International News Archives - U.S. Futsal

Team USA U16 Advances to Championship at IFA World Championship in Malaysia

frank p — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 03:02:16 +0000

August 23, 2024 — Selangor, Malaysia

The U16 Boys U.S. Futsal National Select Team has secured their place in the championship match at the IFA World Championship in Selangor, Malaysia. After a thrilling group stage, Team USA finished at the top of their group and is set to face either Australia or Malaysia in the final showdown this Sunday.

It was a nail-biting race for the top spot between Team USA and Australia, with the final standings determined by goal differential. To clinch their place at the top, Team USA needed a decisive victory over Malaysia today—and they delivered in spectacular fashion.

Team USA dominated from the outset, showcasing superior ball control and tactical prowess. The tone for the match was set early when Andy Comsa found the back of the net just two minutes into the game. The momentum continued as Ikaro da Silva, Idel Lara, Nathaniel Villano, Kareem Awqal, and Dylan Leon all contributed goals, leading to a commanding 7-1 victory.

Nathaniel Villano’s standout performance earned him the Player of the Match honor, a testament to his skill and determination on the court. With this win, Team USA advances to the championship game, scheduled for Sunday at 4 PM.

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Team USA U16 Girls Dominate at IFA World Championship in Malaysia

frank p — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 02:59:11 +0000

August 22, 2024 — Selangor, Malaysia

The U16 Girls U.S. Futsal National Select Team has made a powerful statement at the IFA World Championship, currently being held in Selangor, Malaysia. Kicking off their campaign on August 20th with a resounding 7-1 victory against Team Australia, Team USA has showcased their talent and determination right from the start.

The tournament’s opening ceremony was graced by the presence of the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, Edgard Kagan. Ambassador Kagan’s participation added an extra layer of significance to the event, as he greeted and shook hands with the players before their dominant performance against Australia. His support extended beyond the pitch, as the entire U.S. Futsal delegation was invited to visit the U.S. Embassy. During this memorable visit, the Lamplayers had the opportunity to learn about the embassy’s role, U.S.-Malaysia relations, and the broader significance of diplomacy. The ambassador emphasized that these young athletes are true ambassadors for their country, as sports serve as a powerful means of cultural exchange and international goodwill.

With four consecutive victories in the group stage, Team USA has secured the top spot in their group. Their journey now leads them to a highly anticipated rematch against Team Australia in the final on August 24th. The stage is set for a thrilling encounter, and Team USA is ready to leave it all on the court.

Let’s rally behind our girls as they aim for the championship! Go USA!

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U.S. FUTSAL NATIONAL TEAMS TO COMPETE IN IFA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN MALAYSIA

frank p — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 22:44:57 +0000

Oakland, Calif., August 8, 2024 – The United States Futsal Federation (USFF) announced today that the U16 U.S. Futsal National Select Teams will participate in the prestigious IFA World Championship in Selangor, Malaysia, starting August 18, 2024. Players from five different states have been invited to represent the United States in this international competition.

The boys’ team will be led by head coach William Hanna from Alexandria, Virginia, and assistant coach Jose Pereira from Concord, California. The girls’ team will be under the guidance of head coach Mario Gonzalez and assistant coach Ricardo Da Silva, both hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area. Several Bay Area-based players have secured spots on the teams, highlighting the region’s strong futsal presence. The sport is widely recognized for its role in developing highly technical players, as evidenced by its popularity in countries like Argentina and Brazil, where it serves as a foundation for young athletes before transitioning to outdoor soccer.

“The U.S. Futsal National Select Teams’ journey to Malaysia represents a significant step in the sport’s development and showcases the emerging talent in American futsal,” said Alex Para, U.S. Futsal Federation President and CEO. “The U.S. Futsal is working to create awareness and expand the infrastructure for the sport across the country. As ambassadors for futsal, the young American athletes and their coaches are not only competing on an international stage but their participation in the IFA World Championship serves as an inspiration for aspiring players while highlighting the need for increased resources and facilities to make futsal more accessible to youth across the United States.”

About the U.S. Futsal Federation

Under the banner of the United States Soccer, the U.S Futsal is the governing body of the sport of futsal, a fast-paced indoor variant of soccer, in the United States. For more information, visit https://futsal.com/ or follow us on Instagram.

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JOE BRENT – President of Australian Futsal 1985 – 2000

frank p — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 00:25:29 +0000

Australian Futsal sadly have to report the death of another major pioneer of the sport in Australia, Joe Brent. Joe passed away on Friday 18th August. Joe was born during World War II in Italy and after the war his family emigrated to Australia. He was an elite sportsman in his own right, representing Australia at the 1966 and 1970 Olympics as a weightlifter, which led to him taking on a role as manager of the YMCA Revesby.

It was here in 1972 one of his staff Dawn Gilligan (who sadly passed away last year) approached him about expanding the new sport she had started at the center.

Joe then set up the Australian Indoor Soccer Federation (AISF) and went about expanding the sport across NSW and then other states. In 1978 he searched World-Wide looking for an international body to affiliate with and he made contact with FIFUSA in South America, which Australia is affiliated to date. This partnership culminated with Australia hosting the 1988 FIFUSA World Cup.

