There are an estimated 110 million players participating in Futsal across the world.
FIFA and UEFA have recognised the popularity of Futsal and have established World and European Championships competitions taking place every 2 years.
The FAI is now beginning to focus on one of the elements widely recognised as being a key ingredient in the development of these highly gifted players. The game of Futsal has been cited by such luminaries as Pele and Ronaldinho as having a major impact on their development as players.
Futsal is the Official UEFA and FIFA version of indoor 5 a side football, the high tempo game is played with a size 4 ball which is designed to have a reduced bounce. The consequence of this is that the ball tends to stay close to the floor more often which accelerates the development of skills such as passing, dribbling and close control.
The small pitch size also means players have to think quickly and react with a quick pass or a dribbling move to get out of tight situations. The result over time is the production of highly skilled, quick thinking and creative players.
A pilot FAI U21 Futsal League will take place over the next nine weeks featuring the following clubs (alphabetical order):
Bohemians
Bray Wanderers
Drogheda United
Dundalk FC
Monaghan United
Shamrock Rovers
St. Patrick’s Athletic
U.C.D.
Not only will the league help sharpen the technical skills of the participating players but a prize fund of €10,000 for the winners and a place in the UEFA Futsal Cup (Club Champions) qualifying round should add extra spice to the competition.
The competition was officially launched at Dublin City University Sports Hall on Tuesday February 13th by FAI Technical Director, Packie Bonner and National League Director, Fran Gavin.
Speaking at the launch, Packie Bonner looked forward to the FAI Under 21 Futsal League, “Futsal is an extremely important way for players to develop their skills and understanding of the game.” He said, “Not only is Futsal a great tool to help develop gifted players, it’s also a game of high professional profile across the world, Spain for example has a full time professional Futsal league”
Eircom League of Ireland Under 21 Futsal League
The Fixtures and venues are as follows:
Saturday 17th February 2007, National Basketball Arena
Time
12.00 Bohemians V Bray Wanderers
13.15 Drogheda United V Dundalk
14.30 Monaghan United V Shamrock Rovers
15.45 U.C.D V St. Patrick's Athletic
Saturday 24th February 2007, Dublin City University, Glasnevin
12.00 Bohemians v Dundalk
13.15 Bray Wanderers V Drogheda United
14.30 Monaghan United v St. Patrick's Athletic
15.45 Shamrock Rovers v U.C.D.
Saturday 3rd March 2007, I.T. Blanchardstown
12.00 Shamrock Rovers v St. Patrick's Athletic
13.15 Monaghan United V U.C.D.
14.30 Bray Wanderers v Dundalk
15.45 Bohemians v Drogheda United
Saturday 10th March 2007, National Basketball Arena
12.00 Bray Wanderers V Shamrock Rovers
13.15 Bohemians V Monaghan United
14.30 Drogheda United V U.C.D.
15.45 Dundalk V St. Patrick's Athletic
Sunday 18th March 2007, National Basketball Arena
12.00 Drogheda United V St. Patrick's Athletic
13.15 Dundalk V U.C.D.
14.30 Bohemians V Shamrock Rovers
15.45 Bray Wanderers V Monaghan United
24th March - Ireland v Wales
Saturday 31st March 2007, I.T. Blanchardstown
12.00 Bohemians V U.C.D.
13.15 Bray Wanderers V St. Patrick's Athletic
14.30 Drogheda United V Monaghan United
15.45 Dundalk V Shamrock Rovers
Saturday 7th April 2007, National Basketball Arena
12.00 Drogheda United V Shamrock Rovers
13.15 Bray Wanderers V U.C.D.
14.30 Dundalk V Monaghan United
15.45 Bohemians V St. Patrick's Athletic
Saturday 21st April 2007, Dublin City University
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