsal coach José Venancio López Hierro in March has been the major highlight on the futsal calendar in 2012.

The workshop was one of the activities set up as part of a memorandum of understanding between OFC and Real Federación Española de Fútbol, whereby coaching expertise from Spain is available to assist OFC Member Associations with the development of football and futsal programmes.

The objective of the weekend was to learn of the methodology of one of the world’s most respected and successful futsal coaches, improve the standard of futsal coaching in the region and to assist OFC’s and NZF Futsal’s efforts to establish futsal coaching frameworks.

Venancio arrived in Auckland after having spent a week with the Solomon Islands national futsal team assisting the Kurukuru with their preparations for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand in November.

Earlier in February, Venancio lead Spain to its fourth consecutive UEFA Euro Futsal Championship victory in Croatia, the third time he has lead the team to victory in Europe’s premier futsal competition.

Futsal staff from seven OFC Member

Associations flew into Auckland to attend the course and take advantage of the opportunity to network with other futsal development officers and national coaches.

NZ Football Futsal invited technical staff, coaches from the seven NZF Futsal National League teams, Regional Football Federation staff and two of Australia’s leading futsal coaches including Futsalroos coach Stephen Knight.

A key theme throughout the course was the vital role that futsal has played in football development in Spain over the past twenty-four years and the importance of junior players having access to both football and futsal.

“Twenty four years ago, Spanish Football Federation President María Villar decided to introduce futsal and the sport has been developed step-by-step from there”, said Venancio.

“Futsal and football competitions are organised the same. We have regional and national competitions which serve to increase player development. The development of fustsal with young players helps in the development of football when these youngsters go on to play 11-a-side,” he said.

“Players need to start young”, he added.

“In Spain they start at just eight years

old. The training is progressive. The best football player development is through futsal.”

Also highlighted was the need to improve tactical understanding amongst the Oceania countries in order to achieve creditable results at international level.

Venancio spoke frequently of his experience with the Solomon Islands national side, their excellent technical ability while at the same time highlighting their need to improve on their tactical knowledge.

The weekend was broken into theory and practical seesions, with the Futsal Whites on hand to assist with the demonstrations.

Some of the topics covered included • Perception • Passing • Defence – transition • Defence – zonal / switch / individual / alternate / mixed marking • Attack – transition • Attack – 4-0 / 3-1 / 2-2 formations • Counter attack • Power plays • Set plays Venancio’s next challenge is the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand in November, where Spain will be installed as joint favourites to win the competition along with current holders Brazil.

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Dylan Manickum (blue), 2011/12 ASB Futsal National League MVP and Golden Boot winner, in action against Mainland Canterbury’s Josh Cremen PHOTO: RICHARD BELL

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Series Two, Three and Finals New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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INVINCIBLE Auckland CRUISE TO VICTORY Auckland Football’s AFF East City Futsal cruised to victory in the 2011/12 ASB Futsal National League title after a comprehensive 7-2 victory over Mainland Futsal in the final at ASB Sports Centre in Wellington in March.

Auckland completely dominated the three series league played over three weekends during the summer months, finishing unbeaten throughout both the league and playoff series. It began at Dunedin’s Edgar Centre in December, moved to Auckland’s ASB Stadium for Series Two in February before concluding in the capital at the state of the art new stadium in Kilbirnie.

Auckland won twelve out of twelve games in league play and beat last year’s best performing kiwi side Capital Futsal 4-1 in the semi final before demolishing Mainland under the watchful eyes of new Futsal Whites coach Scott Gilligan.

New Zealand Football’s Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne was full of praise for AFF East City’s achievement.

“Auckland have set a record here that will

not be touched for a long time, if ever,” Payne said.

Bakr-Al Saudi in particular, were in red hot form throughout the summer

“A perfect season is an amazing feat but what makes it more impressive is that it comes at a time when the playing standards around the country are increasing rapidly.

In addition Robertson had emerging stars in Richie Sullivan and Brazilian maestro Felipe Bernardi weighing in with vital contributions in the big games.

“Mainland were the big surprise this year and went toe to toe with Auckland for the first ten minutes of the final before Auckland’s quality showed through. Last year, Capital were the ones to emulate and this year the benchmark is clearly set by AFF East City.

Nineteen year old Futsal White Dylan Manickum continued his golden-bootwinning form in the final with a destructive five-goal haul to take his season tally to 19. Manickum capped off a stellar season by picking up both the Golden Boot and National League MVP awards.

The depth of the Auckland squad was always a significant factor, with player/ coach Nathan Robertson having seven current or ex-Futsal Whites to call upon.

Captain Marvin Eakins, Miro Major and

Futsal White goalkeeper Clayton Chappell was the top shot stopper on display throughout the summer and deservedly picked up the Golden Gloves award.

Despite a crushing defeat in the final, Mainland Futsal enjoyed an excellent summer after finishing with the wooden spoon in 2010/11. Ryan Batty and Daniel Burns were two of the top performers for the Canterbury based side while danger men Marco Stilinovic, Josh Cremen and Jakub Sinkora all hit top form on occasions throughout the season.

Capital Futsal disappointed for much of the summer, but rose to the challenge when it mattered - on their home court - to steal the fourth spot in the playoffs.

Futsal Whites Khalid Rhazouk and Micky Malivuk had solid seasons while youngsters Matt Ederidge and Izaac O’Hara showed

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

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

plenty of promise. O’Hara has bounced back admirably since losing his place in the Futsal Whites and his four goal haul in the last game of Series Three was one of the standout performances of the season.

League debutantes NFF were in disarray after a poor Series One and this was compounded by the loss of coach Arthur Ng and skipper Chris Thorpe and then the departure of a large number of the squad just prior to Series Two. But the side improved rapidly as soon as coach James Vaughan took the helm, with a draw against Mainland and then a hard fought win against Futsal South (who had thrashed them 6-0 in Series One) kick starting their season.

This young side has plenty to look forward to next year, especially with the recent acquisition of Auckland’s Brazilian playmaker Felipe Bernardi to the coaching ranks. For Northern, Charles Robertson, Harvey Mills were stand out performers.

Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay were the other newcomers this year and also emphasized youth, with at least six players aged fifteen or sixteen. Tai Barham and flanker Simon Stallard were particularly impressive, while experienced pair Patrick Pilz and Nat Wright also had their moments. Wright’s clinical hat trick against Capital and Pilz’s match winning performance against NFF were two of the star turns of the season.

Ultimately though, Central will have been a little disappointed to pick up only one win during the summer. Despite their youth, with their ability to block defend and counter attack with precision, Mark Cozens’ side were effective for long periods against all but Auckland, but unfortunately gave up late goals in too many of their closely fought games.

