Getting a kick from futsal

I probably am one of the most unathlectic people in the world. (My mom would probably be the champion.) I enjoy watching sports — the competition, the rivalry, the teamwork, losses and victories that are popular ingredients in life as well. But somehow, no matter what sport I try or what I venture into, the sport just doesn’t seem to like me.

In desperation, I told myself that it would not hurt for me to embrace accept my inability to play and live the life of a spectator. I continued to enjoy and relish basketball, tennis, badminton, volleyball, soccer and billiard games from the stands or from the couch.

Some weeks ago, I became acquainted with a sport that I had not known before. Let me introduce this exciting new game to you. As Mr. Joaquin Henson would put it, the game is "organized mayhem." I present to you (drum roll, please) futsal. In its simplest term, futsal is known as indoor soccer. Having originated in Monteviedo, Uruguay in the 1930s, Juan Carlos Ceriani devised a five-a-side version of soccer for youth competition in YMCAs. Futsal gained popularity throughout South America, particularly Brazil. Played with five players in a team of 12, futsal is played on basketball-sized courts, (indoors and otherwise) without the use of sidewalls. Futsal is a combination of the words "fut" (foot) and the French or Spanish word for "indoor", (salon or sala). Two opposing teams trying to outwit, block and outrun each other to kick a small ball into a three-by-two-meter goal guarded by a goal keeper or goalie.

Futsal in the Philippines is still at its infancy. Only a few people are familiar with the game — let alone know of the sport. The relatively small size of the court (40-by-25 meters compared to soccer’s 110 by 75) features a lot of bumping and a lot of fast paced-scoring. I was on my toes watching the game as the action never died down.

Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) recently sponsored the All-Woman Futsal Grand Prix (which I was lucky enough to catch) as a way of showing the bank’s commitment to a much bigger sporting event, the World Soccer Championship or the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The event (that will commence from on May 31 to June 30 ) is held only once every four years, draws cumulative TV viewers from most countries around the globe, making it the biggest and most popular single sporting event in the world. The 2002 World Cup will also celebrate two firsts. It will be the first time that this event will be hosted in Asia and two countries — South Korea and Japan, hosts for the first time simultaneously. To commemorate this phenomenal event, HSBC in the Philippines is very proud to present the exclusive limited edition HSBC 2002 FIFA World Cup card. The limited edition card will give its cardholders exclusive privileges in various sporting specialty shops and loads of free gifts, instant discounts of up to 50 percent at over 100 shops and restaurants.

The HSBC World Cup Master Card All-women Futsal Grand Prix was held in the University of Asia and the Pacific, attracting over 100 athletes from 10 teams. The participating teams were University of Asia and the Pacific, Miriam College, Assumption Football Varsity Team, College of St. Benilde, an independent team called Giordano, Vista Verde (Faith Christian School), De La Salle University (Alabang Grins A), Alabang Grins B, University of the Philippines-Manila, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Alumnae. This was the second All-Women Futsal Grand Prix. The first was held last year around September. Other sponsors included the Assumption Futbol Team, Magic 89.9, Ralph Lauren, Velocity, Shakey’s, Lactacyd and myDSL. Declared champion after a day of intense competition were the girls from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, followed by La Salle and Assumption College. Individual acclaim also went to Merlie Acibar of Polytechnic University as Most Valuable Player, Camile Jumarang as Best Goalie. Andrea Yang won Best Defender and Brenda Gayagoy won High Velocity Kick Award.

I had the chance to speak with Emmanuel Batungbacal from the Philippine Futbol Federation-Women’s Division. The coach of the Assumption futbol team shared that since the Assumption does not have a soccer field, they played futsal for PE. They then thought of bringing futsal to other schools, culminating in the 1st Futsal Grand Prix last September 15. Part of the problem was that the other schools did not know what futsal was so they had to promote and make the sport known to the 10 schools invited to participate in the Grand Prix.

Batungbacal predicted that futsal is where Filipinos will excel. In futsal, height is not a factor. All you need is speed, skill, proper training and mental ability. When I asked him about our future in futsal or the World Cup, he said we still have a long way to go, as futsal is fairly new in the Philippines.

What makes futsal different from other sports? In futsal, speed, control and accuracy are musts. In ordinary soccer, speed is a very, very big advantage. In high-scoring futsal, it’s teams can call time-outs. There are also flying substitutions unlike in soccer, where teams are limited to two. Everybody gets to play and, more importantly, have fun.

I have to agree with him. The players looked as if they were having real fun, despite getting tired and sweating like anything. As a spectator, I enjoyed my first serving of futsal very much.

Even the way a futsal player kicks and controls a ball is very different from soccer. The player usually uses the sole of his or her foot to control the ball that almost has a "dead bounce." Yet a soccer background will be of big help. So will (surprise, surprise!) a basketball background — since a basketball player knows how to move around the basketball court. The ball in futsal, though, is faster. If a player doesn’t know how to control the ball, it will end up going all over the place. And no spikes are needed. The goals also are smaller than that of the goals in soccer.

I think that this would be a sport to watch out for, because the beauty of futsal is that it has a resemblance to basketball — a sport that we Filipinos would die for. There will be no problem in accessibility simply because a basketball court can be found anywhere. Every school, for example, has a basketball court. Plus, one doesn’t need anything heavy or expensive for protection gear. All a player needs is a pair of good sneakers or rubber shoes, knee-high socks and a shin guard. Surely, Filipinos will learn to love this as much as they do other sports that are also fast-paced and exciting. There is always room for improvement and self-enrichment. There can be always something new to learn, explore and experiment with. Just watching them play made me scream and shriek with excitement.

So, let’s give futsal a chance. Years from now, you might just find yourself in the Philippine team competing abroad, having the time of your life.

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The next All-Woman Grand Prix is to be held in September in Baguio.