The 2016 African Futsal Championship will be played in South Africa (dates TBC). Three nations will qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016.
The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship will be played in Uzbekistan from 10-21 February. The top five teams will qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016.
The UEFA qualifying competition for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016 will yield seven berths to European sides, and the tournament will be divided into three stages: a preliminary round (22, 23...
Details for the 2016 CONCACAF Futsal Championship will be given at a later stage. Four countries from the tournament will qualify for the FIFA Fustal World Cup Colombia 2016.
The 2016 OFC Futsal Championship will be played in Papeete, Tahiti, from 6-14 February. The winner of the tournament will qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016.
Details for the 2016 CONMEBOL Futsal Championship will be given at a later stage. Three countries from the tournament will qualify for the FIFA Fustal World Cup Colombia 2016.
Nostalgia is not something that Colombia’s futsal coach Osmar Fonnegra seems to indulge in. Every time he looks back, he does so with his thoughts fixed firmly on the future, which is understandable for someone who has the responsibility of plotting the host nation’s course at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016.
That said, Fonnegra does admit to letting his mind wander back in time whenever he contemplates the journey taken since his appointment in 2007.
“Of course I do,” he told FIFA.com with a broad smile. “I sometimes recall when we sat down with the fitness coach to plan for what we had hoped would be our first World Cup in 2016. But look at us now! Not only did we finish fourth in 2012, but we’re also among the top-ten sides in the world and we’re going to be playing the 2016 World Cup at home.”
Though the surprise was evident in Fonnegra’s voice, he quickly regained his composure to put Colombia’s progress since Thailand 2012 into perspective: “That’s the way it should be, and that fourth place makes me even more determined to do well on home soil.
“We know it’s going to be difficult to improve on that performance but we’re confident we can do the work we need to in trying to match it at least. And if we can’t do that, we should do the country proud all the same.”
The 45-year-old coach is convinced his team is on the right track: “We’re working with a core of ten players who went to Thailand along with a few others who have emerged from the national league.
“We’ve been getting together every two or three months and I can see that the team is maturing. They’re no longer the 19 or 20-year-old kids we took in 2012 but grown men, who at the age of 23 and 24, know exactly what they want. And the important thing is that they’ve kept their feet on the ground.”
Twice nominated for the world’s best national coach award, Fonnegra is delighted with the type of futsal his side is continuing to play: “We’ve maintained our style. We’re a dynamic team that is tactically astute in defence and dangerous on the counter.
“We’re trying to be a little more adventurous these days. We’re the host nation and we’ll have to take the game to teams, though we’ll still be trying to play an entertaining and committed brand of futsal.” A busy schedule
As Fonnegra went on to explain, the upcoming Copa America, which kicks off on 23 August, comes at just the right time for his team.
“We’re looking at it as another step in our preparations,” he said. “We want to have a great World Cup, but we can’t go and promise to the national FA or the fans that we’re going to win a title. We’d be lying to them if we did. Our only objective is to keep working on the squad with next year in mind.”
A keen pool player and an aficionado of vallenato, a popular musical genre on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, Fonnegra is anxious to play down the importance of results right now and the fact that the experts are tipping Colombia as one of the favourites to win the continental title.
“We know that and we understand that we have to be more and more ambitious. We came fourth four years ago and we have to look to improve on that. If we can fight it out for the title, then so much the better. If not, we’ll just keep on working on our preparations for the World Cup. And to do that the players need to keep on picking up international experience.”
Colombia will follow their Copa America campaign with a friendly tournament in Guatemala, after which they will prepare for the South American preliminaries for next year’s world finals, a qualifying tournament they will take part in despite already being assured a World Cup place as hosts.
Explaining what comes after that, Fonnegra said: “We have an important European tour next May and June, where we’ll be taking on big teams such as Spain, Portugal, Russia and Italy. The tour will bring an end to our preparations, and we’ll be focusing on the World Cup after that.”
Contemplating the pressure that habitually weighs on World Cup hosts, the Colombia coach had this to say: “Though we’re still a year away from the World Cup, we can sense it coming. We know the fans will be expecting more from us than they did at the last World Cup, but this team has some exciting challenges ahead of it.
“The players have already got butterflies in their stomachs, as does every member of the coaching staff. I think we’re going to be up to the job.”