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Series TWO ASB STADIUM AUCKLAND 3/4 DECEMBER 2011 RESULTS Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay 1 Stallard Mainland Futsal 1 Sinkora Central Futsal Manawatu NFF Futsal

1 Jones 1 Weanthonkham

Capital Futsal AFF Futsal East City

2 Silva, Heron 5 Ragued, D Manickum 3, Bernardi

Mainland Futsal Futsal South

2 0

AFF Futsal East City Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay

6 C Manickum, Major, Al-Saudi 3, D Manickum 0

Central Futsal Manawatu Capital Futsal

0 3 og, Osman, Heron

Futsal South NFF Futsal

1 Rae 2 Jabir, Nasser

Mainland Futsal AFF Futsal East City

0 2 Sullivan 2

Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay Central Futsal Manawatu

3 6

Wright 2, Emerson Graham, Burling 2, O’Connor, Jones, Brandt

Futsal South Capital Futsal

2 2

Neto, og og, Silva

AFF Futsal East City Central Futsal Manawatu

4 Manickum 3, Major 1 Jones

NFF Futsal Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay

1 Jabir 4 og, Pilz 2, Stallard

Mainland Futsal Central Futsal Manawatu

1 og 3 O’Connor, Wilson, Jones

AFF Futsal East City Futsal South

3 Eakins, Major, Bernardi 0 Stallard

NFF Futsal Capital Futsal

0 5

Burns, Sinkora

Silva, Malivuk 2, Rhazouk 2

TABLE

P W D L F A GD Pts AFF Futsal East City 9 9 0 0 45 7 38 27 Mainland Futsal 9 5 1 3 18 15 3 16 Central Futsal Mwtu 9 4 2 3 22 19 3 14 Futsal South 8 3 1 4 17 18 -1 10 Capital Futsal 8 2 3 3 20 17 3 9 Central Futsal H Bay 9 1 2 6 18 40 -22 5 NFF- Futsal Massey 8 1 1 6 8 32 -24 4

GOLDEN BOOT 9 Dylan MANICKUM (AFF Futsal East City) 7 Jakub SINKORA (Mainland Futsal), Bakr Al- SAUDI (AFF Futsal East City) 6 Greg O’CONNOR (Central Futsal Manawatu) 6 Nat WRIGHT (Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay) 5 Marvin EAKINS, Miro MAJOR (both AFF Futsal East City), Micky Malivuk (Capital Futsal), Khair JONES (Central Futsal Manawatu) 4 Daniel Burns (Mainland Futsal), Khalid Rhazouk (Capital Futsal), Felipe Bernardi, Richie Sullivan (both AFF Futsal East City Futsal)

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

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

Central Futsal Manawatu Res Sox once again made the semi finals and again proved a tough prospect for every team who came up against them. Inspirational player/coach Murray Burling enjoyed another excellent season while Greg O’Connor and Scott Mudgway were two of the league’s top performers once again.

Speedster Tyson Brandt also emerged in 2012 as one to watch in future years.

Manawatu always gave the impression they were never beaten and were often able to ‘pull something out of the bag’ when it mattered most. Despite losing twice to Auckland, Manawatu gave the rampant Aucklanders one of their toughest games, at ASB Stadium, Auckland in Series Two. Despite losing 5-1 Manawatu hit the post several times and at times were able to dominate the eventual champions.

For Futsal South, consistency proved elusive, just as it did in 2010/11. Capable of matching everyone but Auckland on their day, the southerners blew hot and cold throughout the summer and utimately missed out on a playoff spot despite sitting third, seven points clear of eventual finalists Capital, after an excellent home series at the Edgar Centre.

Target Carlos Hermann, when available, was one of the outstanding targets on display, while flanker Peter Rae will have put himself into the Futsal Whites frame with some dynamic performances.

One of the highlights of this year’s ASB Futsal National League, was coverage on Sky TV, ensuring new audiences were introduced to futsal.

Each series was followed by a thirty minute highlights show, with the final having a programme of its own.

Series One ASB SPORTS CENTRE WELLINGTON 3/4 DECEMBER 2011 RESULTS Mainland Futsal NFF Futsal

1 1

Al-Seenawz Osman

Capital Futsal Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay

8 0

Osman, Soleimanpour 4, Ina, Heron, Rhazouk

Futsal South Central Futsal Manawatu

2 4

Sannum, Rae Brandt 2, Burling 2

Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay NFF Futsal

2 2

Pilz 2 Robertson, Mills

Central Futsal Manawatu AFF Futsal East City

1 5

Jones Ragued 2, Bernardi, D Manickum, Al-Saudi

Capital Futsal Futsal South

3 1

Osman, Soleimanpour, Malivuk Hermann

NFF Futsal AFF Futsal East City

1 8

Arnold C Manickum 2, Major, Robertson, Bernardi, D Manickum 2, Sullivan

CAPITAL Futsal MAINLAND Futsal

2 1

Malivuk Burns, Cremen

Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay Futsal South

2 3

Emerson, Bauerfiend Rae, Costa, Hermann

Central Futsal Manawatu Mainland Futsal

3 2

Brandt, Mudgway, Maxey-Graham Cremen, Stilonovic

Capital Futsal NFF Futsal

5 0

O’Hara 4, Rhazouk

Futsal South AFF Futsal East City

0 8 C Manickum, Robertson 2, Sullivan 2, Hart, D Manickum 2

AFF Futsal East City SF CAPITAL FUTSAL

4 1

Major 2, Al Saudi 2 Silva

MAINLAND FUTSAL 4 Kerannang, Burns 2, Batty SF Central Futsal Manawatu 2 Mudgway AFF Futsal East City F MAINLAND FUTSAL

7 2

D Manickum 5, Al Saudi 2 Mitchell, Burns

TABLE

P W D L F A GD Pts AFF-Futsal East City 12 12 0 0 66 9 57 36 Mainland Futsal 12 6 2 4 23 20 3 20 Central Futsal Mwtu 12 6 2 4 30 28 2 20 Capital Futsal 12 5 3 4 37 20 17 18 Futsal South 12 4 1 7 23 35 -12 13 Central Futsal HB 12 1 3 8 22 53 -31 6 NFF- Futsal Massey 12 1 3 8 12 48 -36 6

GOLDEN BOOT 19 Dylan MANICKUM (AFF Futsal East City) 10 Bakr AL-SAUDI (AFF East City Fustal) 8 Miro MAJOR (AFF East City Fustal), Daniel Burns (Mainland Futsal) 7 Richie Sullivan (AFF East City Fustal) Jakub SINKORA (Mainland Futsal) Micky Malivuk (Capital Futsal) 6 Greg O’CONNOR (Central Futsal Manawatu)

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SCOTT GILLIGAN

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

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Interview

New Futsal Whites coach Scott Gilligan is no stranger to the New Zealand futsal scene. After a long, glorious career as a player and coach in Australia and the Pacific region, Gilligan was also a key figure in the setting up of futsal in New Zealand. His appointment as Futsal Whites coach has been greeted warmly by the New Zealand community. Power of Five caught up with the innovative futsal technician on the eve of his return to conduct a FIFA Futsal Level One coaching course in Wellington in May. As always, Scott was in great form and between he and The Power of Five, we could have kept talking futsal forever!

