Skip to main content

Futsal gaining widespread popularity

 .

OCM president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar launching the Milo Hidup Bola Junior Futsal carnival yesterday. Pic by Rosela Ismail

WITH football's hopes of being included in the Commonwealth Games looking slim at best, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar believes futsal would be the perfect substitute for the most popular sport on earth.

With widespread appeal on its side, Tunku Imran said the indoor sport would be an ideal addition to the Games due to its short period of play and the relatively low cost needed to host it in such competitions.
"African countries have long lobbied for football to be included as part of the Commonwealth Games, however, have not been successful," said Tunku Imran after officiating the launch of the Milo Hidup Bola Futsal Carnival at OCM Hotel yesterday.

"As the Games is only an 11-day affair it would not be long enough to host a football competition but futsal, due to its univerisality and short time period, is a good alternative."

Tunku Imran, who is also the Olympic Council of Malaysia president, added that in order to have the Games included, the sport's governing bodies which are the same as those for football, need to get it recognised by the Commonwealth Games Federation by further popularising futsal.

"I think that the people in football may not be placing enough emphasis on the sport (futsal) as they could.

"With proper marketing, futsal can be as big as any sport in the world as it already has a strong appeal.
"Through this, we can look at including it as part of the Commonwealth Youth Games which would be a good stepping stone to it being later added to the full Games."

Meanwhile, Tunku Imran said he was delighted with the increasing popularity that the Milo Hidup Bola Futsal Carnival had continued to enjoy over the years.

The under-12 and under-16 nationwide tournament, which is already in its eighth edition this year, has attracted a record 1,400 teams involving 11,000 junior players last year.

Organisers of the event are expecting a five to 10 per cent increase in participation this year with the event ready to accommodate up to 1,600 teams this season.

The competition, which offers a cash prize of RM15,000 in the form of account savings books for the overall winners, will kick off at state-level competition on March 9. The top 64 teams at state level will then qualify for the grand finals in Ampang, Selangor on July 7.

Teams interested in registering for the event can visit www.syoknyasukan.com for more information. By Fadhli Ishak

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more

Atlet Tempuhi Empat Kejohanan Besar Sebelum Olimpik Rio 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Mei (Bernama) -- Empat temasya sukan penting yang dijadual berlangsung mulai Disember ini hingga 2015 menjadi medan persiapan atlet negara sebelum menghadapi cabaran Sukan Olimpik 2016 di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, kata Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Khairy Jamaluddin Jumaati. Kejohanan berkenaan ialah Sukan SEA di Myanmar pada Disember, Sukan Asia 2014 di Incheon, Korea Selatan, Sukan Komanwel 2014 di Glasgow, Scotland dan Sukan SEA 2015 di Singapura. Bercakap kepada pemberita selepas melawat Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) di Bukit Jalil di sini, Khairy berkata kesemua temasya sukan itu dilihat amat penting dalam memastikan impian negara untuk membawa pulang pingat emas Olimpik pertama menjadi kenyataan. "Kita di Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS) mahupun MSN akan memastikan semua atlet mendapat bantuan sewajarnya dalam melakukan persiapan ke arah membawa pulang pingat emas pertama negara di Rio de Janeiro, Brazil nanti," katanya. Dalam perkemb...
6 comments
Read more

Uber Cub: Malaysian squad Can Spring A Surprise - Ahmad Shabery

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek remains confident that the national Uber Cup squad can spring a surprise when Malaysia hosts the Thomas and Uber Cup finals at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16. He said despite not being the favourite, the women's team was able to surprise everyone by winning the gold medal at the Laos SEA Games. "I am confident they (Uber Cup team) will be able to produce a similar surprise. Not only are they capable of reaching the semi-final, they can go further," he told reporters after having lunch with national shuttlers here Thursday. National badminton Team manager Datuk Syed Abu Bakar Abdullah who echoed the minister's confidence said: "In Laos, nobody expected the women's team to win the world, so why not the Uber Cup? All they need to do is try their very best." Women's team captain Wong Pei Tty said she and her team-mates have set a target of r...
1 comment
Read more