Well the dust has settled on another January of National competitions, including but not limited to, the Futsaloz Junior Nationals, Gold Coast International Cup (Craig Foster Cup) and the FFA Futsal Nationals. These competitions are a celebration of futsal, and an opportunity to provide players, coaches and their families with great experiences and to showcase the opportunities that futsal as a sport can provide. Simultaneously though, these competitions also provide an opportunity for the travelling teams to test themselves against players and teams from around the country. An opportunity almost, to test how we are developing in terms of futsal against the rest of Australia.
Picture it, January 7th 2019. Our U10 Fremantle Wolves competing at the FutsalOz Junior Nationals. We had finished top of our Group. The day before we had beaten Sydney Metro aka Soccer De Brazil Academy 5-1 in a hotly contested Round of 16 Draw. Following that game, Ruiz Football Academy had fallen to the Wolves 3-0 in a tight but Wolves controlled encounter in the Quarter Finals. The Wolves draw 3-3 against a strong but beatable Melbourne Dragons in the Semi Finals. The penalty shootout sends us out of a tournament that the Wolves could quite possibly have won.
FFA Futsal Nationals 2020. Football West send over 9 teams to compete in Boys U12s (2 teams), U13s, U14s, U15s, U16s, U19s and Girls U13s and U15s. A strong contingent of players, coaches and officials made their way over to Canberra to represent the state of Western Australia. Absolutely there was some great futsal played. But interestingly, our U12 Boys finished 2nd in their group including perennial powerhouses New South Wales, Victoria, ACT and South Australia. The U13 Girls also made it through to the Quarter Finals as well. Unfortunately both teams were unable to progress past the Quarter Finals, but making it through the Group Stages is a sign that futsal is developing in WA and at an exciting rate. Eyebrows were raised, and Western Australia is now being seen as an upcoming futsal force to watch out for. Did I mention that the U19 Boys made the Grand Final?
A week later, Louise and her team of fantastic futsal girls representing Cambio Cumbre Academy travel to the Gold Coast International Cup (Craig Foster Cup) and win the whole competition. Not only do they win the competition, but they win it with class and style.
These are 3 occurrences that I have mentioned, but there are a whole lot more dots that make up this picture. Standing back from the canvas though, one can see that futsal in WA is progressing and improving year by year relative to the competition we are facing in other parts of Australia. It must be said though, I believe futsal has in the majority been improving year by year, but we had a lot of catching up to do. Now, it seems we have reached a point where we can compete. Now it appears that we are no longer far behind. Don’t get me wrong, we have a lot of work to do in terms of player development and coach education, but we are approaching an important stage of development where we should continue the trajectory we are currently on to make the most of the hard work we have put in.
Football West, the governing body of football and futsal in WA is definitely continuing the quest for futsal. The manner in which the campaign at the 2020 Futsal Nationals was conducted was fantastic. Football West are taking the next step for the 2021 Futsal Nationals with new initiatives, including various coach education opportunities, and a Pilot Program called Elite Futsal Development Program (EFDP) which will provide opportunities for talented futsal players to develop and play in the WA Junior State Futsal League at Profutsal. These are just some of the many programs and initiatives that Football West will be looking at, to help nurture player development and coach education in WA.
Profutsal – WOW! Profutsal have been instrumental in developing this sport we love in WA. The loving work that the Profutsal team puts into helping players, clubs, parents, coaches, siblings, other organisations, basically everyone love and and grow the sport is amazing. Profutsal provides a World Class competition on a weekly basis, with clear pathways through various channels for both boys and girls, of various skill levels, starting from toddlers right through to the State Futsal League (SFL) and Womens State Futsal League (WSFL). What else can be said? Well, a lot and I will need to save that for many subsequent blogs. One thing is for sure, there are many players and coaches globally who would dream to have a competition like the one at Profutsal on their doorstep.
Time to tie it all together. Although results do not always show the progress that players, teams and coaches have made, they can sometimes provide something tangible to reflect how things are going relative to the opposition faced in particular competitions. Positive results and/or outcomes are also a reward as such, that can provide motivation for those involved to continuously intensify and enhance their efforts, and a yardstick for those joining in to match or improve on.
The yardstick set this January is a great one. It reflects that WA can not only compete with our interstate opposition, but we can beat them as well. Lets keep focussing on player development and coach education to ensure it stays that way.
The Wolves have arrived…and we will do our part to help futsal in WA heading in the right direction!