Scott - first of all, thanks for taking the time to talk with The Power of Five. It’s great to have you back involved in futsal in New Zealand, after your work here with us during your time at OFC. We’ve got a few things we’d like to cover but to begin with let’s go right back to the start. Tell us about your early days in futsal, as a kid growing up in Australia…

I started playing football when I was 7 and indoor football at 9. My mother, Dawn Gilligan, was the manager of my football team that season. The first six weeks were rained out and we never got to play a game. She worked at South Bankstown YMCA and took our team into the gym there for a kick around. Another team’s coach was there and asked if he could bring his team down to play against us the following week.

My mother and the YMCA’s manager, Joe

Brent, both watched the game unfold and decided to run with the idea. This was 1971 and the rest is history as they say!

I played this form of indoor football for many years until Joe Brent was approached by FIFUSA, the then governing body of futsal, in the early 1980s, so I was in my twenties before I played my first game of futsal.

Can you also tell us about the National League in Australia in the 1980s. It must have been a great era in the game - all the footage I’ve seen looks fantastic.

The games were on national TV and the presentation was excellent. Some games were even outside on a concrete court weren’t they? How many teams, and how many years did it run? And why did it stop?

In 1984, Australia joined FIFUSA and that year the James Hardie National Futsal League was launched. It lasted five years and there have been several spin-offs over the years but nothing that quite rivalled those days as some of the best players from top football clubs were involved. At its peak there were 14 teams of which five were from NSW, three from QLD, three from VIC, two from ACT and one from WA. I have very fond memories of those days!

Unfortunately the major sponsor didn’t continue after the initial five years and it folded.

The games on the concrete court were played during the years 1997-98. If I remember correctly it was called the National Challenge Series. Five teams contested this and the second year a Women’s component was introduced. I don’t remember why this didn’t continue.

Recently on the Futsal 4 All website, there was some amazing footage from Australia v Italy in the late 1980s. Steven Knight was there, so was Sisko Filipovic and other notables. The standard of play looked very high. How does it compare with Australian teams of recent years, or is it too hard to make a comparison?

It is difficult to say however I know that the James Hardie National Futsal League was instrumental in Australia’s success in those days. The League was played under full International rules including stop clock and attracted some fantastic players, including past Socceroos.

I don’t believe that the players of today were as strong however they are certainly more knowledgeable about the game which possibly could even the contest out. In saying that, I am excited about the crop of youth age players coming through at the moment in NSW. Since the introduction of the NSW Premier League in 2000 and the NSW Super League (2008 or 2009 ftom memory) the standard of the NSW players have grown from strength to strength and I would have loved the opportunity to work with this new brigade.

After your playing days, you got into coaching and then became Australian coach. How long was this for and what were some of the competitions your teams took part in? Any particular highlights?

I actually started coaching from age 15. My mother was always starting new competitions and we kick-started Kellyville. I was drafted in to coach a

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I b I STARTED PLAYING INDOOR FOOTBALL IN 1971 WHEN I WAS NINE. THE FIRST SIX WEEKS OF THE FOOTBALL SEASON HAD BEEN WASHED OUT SO MY MOTHER TOOK OUR TEAM INTO A GYM FOR A KICKAROUND. THE REST IS HIStory AS THEY SAY!

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My time with the Tahitian National team and the FTF will always rank as one of my more special moments in Futsal

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

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

group of individual kids making up a Under 6 team. I really enjoyed it and they did really well so I was hooked from then on. I coached Australian touring teams from 1988-1995 with some mixed success, the highlight being winning a tournament in Mexico in 1991.

In 1996 I coached the Reserve Men’s team on a tour of Brazil. We won 3, drew 2 and lost 5 but the team performed better and better with each game and we never lost from game eight on. The Futsalroos had played these teams one month earlier (or so I was told) and had lost all ten games.

After the last game the coach of the Brazilian team, Volkswaggen Clubbe, asked me why the number one team didn’t play like we did because they had beaten the Futsalroos 8-2 but we held them to a 2-2 draw. It was at that point I thought to myself “Well, maybe I could!”

In 1997 I coached the Women’s team in a four match series against Portugal. The first game we were totally outplayed and lost 8-1. They were very well drilled and were very robotic. One of the players, Zoi Gamble, came off yelling “How are we supposed to beat this team?” We had to play them again two nights later and I worked on about nine or ten things that we could easily rectify that would counter what they had in attack.

To the players’ credit they took everything on board and the second game we could possibly have won. We ended up losing 6-3 but we scored an own goal and had two defensive lapses which we were punished for. At the other end we had four one v ones with their goalkeeper, missing all of them and hit the post on several occasions. Zoi came off and her comment this time was “We should have beaten them!”

A complete turnaround and I was very proud of them! The third game we led 2-1 at half time and their coach was throwing things around their dressing room.

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Unfortunately we had a player sent off (by an Aussie ref would you believe!) and we couldn’t keep up the momentum. In 2001 I took control of the Futsalroos and stayed at the helm until 2008.

In that time the team played 53 games winning 28, drawing 6 and losing 19.

When you consider it took until the 8th game to record my first win I think the players deserve a lot of the credit for the positive results later on. The first tournament was the Tiger 5s in Singapore.

We played brilliantly against Japan having 70% of the chances but ended up losing 2-1. Then we were completely outclassed by a rampant Italy 13-1. The last game was against the host and we fell into the trap of playing their game and consequently lost in extra time. It made me realise that I needed to adapt quickly to the game at International level because it was a lot faster and clinical at that level.

In 2006 we moved to Asia and the standard was so much higher than Oceania however we adapted very well.

We played the KL World 5s in 2008 and we won our first three round games in fine style.

We played Argentina (then ranked 7th in the World) and were given little hope. We not only matched them but led for the majority of the contest. Unfortunately we succumbed to a goal from a power play with 40 seconds to go to draw 3-3. It would have been a great victory and the organisers would never have predicted that a Brazil v Argentina final was not going to happen.

Later in your work in Oceania, you got the opportunity to work with a number of national teams. Can you tell us a little bit about your time with Tahiti? There’s no doubt their terrific performance at last year’s OFC Championships is the legacy of the work you did with Heitapu Hunter (coach) and his players. Are there any technical or tactical things that

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spring to mind - things you remember concentrating on with that group of players?

