Foothills Winter 2006-07 Futsal Program Outline:...Click here

Foothills continues to support the development of futsal in the City of Calgary with Technical Director Troye Flannery volunteering time over the Christmas break to run a Futsal Introduction Camp on behalf of the CMSA with Program Director Scott Mabee. The camp ran over two days with over 50 participants from clubs around the city. As the ASA looks to host a Provincial Championship in 2006/07 and the CSA a National Championship in the near future Foothills hopes to continue its leadership role in the development of futsal in Calgary.

Congratulations to the Foothills Irish for winning the Third Annual CUSA Christmas Futsal Championship. This year's victory marks the third time a Foothills Irish team has won the event. The Irish are coached by Troye Flannery and are comprised of Foothills Alumni born in 86 and 87 and rounded out with top guest players from around the city. Honorable mention to the Foothills Mutiny 87/88 team coached by Tommy Wheeldon Jr for a solid silver medal performance and the Foothills Crew 88/89 team coached by Colin Pryde for a Bronze medal finish. Foothills 1, 2, 3 well done to all!

CMSA continues to evaluate a Futsal program for minor soccer in Calgary. Foothills continues to be a strong and vocal proponent of Futsal as an alternative to arena soccer. As such our club is using the available option at U18 to register men's Futsal through CUSA (mens league). Additionally, we are working hard to provide an intramural program for the winter of 2005/2006 within the club. Please watch the Foothills website for updates.

Much of the interest in Futsal stems from:
a) Futsal is much closer to the outdoor style of game (no boards) and focuses on skill development that is directly applicable to the outdoor game.
b) Futsal can be played on any hard court including gymnasiums and existing indoor turf fields.
c) Futsal is less likely to cause player injuries. There are no boards, and the rules promote a more cordial game environment.
d) Futsal is the FIFA approved indoor game and therefore has a more international following.

Edmonton has been operating a Futsal program for several years and has plans to host a 2007 National Futsal Championship. Last year Edmonton had 65 teams in the futsal league at  Tier 1 and Tier 2 for U10 to U16 for boys and girls. It is Calgary's ambition to see an intercity playdown by the 2007 Cahmpionship.

Soccer players in Calgary are invited to express their interest in playing Futsal with the Foothills Club by submitting an email to foothills@telus.net with "Futsal"as the subject line.

References:

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/futsalcup/regulationshistory/futsalexplanation.html
http://www.fifa.com/en/regulations/regulation/0,1584,13,00.html
http://www.futsalonline.com/