In 1985 he started working with U.S. Futsal, helping the new National Federation in a partnership that continues to this day. “We received the news of his passing with deep sorrow. President Brent was a great leader in pushing the sport of Futsal around the world and we will never forget the great support he gave U.S. Futsal in our earlier years.” said Alex Para, President and CEO of U.S. Futsal. Joe Brent was one of the first National Associations to follow our lead in changing the name from Indoor Soccer to Futsal, the name that U.S. Futsal started using in 1986. The name futsal was later adopted by FIFA for the sport. He continued in the role of CEO of the AFF until the year 2000.

His greatest disappointment was not getting Futsal into the Sydney 2000 Olympics, even though getting approval from FIFA, Australian Soccer Federation and the IOC.

RIP JOE BRENT

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U.S. Futsal National Select Teams Bring Home Gold

frank p — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 17:46:45 +0000

PRESS RELEASE: Oakland, CA – September 22, 2022
U.S. Futsal National Select Teams Bring Home Gold

The International Futsal Alliance World Championship was held in Ciutat Esportiva Blanes, just north of Barcelona, Spain from September 9-17, 2022. The U.S. Futsal National Select Teams did not disappoint as the national select squads took home gold in the Men’s Open, 17U Boys and 14U Boys while the Open Women took home the silver medal.

This is the sixth time the tournament has been held, with previous hosts including China, Scotland, and Spain. After being unable to stage the event in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic, the special edition brought together five different age categories to celebrate international futsal. The Championship consisted of groups in the Open Men, Open Women, Youth Men (2001-2004), 17U Boys and 14U Boys.

14U Boys

In what turned out to be arguably the best match of the tournament, the 14U U.S. Futsal National Select Team were crowned champions by outlasting Scotland in the championship with a thrilling 7-6 victory. The US team had a small yet well rounded roster. Although offensive players Natnael Atkilti and Luis Oliviera won the Golden Boot award for most goals in the tournament their successes were not individual. Assisted by the team captain Aiden, whose leadership permeated all faucets of the team, Isaac who remained composed “with ice in his veins”, Luis the GK who allowed the least goals in his division and Matias with his ability to execute plays our 14UBoys team went undefeated!

“It was a goal to not just enjoy this experience, but to represent U.S. Futsal with class and create a standard of excellence. U.S. Futsal provided a platform for these young players to show the world what they can do and we are motivated to defend our title and promote the quality U.S. Futsal has to offer,” said head coach, Will Hanna, who hails from Alexandria Futsal.

17U Boys

The 17U U.S. Futsal National Select Team also brought home the gold with a tremendous 6-1 performance in the championship match against an Australian side that could not penetrate a stubborn US defense. GK Brandon Barrientos and offensive player Neo Ruiz both brought home the 17U Boys divisional awards for the Golden Glove and Golden Boot. Their successes were fueled by the strong defensive presence of Nathan Rodrigues, Isaiah Anaya and Mateo Anaya along with the offensive skill of Ricky Burton. Their bench was not to be taken lightly both Matthew Matuidi and Jason Gonzalez did not let up on the defensive pressure while Tin Le and Dayne Kovatchev poured on the offensive skill. “I am extremely proud of the hard work and perseverance of this fine group of young men. I am certain that they will continue to grow and flourish after this remarkable opportunity that we all will remember for life,” said head coach, Mario Gonzalez.

Open Men

The US Men National Select Team went undefeated with 5 wins in the competition and convincingly defeated Australia in the championship match 8-1. While the US dominated the men’s competition from start to finish in every match it had some tuff opposition from Scotland, who had defeated the US during the last World Championship in China. Defeating them to move on to the final was very satisfying.

Open Women

In the Open Women final the U.S. Futsal National Select faced a very well prepared and determined Australia side and fell 1-0 in a very impressive match that set the tone for the future of women’s international futsal. The Open Women’s goal was defended by 15-year-old, Ally Harrison, and 16-year-old, Claire Lindsey with Harrison taking home the golden glove award with only 1 goal allowed all tournament.

“Building a team from around the country allows us to showcase how the sport of futsal is growing in the US,”

said captain, Emily Roose. “It was both an honor and a privilege to represent the U.S. and play alongside these amazing women,” said captain, Lou Arseneault.

About the International Futsal Alliance

The International Futsal Alliance is a partnership of countries that play futsal, formed to offer high quality international tournaments across the World. There is a limit of one member per country and membership is by invitation. However, it is expected that all members will both offer tournaments, and support tournaments offered by other affiliated members in order to promote and develop the game.

The IFA Futsal World Championship is our flagship event and has welcomed representative teams from all the continents during its five tournaments to date. All tournaments are played under FIFA rules and the majority of its members are affiliated to member organization of FIFA, while some are also members from the AMF. Last year FIFA held its nineth Futsal World Cup in Lithuania.