My time with the Tahitian National team and the FTF will always rank as one of my more special moments in futsal. You have to understand that futsal was not even played in Tahiti at the time. A tournament was held and the prize for the winner of the tournament would be to represent their country at a World Cup Qualification tournament.

Incredibly, Rapa, a small island south of the main island of Tahiti, won. Their population is 500. I spent a total of eight weeks over a three month period with them and luckily for me they ate up every word that my interpreter, Heitapu Hunter, told them. Heitapu’s passion and willingness to convey my exact meaning was the most important ingredient in the success of this team in Fiji. Nobody even gave Tahiti a second thought.

When you look back on the tournament, you realise how close Tahiti was to qualifying. With two minutes remaining against the Solomon Islands and down 2-3, Tahiti had a golden opportunity to draw level with a 2 v 1 situation against their goalkeeper. If we had converted that opportunity I am very sure we would have held on for the draw and we would only have to beat Vanuatu the next day to qualify, which we won 2-1.

I think the key to success beyond Heitapu’s enthusiasm was keeping things simple and plenty of repetition. I only gave them two moves in attack to work on and worked on zone defence (3-1) and pressure defence (2-1-1) constantly.

Futsal technique was also a 20 minute feature at the start of every training session, plenty of ‘sole of the foot’ work.

Sole was the first word I learnt in French – “Semelle”. I must have said it 200 times every session.

The last ingredient was playing trial games that were split into 4 x 25

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

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PHOTO: OFC

minute quarters. An international futsal game lasts on average approximately 70 minutes in full playing time. By conditioning the players to play for 100 minutes I knew that they would last the distance in a real game.

During these games I stressed the importance of being at 100% performance level throughout the entire game. This meant that if a player was tired then he must change immediately. Of course this meant that we were substituting constantly.

If you analyse the games in the Fiji tournament we scored 85% of our goals in the last ten minutes of our games.

For our trial games the teams I specifically chose to play against were the teams that Rapa had beaten in the quarter final, semi final and final to win the right to represent their country. In the tournament Rapa had won by the odd goal in each game so I knew it would show how far they had progressed and give them confidence to keep learning. We won all three games by 8-10 goals and I knew that they had improved immensely and everyone could see the difference as well.

The week before we travelled to Fiji a contingent of the Tahitian national football team challenged us to a game and I took

on the challenge eagerly as these players were considered to be the best footballers in the country. We won that first game 16-8 and straight away they asked for a rematch and this time they said “They would take it serious!” They led us 2-1 at quarter time and were feeling very confident.

The second quarter I told my team to play pressure defence and they didn’t know what hit them. We scored five unanswered goals in that quarter to lead 6-2 at half time. We finished up 11-5 winners and the football players couldn’t believe that they were beaten by a group of guys from a small island like Rapa. They were ready!

In truth I can only take credit in passing knowledge onto a small group of players and one very passionate interpreter. This interpreter has since become the head coach and, of course, he has brought his unique blend of enthusiasm and his own ideas to the current players in Tahiti and he deserves the success he has achieved.

I hope Heitapu Hunter will stay long in the game of futsal because I believe he can one day achieve even greater success.

A high level of substitutions is a unique feature of Tahiti at OFC tournaments.

Players come on and off every 45-60 seconds and I’m told this was your innovation. It seems to work really well for them. Can you tell us a little bit about the thinking behind this approach? One thing’s for sure – the players are always in the game!

I knew the level of most of the teams we would be facing in Fiji and I knew that fitness would be a problem for most of them. As Tahiti was very new at futsal I naturally needed something to level out the playing field. I figured that the other countries would keep their best players on for the majority of the game and therefore would tire in the second half. Of course, in order for this to succeed, I needed to make the players aware that no-player is more important than the next player, they are all equal.

I stressed constantly “It doesn’t matter if you get 40 minutes or one minute as you are part of a team and the team is the most important of all. If you cannot perform at 100% then you are letting the team down!” Luckily for me there was no “superstars” in the team so it worked very well for us!

The statistics from the tournament show we made an average of sixty substitutions

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I think the best approach is to explore the country for the talent available over the next TWO years while also improving the coaches and players...

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

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

per game while the other countries were making an average of twelve. Is it any wonder we finished stronger than the others? We scored two late goals in the last five minutes v Tuvalu to win 3-1; two very late goals in the last two minutes v New Zealand to win 3-2 (the winner with 7 seconds left); and two goals in the last ten minutes v New Caledonia to draw 2-2.

Then against Fiji we dominated and won convincingly 9-2 scoring five in the last ten minutes.

We played the Solomons and scored both goals in the latter stages of each half.

In our last game we scored with three minutes left in the first half and scored the winner with ten seconds left on the clock.

I think the results speak for themselves!

So now you are the coach of the Futsal Whites. This is a great leap forward for the game in this country. What strategy do you have for identifying players that are capable of stepping up to international level? And once selected, how much time will you get to work with the team in the next year or so?

I am excited to take on this new opportunity and will give everything I possibly can to help the Futsal Whites achieve the ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2016 Futsal World Cup. At the moment I have to juggle my current job with some limited time in NZ however I have put together a short term plan with Dave Payne (NZ Futsal Development Manager) which I am sure will be revealed soon.

Essentially I think the best approach is to explore the country for the talent available over the next two years while also improving the coaches and players alike.

This should ensure that the standard of futsal in the country will improve and will help to define a small selection of players to work with during the last two years of

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my appointment. Of course I would like to think that whoever follows will have the opportunity to carry on in this vein and they can continue to find new talent across the country.

Solomon Islands set the bench mark for futsal in our region. What are the key factors in their success?

The key to their success can be attributed to the foresight of SIFF, the Solomon Islands Sports Coalition (I think that is what they are called) and an Australian Church group from Dural Sport and Leisure. A tournament was set up for as many 12 year old boys in 2002 to compete in Honiara, which, I believe, sixty teams competed in. From this tournament twenty boys were selected, relocated to Honiara, and trained every day. Among those selected were Elliott Ragomo and Jack Wetney. This has been going on every year ever since. Micah Lea’alafa came from the next year. To me this has been the true embryo behind the success of the Kurukuru.

Since they first qualified for the 2008 World Cup they have grown further still because they have been exposed to true International competition and have risen to the occasion. The Libya tournament is a true testament to this. The only way to be able to reach the top is to play the best and learn! These players have certainly done that!

What about the comparative strengths of the various main countries in Oceania – New Zealand included? What, in your opinion, do these countries have to do to win the OFC Championships for instance?

