Futsal in Australia

Futsal in Australia is governed by the Football Federation Australia and its state based futsal associations. Australia has played in seven FIFA Futsal World Cups.[1][2] [3]

CountryAustralia
Governing bodyFootball Federation Australia
National team(s)Australia
Nickname(s)Futsalroos
First played1970
International competitions

History

In 1970, the first competitive indoor soccer game was played in Australia at the YMCA Sporting Complex in Epping, Sydney. It was introduced by Edwin (Eddie) Palmer, a new immigrant, who had recently arrived from East Africa.

In 1971, Dawn Gilligan, Jack Bowder and a few parents of the players taking part in the inaugural competition, took a team to Revesby YMCA. It was played due a wet in the winter football season, which closed outdoor grounds for many weeks. Gilligan and then manager of the YMCA, Joe Brent wrote to England to obtain official rules and the game spread to other YMCAs. The following year the game of futsal, which at the time was experiencing world wide growth, was introduced in the Revesby YMCA, and adapted as a competitive competition for the new season. The popularity of the sport saw it slowly spread to the other states.

In 1977, Brent became first president of the Australian Indoor Soccer Association, which affiliated with FIFUSA two years later. The first national championships took place in Melbourne in 1980.

Competitions

The F-League is the national futsal competition in Australia. It is organised by FNSW.

By state or territory

In South Australia, the South Australian Futsal League (SAFL) is the state's premier competition. It was established in 2013, and is yet to be affiliated with Football South Australia.

In Western Australia the Supa-Liga www.futsalsupaliga.com.au and the WA State Futsal league are the state's premier competitions. The Supa-Liga is organised by www.westcoastfutsal.org.au and they run futsal specifically in multiple locations around WA, and Pro Futsal which affiliates with Football West, and played at the Pro Futsal Centre in Bibra Lake. The two competitions have more than 30 clubs currently competing in the Futsal leagues in Men, Women, Youth and Junior competitions. The West Coast Futsal Association have state and national representative links while also linking players to clubs overseas.

The Australian Futsal Association is the biggest futsal organisation in Australia which organised competitive state futsal league and national championship tournaments around Australia.

In Queensland it is Queensland Futsal Association which organises Queensland State Futsal League and is a member of the Australian Futsal Association.

National teams

The national futsal teams represent Australia in international competition. Australian national teams historically competed in the OFC, though since FFA's move in 2006, Australian teams have competed in AFC competitions.

The Australian futsal team represents Australia at the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the AFC Futsal Championship.

The Australian women's futsal team represents Australia at the Women's Futsal World Tournament.

See also

References
  1. "Give Futsal a chance". The World Game. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  2. "New F-League A Hit". Four Four Two. Archived from the original on 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
  3. "FFA's Unveils $10m Plan". Four Four Two. Archived from the original on 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
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