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U.S. Futsal welcomes the Argentine Women’s National Team to Atlantic City for the Atlantic Futsal Tour

frank p — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 03:15:34 +0000

U.S. Futsal welcomes the Argentine Women’s Futsal National Team to Atlantic City to compete twice against the U.S. Futsal National Select Team and once against the women’s team from Charles County Futsal during the U.S. Futsal Northeast Regional Championship from February 18 – 22, 2022. The Argentine National team is guided by head coach Nicolas Noriega, who as the assistant coach for the Argentine Men’s Futsal National Team just recently reached the final of the FIFA World Cup in Lithuania. Head Coach Noriega was also just recently a presenter at the United Coaches Convention in Kansas City.

“We are so glad to have the Argentine National Futsal Women’s team here to help showcase women’s Futsal at the highest level,” said Alex Para, President and CEO of U.S. Futsal. The leadership of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has heavily committed to expand and improve women’s Futsal as it has done with the men’s National team that has reached the final of the last two FIFA Futsal WorldCup’s. The U.S. Futsal Women’s Futsal National Select Team has competed at the highest international level for the last 6 years winning the IFA Futsal World Cup in 2018.

The U.S. Futsal Northeast Regional Championship is the largest Futsal competition in the United States and CONCACAF and is the most competitive Futsal tournament for all ages starting at U8 and going up to the open category for both men and women. This is one of the eight regionals that leads to the U.S. Futsal National Championship, the oldest and most prestigious Futsal tournament in the United States. This year’s 37th National Championship will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, California on July 14 -18, 2022.

Futsal is a fast-paced, skill developing sport that is played worldwide. Many of the great soccer icons such as Messi, Maradona, Ronaldinho, have attributed their development to playing Futsal.

Contact: For Immediate Release February 9, 2022

Telephone: 510-836-8733

Email: info@futsal.com

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FREE Futsal Coaching Webinar with Andreu Plaza – FC Barcelona

admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:35:24 +0000

Dear U.S. Futsal Coach and/or Member,

The Covid-19 may have removed teams, players, and coaches from the fields, but that won’t stop experienced coaches from their desire to gain an edge over their competition. They have taken advantage of many outreach continuing coach education in webinar type formats. The true leaders in the game continue to sharpen their swords. In the sport of futsal – there is none better than Andreu Plaza.

With that in mind, U.S. Futsal is pleased to announce the opportunity to learn from one of the world’s best – FC Barcelona Coach Andreu Plaza. Plaza serves as both Technical Director for FC Barcelona, as well as overseeing the development of all youth players for the largest and most well known futsal academy in the world.

Barça were awarded the prize for ‘Best Team in the World in 2019’ in futsal, taking from 2018 winners Movistar Inter. It is the third time that Barça have claimed the award after previously being named the world’s best in 2012 and 2014. There can no debate about the decision with Barça in 2019 completing a memorable treble of the league, the Spanish Cup and the Copa del Rey as well as reaching the Final Four in the Champions League.

Coach Andreu Plaza completed the trio of awards for the Barça futsal team when he was named ‘Best Club Coach of 2019’. He succeeds Jesús Velasco as winner and becomes the second Barça coach to claim the prize following Marc Carmona’s win in 2012.

Steve Franklin U.S. Futsal National Director of Coaching Instruction is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

FREE Futsal Coaching Webinar with Andreu Plaza – FC Barcelona

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72478098936?pwd=UEI5OGlxWWZkcy9LbDRDaExvODR6UT09

Meeting ID: 724 7809 8936

Password: 469732

One tap mobile

+13017158592,,72478098936#,,,,0#,,469732# US (Germantown)

+13126266799,,72478098936#,,,,0#,,469732# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location

+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)

Meeting ID: 724 7809 8936

Password: 469732

Find your local number: https://us04web.zoom.us/u/fS4oFbiZe

Also, Vava Marques, U.S. Futsal Technical Director will be offering the following camps in July

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Utah Elite Futsal edges Habana for Futsal final berth

admin — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 22:40:20 +0000

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Utah Elite Futsal scored a pair of first-half goals to defeat Habana, 2-1, on Friday at the Universidad Pedagogica Nacional Francisco Morazan and secure a place in the 2017 CONCACAF Futsal Club Championship.

The United States champion will square off in Saturday’s final against Costa Rica’s Grupoline Futsal, which earned a 3-2 victory over Soyapango FC earlier in the evening. Habana and Soyapango will meet in the match for third place.

Ricardo De Maria Sobreira gave Utah Elite a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute, gaining possession of a turnover by Habana’s Alejandro Marreño and finding the right side of the net with a left-footed shot.

Nine minutes later, Pablo Daniel Da Silva doubled the advantage with a clever free kick that managed to elude a two-man wall, a defender and goalkeeper Nelson Johnston.

Habana halved the deficit with 32 seconds left on the second-half clock as Lazaro Peña netted at left a post after Daniel Hernandez drove a low pass from the right into the Utah Elite penalty area.

Utah Elite Futsal improved to 4W-0D-0L overall in the second-ever edition of the competition.

Guatemala’s Glucosoral won the inaugural CONCACAF Futsal Championship in 2014, overcoming Borussia of Costa Rica, 5-4 on penalty kicks, after their final ended 4-4 in front of 4,682 fans at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City.

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