Well, this is only my opinion – skill, speed and international experience are the Solomon’s main attributes. Tahiti can match them for speed but need more experience. They also have a good coach!

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Vanuatu, if they trained properly, could match them in both departments but are let down by lack of support.

New Caledonia lack the fitness levels and are also let down by lack of support.

Fiji can bridge the gap quicker because they have access to all the best players in the country however I feel the Football clubs don’t see the value of the sport and therefore the players are not playing regular futsal.

New Zealand should be the team that is the most threat to the Kurukuru. NZF are fully supportive of the code and plans are in place at both grass roots level and Futsal Whites level. If all these countries can embrace the sport like NZ has then all will have a chance!

What about your impressions of futsal on your return to New Zealand? Many of the things you spoke of as being essential to implement in order for Futsal to grow in any country when you were here two years ago are happening, and the game is moving at a rapid pace with NZ Football’s backing. It must be pleasing for you to witness this?

To clarify, this was the strategy for NZ, not all the countries. This is because each country was at different levels of development and therefore had different needs. The below was what I recommended for NZ to move towards their goals for futsal in the first year – • NZ Football Development Officer for futsal • NZ Football futsal web page • National league • Coaching courses • National championships • National teams (men and women) • School championships • Academy squads

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

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

Junior action from the opening of the ASB Indoor Sports Centre in Wellington in August.

PHOTO: Inspire Photography

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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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PHOTO: OFC

I think only the Women’s National team and Academy Squads are yet to come to fruition. However I am confident that these things will be achieved in the not too distant future.

I am extremely proud to have been one of the building blocks that helped lay the foundation for the current status. However I believe most of the credit lies at the feet of Dave Payne and his unrivalled passion and drive to see Futsal succeed in NZ. It’s times like these that I feel sorry for the Aussies!

The ASB Futsal National League has been really well presented, both at the venue and of course on television. On the court though – were you encouraged by the standard of the play? Obviously AFF East City is the most experienced side and had too much quality for the rest.

Yes, AFF East City was a cut above the rest, however I was encouraged by the discipline shown in defence by the majority of the teams and there was plenty of young talent on display that encourages me. I am sure there is still further talent out there that we haven’t had the chance to see yet. Attack still needs work however.

Did you see some young players that you liked the look of?

Yes I did, in patches! From NFF there were two fifteen year olds that impressed at times – Harvey Mills and Scott Robinson.

Plus Ross Lewis (13) held his own for the majority of the time he was on court.

From Central there was Simon Stallard (16) and Tai Barham (19). From Capital there was Izaac O’Hara and when given the chance he scored four goals in one game, as well as Matt Ederidge (17). Of course, these are players for the future but after the first two years who knows!

Tell us a little bit about your thoughts on women’s futsal. You have coached a good number of women’s teams and you have spoken before about these being some of your most rewarding coaching experiences. Why is this?

I have found that I can push the women to achieve more because, through my experience, they feel that in order to have success they must prove that they are just as capable as their male counterparts. I know if I was to conduct a fitness session and both groups were at the “no more” stage the men would stop even if I said

“Let’s go one more”. However the women would say “No! Let’s do 2 more!”

If I was coaching a group of 14-16 year olds for instance I know that if I was coaching the girls for the first time ten out of twelve would be genuinely trying everything I showed them. The boys would be opposite and it would ten out twelve showing me how good they are! It’s a confidence thing.

You continue your work as a FIFA Coaching Instructor, conducting courses around the world and in May you will be instructing NZ coaches. Can you tell us a bit about the course, and also some of the interesting places your work has taken you?

I am happy to report that the new FIFA course was very well received in South Africa (my last appointment in March this year). It encompasses all facets of the game from grass roots to elite level and I am confident that new coaches doing the course will learn something different.

My most interesting course was in Vietnam. From memory there were 45 participants and all had terrific discipline.

Nobody ever interrupted or made a sound

17 during the sessions unless asked to contribute. It was very rewarding and the language barrier was no problem at all.

Futsal continues to grow in profile around the world. Is it your impression that more and more people involved in football federations are starting to understand that the game has a vital technical development role to play at grassroots level?

I think it comes down to the fact that futsal in most countries has now been there for nearly 30 years. The people who are the Football coaches of today have had some experience with the five-a-side game and therefore are more receptive to learning why Brazil have achieved the success they have. Look at Spain, where futsal started in a big way in 1982. They went on to win the Futsal World Cup and then the Football World Cup. In France, I believe children play futsal from 6-12 years and then change to football. France achieved success in the Football World Cup in 1998. Asia, Oceania and to some extent Africa have seen an opportunity for their smaller countries to achieve huge success in futsal where they possibly will not achieve the same success in Football.

Thailand, Libya and the Solomon Islands are prime examples. I feel in years to come if their youngsters are encouraged to play futsal from an early age then they will transition to playing football with greater technique and more confidence on the ball.

1980s Australian National Indoor Soccer League – “guaranteed 120,000 kicks”!

Does that bring back a few memories?

Yes, I still have a few myself. It was like a brick but players like Charlie “Boom Boom” Akkary could toe-poke this ball with such venom that goalkeepers rarely saw it. I would have hated to be a goalkeeper back then. Imagine the power the Brazilian’s would have generated when shooting with this ball.

pace that will be required when they take to the court for their first game in Thailand.

In my mind, if they play to their potential and don’t overplay their key players too much, they have a realistic chance of progressing through the group stage. I really hope for theirs, as well as the Oceania region, that they show the world that the Oceania countries can be competitive on the world stage.

Who’s going to win it – Good question!

Brazil and Spain are still the countries to beat and I still see them in the Final. However Italy and Russia could cause an upset. My dark horse is Iran to make the semi finals. Plus with Vic Hermans at the helm of the host country I expect them to surprise everyone and make it as far as the quarter finals. Time will tell!

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

Finally – this year’s World Cup. How are the Solomon Islands going to go and who’s going to win it? Is it Spain’s turn again? Or maybe it’s Russia’s time?

Unfortunately I am not sure what the Solomon boys have been doing as I haven’t seen them since the end of 2010 however I hold great hopes for them as I can see how far they have progressed since they were young eighteen year olds playing against professional men. I hope they will get to play a number of games leading into the World Cup against varied opposition to be able to step up to the

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

Thanks Scott.

You’re welcome!

OK - what’s the greatest futsal ball of all time - is it still the Mikasa from back in the 1980s? (I actually saw one in a sports shop in Suva last year and forgot to go back and buy it!) If so, why? Are the modern balls any good? A lot of them seem quite bouncy…

I still have one of those green and white Mikasa balls which I bought in the late 1980s and it is still going strong. The yellow Adidas ball is still one of my favourites because it keeps its shape well and rarely scuffs unless you play outside with it. The modern balls are a little bouncy and hopefully the ball won’t change to the same as a football.