Popularly known as Falcao, Brazil star Alessandro Rosa Vieira is arguably the most talented player ever to step on to a futsal pitch. The evergreen Canarinha No12 turned 38 in June and is aiming to take part in his fifth FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia in 2016, a feat unprecedented in the sport.
Aside from his longevity in the game, Falcao is also a winner, as his extensive collection of individual and team awards shows. Since making his world finals debut at Guatemala 2000, the Brazilian great has won two world titles (at Brazil 2008 and Thailand 2012) as well as two adidas Golden Balls and an adidas Golden Boot.
Showing a hitherto unseen side in a quickfire interview with FIFA TV, the uniquely gifted Brazilian player reveals five firsts from lesser-known aspects of his life and career
Football Development
Futsal handed its first international match calendar
There can be no denying that futsal has enjoyed continuous and remarkable growth over the past decade. Solid proof of that trend comes in the form of increased numbers both of registered players and leagues now run under FIFA rules – factors that have had a direct impact on improved standards in both domestic and international competitions.
Further evidence of this leap in standards was on display at the last FIFA Futsal World Cup, arguably the most evenly matched edition to date, as well as the quantity of emerging nations making a splash in the discipline. In its quest to continue the sport’s evolution in the most organised way possible, the FIFA Executive Committee, at its meeting of 18 and 19 December 2014 in Marrakech, approved something that world football’s governing body has long sought: the first ever futsal international match calendar, which covers the period of 2016-2020.
“It’s like this, the global growth of futsal means that a unified calendar has become indispensable,” said Jaime Yarza, Event Manager for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, when speaking to FIFA.com. “Everyone involved in the sport – FIFA, the confederations, associations, leagues, clubs, players, sponsors, media – needs to be able to plan for the sporting season in advance. And being able to do that for the next two or three years is better than for just one.
“There are so many factors that meant that it [a unified calendar] was now essential,” continued Yarza. “You have to prepare budgets, define TV slots, confirm activities for sponsors, build loyalty among clubs’ fans by having well-structured seasons… There are so many benefits to having a unified calendar that it’s hard to explain them in just a few words.”
Javier Lozano, who twice coached Spain to FIFA Futsal World Cup glory and is currently the President of the Liga Española de Fútbol Sala, backed up Yarza’s views. “This calendar is a big help for our clubs and for futsal across the globe: finally we can make concrete plans,” he told FIFA.com. “Safeguarding clubs, players and international competitions is essential for taking this sport to the very highest level.” Releasing playersThe new calendar, whose opening cycle will include the next two FIFA Futsal World Cups, is based around players’ mandatory release to their national teams, depending on the various stages of international competition. “We’ve tried to take into account the interests of all parties. First of all, we’ve set aside 12-day windows for the final stages of the confederations’ senior national-team championships. Now confederations will be able to properly prepare both their competitions and specific sponsorship programs. It even makes choosing host nations easier,” added Yarza, in reference to events such as the UEFA Futsal EURO and the Copa America de Futsal.
In addition to the final stages of confederations’ championships and the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the calendar also includes two international windows, called Type I and Type II. “The first type lasts for ten days, during which national teams can play up to four friendly matches, but which can also be used to carry out fund-raising events or extended periods of preparation, for example for the World Cup,” explained Yarza. “The second type is for four days and allows no more than two matches. Again, it will be up to the associations to decide how they make use of the time.
“It’s taken a huge amount of work in terms of coordination, since it has required bringing together the interests of many parties,” admitted Yarza. “We’d like to thank everybody, the confederations, associations, leagues, clubs and players, for their understanding. We’ve tried to take into account the needs of all of the world’s regions.”
Though satisfied with the step taken, Yarza signed off by emphasising that the calendar remains a work in progress: “We’re pleased to say that this [calendar] has put the defence of the sport and its stars – the players – first. In any case, in the knowledge that nothing is perfect, in 2017 we will speak to all parties again to discuss if any changes are required.” NOTE: The calendar and corresponding circular are available for download in PDF format in the ‘Related Items’ section beside this article.
President & CEO, Caminchi Bridge Corporation. Worked with Multimedia Nova as Editor-in-Chief, Publisher and GM. TV, Film & Music Producer. Academic Director for worldwide Cyberclassroomtv.com Global Online/Distance Education, and Open Learning project
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