Over 100 Youth Teams Playing in New York Futsal This Winter
All it takes is five to play -that is part of the popularity of Futsal.
While outdoor soccer participation in the United States continues to grow, futsal participation, with far fewer players, is growing exponentially. And one of the beneficiaries of this growth is New York Futsal, playing under the umbrella of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). The fun kicked off last month and goes until March with 10 regular season games plus playoffs at Clinton High School, LaGuardia High School, the Dwight School, PS 87 William T. Sherman School, PS 118 Joan of Arc Elementary School and the Tito Puente Education Complex, all in Manhattan, plus PS 217 on Roosevelt Island and PS 139 Alexine A. Fenty Elementary School in Brooklyn. In a sign of the growth of the game, Tito Puente is the first school in New York City with permanent futsal lines on the gym floor, which were painted by New York Futsal last summer. Over 100 youth teams are playing in New York Futsal this winter.
“Futsal is not a physical but a technical game, giving the kids the time and space that they need to develop skills,” commented New York Futsal Director Jaime Arias. The league also offers one-day tournaments to let squads get a taste of futsal plus team and individual training run by former professional futsal players.
The game promotes quality touches and ball control in tight spaces and players utilize those skills when they resume playing soccer outdoors in March. Many of Brazil’s best players ever such as Pelé, Zico, Socrates, Bebeto, Ronaldinho and Marta all played a version of futsal as children.
The origins of futsal can be traced to Uruguay in 1930, where, amid the euphoria that greeted that country’s victory at the inaugural World Cup on home soil, there was a soccer ball seemingly being kicked on every street corner in the capital of Montevideo. Juan Carlos Ceriani, an Argentinian physical education instructor living there at the time, observed many youngsters practicing soccer on basketball courts because of the shortage of soccer fields. It was there and then that the idea for a five-a-side variation of soccer came about and futsal was born. It is the only version of indoor soccer approved by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. Futsal’s World Cup, played every four years, will be played this fall in Colombia with Brazil and Spain as favorites as those two nations have won the previous seven editions.
And New York Futsal, based in one of the world’s most international cities, maximizes their global connections through their affiliation with Futsal Across America, which recently sent a men’s team to compete in Dubai and played during a birthday party for Bolivian President Evo Morales, a big futsal supporter.
For more information visit New York Futsal,
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: With over 100,000 youth soccer players–both boys and girls–and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators.
All levels of soccer are offered–from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association.