I have a Buffalo Brazilian competition ball sitting on my desk. It’s a size 2 from the

PHOTO: OFC

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OTARA Futsal in Schools

1 | NZ FOOTBALL FUTSAL - AN INTRODUCTION

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Around the Centres

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

NFF Futsal

AFF Futsal

NFF Futsal recently welcomed Felipe De Marchi Bernardi into the role of Futsal Development Officer. Part of Felipe’s role will be to deliver the Futsal in Schools Programme.

OTARA Futsal in Schools Otara Leisure, Counties Manukau Sport and AFF Futsal have continued their partnership to deliver the KiwiSport funded “Futsal in Schools” programme in the Otara Primary Cluster with great success. Over 360 kids have taken part in the programme since the beginning of this year with them having a total of over 2500 experiences with a futsal ball between them.

We have had overwhelming numbers in all our Term Two Futsal Development Programmes, with most programmes filled to capacity. We have had to set up additional programmes to take the overflow.

Some exciting talent coming through in the 13-17 years group making team selection for the ASB National Youth Futsal Championships difficult.

Futsal starts in Whangarei in June at Whangarei Boys High School with two Development Programmes planned for 9-12 years and 13-17 years.

We are hoping to send an U19s from the boys in Whangarei and maybe a team from the younger group Trials were held on May 5th for the ASB National Junior Futsal Festival and Youth Futsal Championships. We had a fantastic turn out with new players welcomed as many players trialled for the U14s and U16s teams.

A number of football clubs in the region are starting to use the Futsal Development Programmes for their outdoor training. felipe.demarchibernardi@nff.org.nz sarah.payne@nff.org.nz nff.org.nz

The objective of the programme is to provide access to futsal in communities where futsal and football were not previously played and where socio-economic issues restrict access to these activities.

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

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Centre with the support of Manukau Leisure, New Zealand Football, Auckland Football, Counties Manukau Sport, involved seven local schools.

The finals week produced some stunning futsal games. A sizeable crowd cheered all the teams and schools.

In the girls section Redoubt North had to go to extra time to beat Bairds Mainfreight in a 3-2 thriller to take top spot.

In the boys section the game was played at a great pace with some dazzling skills.

“You can really see the improvement in the teams as the weeks have gone by,” said Marvin Eakins Futsal Development Officer.

The programme emphasises the introduction of futsal balls in indoor facilities for footballbased activities, the sole of the foot control to control and manipulate the ball and teaches to players court positioning via fun games.

Final Placings: Girls 1. Redoubt North; 2. Bairds Mainfreight; 3.

Mayfield; 4. Rongomai; 5. Chapel Downs; 6.

Kids In Action

A modified Futsal in Schools programme has also been recognised by FIFA and used as a case study at the FIFA / Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Instructors Course in Sharjah, where FIFA look to introduce futsal into grassroots programmes.

Boys 1. Redoubt North; 2. Flat Bush; 3. Bairds Mainfreight; 4. Rongomai; 5. Chapel Downs; 6. Mayfield; 7. Kids In Action

Results from recent leagues follow: Redoubt North Crowned Otara Futsal Champions Redoubt North Primary School won both boys and girls futsal crowns at the Otara Leisure Centre.

The after school programme funded by KiwiSport and delivered by Otara Leisure

National College Futsal Programme AFF Futsal through KiwiSport is offering a comprehensive and flexible opportunity to introduce the fast growing indoor sport to students, teachers, parents and volunteers.

There will be a main focus on participation, pathways and education.

Schools will be offered • FREE 3 introductory futsal sessions per class

1 | NZ FOOTBALL FUTSAL - AN INTRODUCTION

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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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• FREE “Give it a Go Days” • Social/competitive tournaments within your cluster, region and nationwide • Player/Coach/Referee Education Programmes • Opportunities for regional/national representation • We can also meet any futsal needs required by the school Equipment will be provided by the Futsal Development Officer with the opportunity to purchase your own subsidised equipment for on-going use.

Marvin Eakins Futsal Development Officer M: 021 689 010 marvin@aucklandfootball.org.nz aff.org.nz East City Winners of our Summer Leagues: Sunday Youth Grade Winners: White Lightning Runners-Up: Dundee United Sunday Senior B GradeWinners One Touch Runners-Up: Grassroots Premier Grade Winners: Saeta Runners-Up: Arabian Knights Golden Boot: Marko Stilinovic (pictured third column right, with trophy) Tuesday Juniors Winners: The Recruits Runners-Up: Remuera Intermediate Gold Registrations are now open for the winter 2012 season. Visit www.eastcityfutsal.org. nz for more details 2011/2012 National League AFF East City Futsal took out the National League Championship with fourteen unbeaten games. Our youngest player, Dylan Manickum, was MVP and also collected the Golden Boot trophy, while our goalkeeper, Clayton Chappell took the Golden Gloves Award. The club

are proud of this achievement and wish to take the opportunity to thank coach Nathan Robertson for his dedication to the team. The entire team worked extremely hard to reach this goal and deserved their success.

East City Futsal is offering a futsal ‘taster’ on Wednesday evenings for College teams starting at 6.30 pm (6th, 13th, 20th and 27th June).

Players need to be between the ages 12 to 16.

Teams will have two half-hour games per evening. The entry cost per team is $320 and teams may register up to 8 players.

Registrations can be made online and close on 29th May 2012.

Any queries, please contact Marvin on 021 689 010 or email marvin@aucklandfootball. org.nz Red Zone East City Futsal, together with other users of the ASB Stadium (badminton, volleyball, basketball) have started a new initiative called “Red Zone” for juniors and youth, on Friday evenings between 5.00 and 7.00 pm.

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

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Individuals or teams can come along for $3 per person or $18 per team and try all the different sports available.

Last week was the first week of this fantastic initiative and all the children went away buzzing - saying see you next week and we will tell our friends - no better endorsement than that! admin@eastcityfutsal.org.nz eastcityfutsal.org.nz

Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay HB Futsal Secondary School Junior Championships Some fantastic games were played, with Napier Boys High School 1 coming first, Taradale High School Tara second and Havelock North High School third.

Havelock North High School went on to compete in the NZ Secondary Schools Sports Council National Futsal Tournament held in Wellington, finishing 3rd. A great performance from the Yr 9 & 10 students in this team who included a Junior Girl - Ashley Arquette. This team had a great defensive record and their keepers Mitchell Keip and Vincent Haidekker were rewarded with the Golden Glove of the tournament.

HB Futsal based St Johns College (pictured above, right), Havelock North High School and Taradale High School also attended the NZ Secondary Schools Sports Council National Futsal Senior Tournament, finishing 8th, 10th and 12th respectively.

Fantastic finals in the last league games for Term 1 2012 saw many finals going to penalty shoot outs. There has been a huge

improvement in skill and technique in all the leagues, with some very talented young junior teams playing up the grades and having lots of success.

HB Futsal has been fortunate to have the services of Brazilian coach Juliano Schmelling, who in addition to doing some training sessions with the ASB National League team has also run training courses for the young futsal players. More training is planned for the teams leading up to the National Futsal Tournament in July.

HB Futsal is looking forward to up to eight HB Futsal teams throughout the age groups entering in the upcoming Futsal National Tournament to be held down in Wellington in July.

As a result of the HB Futsals participation in the recent National League Patrick Pilz, Nat Wright, Simon Stallard and Tai Barham have received invitations to attend a Futsal Whites trial to be held in Wellington in May. There is a strong focus on the U19 players coming through and consequently Cameron Emerson, Mitch Webber, Adam Kockelbergh and Dylan Cozens have been also been put forward to attend the trial.

Central Football has nominated Ryan Calder to begin his Level 2 Futsal Refereeing Course through NZ Football. Ryan is one of many promising young referees working in the region and is currently controlling the senior men’s games at Centenial Hall. hbfutsal.org.nz

HB Futsal National League Coach, Mark Cozens and HB Futsal Development Officer Nat Wright will be attending the FIFA Level 1 Coaching Course in Wellington in May.

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

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Capital Futsal

Mainland Futsal

Capital Futsal had a record Term One, with 121% growth to over 800 players in coaching programmes or leagues. This ranged from U11 Girls in Hutt Valley to the Mens Premier League, from college girls leagues to mixed open social leagues.

All is well at Mainland Futsal - the Nelson Centres are now in full swing, with their weekly leagues running, so the growth of futsal in the Federation continues. In Canterbury the leagues are nearly at bursting point - venue wise, and the long term effects of the earthquake, with the pressure that has put on limited indoor space, is one of the biggest obstacles we will have to battle with over the next few years.

Highlights were the College Regionals, Nationals and hosting the final of the National League. The game is booming at all levels with the amazing platform of the ASB Sports Centre.

For Term Two we are looking forward to hosting Scott Gilligan and participants from the futsal community nationwide for the week-long FIFA Level 1 Coaching Course.

We also hosted the lower north island trials for the Futsal Whites, where four U19s from Capital will take part, and shows the pathways and success of the KiwiSport College programme.

Matt Edridge and Izaac O’Hara both played National League this season and are U19, and of the top five senior college teams at College Nationals, three were Wellington based.

Term Two also shifts to more of a focus on coaching and development as we prepare to host the Youth Nationals in July, which will involve over fifty teams in five age groups. Competition is very tight in some of the age categories, with two teams having the experience of Australian Nationals in January, as well as all FTC Football representative teams doing a Futsal programme this term. matt@capitalfootball.org.nz capitalfutsal.co.nz

As ever, it’s been a busy competition time starting with our inaugural Canterbury Secondary Schools Championships. This was a great couple of days at CPIT gym, the futsal was high quality and the player’s spirit throughout was excellent. Eventual winners and finalists were: Boys Year 9-10: Winners Burnside, Runners up St Andrew’s College

Girls: Winners Linwood Ninjas, Runners up Marian Boys 11-13: Winners Cashmere, Runners up Linwood Stags Many of these teams then went on to the Secondary Schools Nationals in Wellington, and repeated their great results. We came home with two champions: Cashmere, older boys, and Marian, girls, along with two Golden Boots - Omid Rajabi (Cashmere) and Serena Patel (Linwood), combined with one Golden Glove, Tayla MacPherson (Marian). All of this is testament to the effort players are putting into the game at a local level, week in week out, growing their skills.

Looking forward to catching up with all the other Federations and players at the Junior and Youth Nationals. richard@mainlandfutsal.co.nz mainlandfutsal.co.nz

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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

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

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PHOTO: PAUL TOOHEY

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

National Championships 2012 New Zealand Football| FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White

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Cashmere, MARION and ST PATRICKS COLLEGES crowned champions IN WELLINGTON The rapid growth of futsal in New Zealand since being incorporated under the New Zealand Football banner was demonstrated in an expanded NZSSC National Futsal Championships in Wellington in March.

A total of 28 teams across three competitions took part in the two day event at ASB Indoor Sports Centre in Kilbirnie, an increase of 22 from last year’s inaugural tournament when just six schools took part.

This year, Christchurch schools emerged as champions in the two senior grades; Cashmere College prevailed in a 16 team senior boys grade and Marian College lifted the open girls trophy, while Wellington’s St Patricks College claimed the junior boys title on what was essentially home court.

to use it to complement their football training and for others it stands alone as another sporting option to try,” Payne said.

AWARDS SENIOR BOYS WINNERS - Cashmere High School (Canterbury) RUNNERS UP - Onslow College (Wellington) GOLDEN GLOVES - Sam Forman - Wellington High School (Wellington) MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Omid Rajabi - Cashmere High School (Canterbury) Participating Schools: Wellington College, Linwood College, Taradale High School, Horowhenua College 2nd V, Wellington High School, Mount Aspiring College, Horowhenua College 1st V, Greymouth High School, Onslow College, Cashmere High School, Havelock North High School, Wairarapa College, St Patrick’s College Wellington , St. Johns College, Whangarei Boys High School Taita College

NZF Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne says the hard work being done in secondary schools is beginning to pay off.

“We had schools from Whangarei to Mount Aspiring entering teams this year so the growth isn’t isolated to the main centres,” “Our college futsal programme is starting to bear fruit with more college students being offered more opportunities to participate in futsal.”

“It’s a game you can play in any school gym and it’s easy to pick up for those who haven’t played before. Some are choosing

PHOTO: PAUL TOOHEY

JUNIOR BOYS WINNERS - Saint Patrick’s College (Wellington) RUNNERS UP - Onslow College (Wellington) GOLDEN GLOVES - Mitch Keip - Havelock North High School (Hawke’s Bay) Most Valuable Player - Finn Ganbsett - Saint Patrick’s College (Wellington) Participating Schools: Saint Patricks College, Havelock North High School Jnr Boys, Onslow College, St Andrew’s College, Mount Aspiring College, Scots College MR OPEN GIRLS WINNERS - Marian College (Canterbury) RUNNERS UP- Linwood College (Canterbury) GOLDEN GLOVES - Tayla MacPherson - Marian College (Canterbury) MOST VALUED PLAYER - SERENA PATEL- Linwood College (Canterbury) Participating Schools: Marian College, Linwood College Girls, Hutt Valley High School, Mount Aspiring College, Wainuiomata High School

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

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PHOTO: OFC

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

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

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Interview

Solomon Islands captain Elliot Ragomo is a genuine futsal star. A household name in his home country, and scorer of the fastest goal in World Cup history, Ragomo has lead his beloved Kurukuru to four successive OFC Championships as well as having played in Europe, Middle East and Australia. Still only 22, Ragomo has a massive future on and off the court. A charismatic leader and an unstoppable goal scoring machine, Ragomo is currently preparing for Kurukuru’s second shot at the World Cup later in 2012. We caught up with the Kurukuru skipper at Multipurpose Hall in Honiara during a recent training camp with Spanish Natioal Coach José Venancio López Hierro.

Elliot, tell us about your early days of futsal, growing up in the Solomon Islands.

I started playing football when I was five years old, just a little boy on the streets of Honiara. I started in futsal in 2000, when I was eleven years old and still in primary school.

What age were you when you first went to the FFA Nationals in Australia? And how many more times did you go to Canberra after that? How important do you think this was this to your development as a player?

I think it was four times in total. I went for the first time when I was twelve. Playing in Australia really helped me and exposed me to playing with other players around the region. It really helped develop my skill and confidence as a player.

And what about the national team - how old were you when you first played for Kurukuru?

I was seventeen. And then the following year we won the OFC Championships to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil.

Tell us about that World Cup. Going to the World Cup was a big experience. It was a big shock to us and me in particular as I was very young and didn’t really know a lot about the game and how to play against professional players.

But it was a really good experience, and it helps me know what to expect in this year’s World Cup. After this you left Solomon Islands and played in Spain and also again in Australia. How was this?

I was given a scholarship by a school in Australia called William Black College.

Thanks to them, and also thanks to Dural Baptist Church, who introduced futsal to the Solomon Islands, I was able to study and play in Australia.

Later I toured with Dural Warriors futsal team to Europe and I was discoverd by a club called Pliastelion where I stayed and played. This gave me a lot of confidence as I was able to develop my skills alongside some of the best players in the world. We were training twice a day, every day.

What about now - are you playing football as well? Or just futsal?

I am only concentrating on futsal. This is because I know what great potential my team has and I think the Kurukuru boys

will continue to do well. As we grow older I think we will learn a lot.

Let’s go back to May last year. It’s the final of the OFC Championships, with the winner going through to the FIFA World Cup in Thailand in November 2012. Kurukuru are 3-1 down at halftime against a much improved Tahiti side, despite you having most of the possession. Can you remember how it was in the dressing room at half time?

What were the coaches and you, as the captain, saying to the team?

Well, you know, that is a hard feeling, when you’re losing 3-1. I think for us boys - we were very disappointed, and at that moment we knew we had to step our game up. Nobody really said anything, but we knew we were not following our game plan. But in futsal you have to understand, though we were 3-1 down there was another twenty minutes and anything can happen. We knew it wasn’t the end.

But then you came out after half-time and straight away - you’re 4-1 down. Did you start to think “maybe this is not our destiny”, or did you always believe?

Personally, I never give up. I just thought “until the final whistle blows we don’t give up - if we lose we lose and if we win we win”. And we just kept going and we had a good result. I’m very proud of our boys and of our achievement to go to the World Cup. It certainly was an amazing game. And there were some special game changing moments. LIke your goal to make it 4-4 the equaliser with the left foot?

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“

The facilities we have here are not great. the court is small and it has holes in it. but you see the hunger we have to play.

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

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

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”

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PHOTO: OFC

PHOTO: Inspire Photography

Those kinds of goals, they don’t come back again - they happen once in a lifetime! We were 4-3 down and I scored.

That goal changed everything. At that moment I knew. I thought “that’s it for us”.

So back to the present day. You’ve had a few days with Venancio. How has this been for you and the team?

It’s been amazing. Like I said in the press conference, Venancio is one of the best coaches in the world and he is wanted by many teams. For us to be training with him this week is incredible. We have learnt a lot and I think we are really going to improve. The main thing he has taught us is defence. Our tactics on defence are very important and we have to be very fast and we have to be organised. So we feel very privileged to work with him, especially since his Spanish team is one of the best in the world. It’s a one in a million chance for us and we are going to treasure everything we have learned after he goes back to Spain.

And its very important for the Solomon Islands to prepare well for the World Cup and have some games...

Yes, and that will happen if SIFF and OFC can provide opportunities for us. We are not just representing Solomon Islands, we are representing the whole region. For us to do well in the World Cup we need everyone to work together to not only provide support, but also, we need games.

The facilities we have here are not great, the court is small and it has holes in it, but you see the hunger we have to play. I think if we can train on a full size court and play some international matches, then Oceania will start to be seen as one of the regions in the world that is strong in futsal.

More facilities will obviously help the development of futsal in Solomon Islands in the future. When you look around - do you see a new generation of young futsal players coming through that can be just as good as you guys?

Defininitely. All the little players - every

one of them is hungry to be in the Kurukuru team. But for them to improve, we need facilities, and good training. But mostly it is facilities that is needed. The talent we have in the Solomon Islands is incredible. The little kids wake up in the morning and they kick the ball, then go to school and then they kick the ball after school. If we have the facilities we can develop hundreds, maybe thousands of kids who are even better than us now.

FInally Ellliot, looking beyond the World Cup. What are your ambitions, what would you like to achieve in futsal? You’re still young, so you must be looking forward to a big future in the game?

I would like to play in more World Cups.

And also play professionallly overseas. I don’t know what will happen in the future but I also want to keep playing with the Kurukuru.

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Calendar

CALENDAR 2011/12 2012

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

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

Mon-Fri 21-25 May 2012

FIFA Futsal Level 1 Licence

ASB Sports Centre, Wellington

Fri-Sun 7-9th July 2012

ASB Futsal National Junior Festival and Youth Championships

ASB Sports Centre, Wellington

Sat-Sun 27-28 October 2012

ASB Futsal National Girls and Womens Tournament

ASB Sports Centre, Wellington

Fri-Sat-Sun 20-22 September

Futsal Whites ASB International Series

ASB Stadium, Auckland

Sat-Sun 8-9 December 2012

ASB Futsal National League Series 1

Venue TBC

The 3rd Annual ASB Futsal National Junior Festival and Youth Championships on 7-9 July will once again be a pinnacle event on the national futsal calendar. This year the tournament is hosted by Capital Futsal at the ASB Sports Centre in Wellington and will feature the following grades: JUNIOR - 10s and 12s; Youth - 14s, 16s and 19s.

PHOTOS: INSPIRE PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO: ALPHPIX

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