AIFF to revive Futsal and Beach football in India

AIFF to revive Futsal and Beach football in India

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All India Football Federation(AIFF) has finally decided to revive its Futsal and beach football committee in India. The federation has also approached former player and current director of Association of Indian football Coaches (AIFC), Dinesh Nair in order to guide them for the same.

Futsal is a variant of football played on hard court, smaller than a football pitch and mainly indoors. Futsal association of India (FAI) is the organisation which has been developing the game of futsal in India since 2008. Futsal has generated tremendous popularity with the disputed Premier Futsal League getting a good response in its two editions so far despite the AIFF refusing to recognize the league.

However, the AIFF is now considering changing its stance to variants like futsal and beach football and also have started taking steps to engage in talks with the committees related to these games. One of the few steps of AIFF includes the process of creating a coach-referee education system for futsal which was initiated in November 2017 in Mumbai. 

The AIFF has also approached former player and current director of Association of Indian football Coaches (AIFC), Dinesh Nair in order to guide them for all the procedures.

“In India, the problem is lack of space. Since futsal is mostly played 5v5 or 6v6, it is a way forward for us to become a footballing superpower. It's a fast paced game and excellent ball control is needed, since kids anyway don't play on full sized grounds, futsal is ideal for their progression,” Nair said to the TOI.

Futsal is a very popular sport all over the world, especially in South American countries like Brazil where legendary players like Ronaldhino, Zico, and Neymar jr playing tournaments to hone their skills at a young age and credited this game for their success. However, Nair threw another name into the mix.

“Iran owe most of their success to futsal. They take the game very seriously and it's the reason why they've developed so much. In fact the only place where you can get an AFC level 3 coaching license is Iran,” Nair quoted.

Western India Football Association (WIFA) CEO, Henry Menezes, said new leagues are already being planned by the association.

“The AIFF understands the importance of futsal and many competitions in the state and national level are being planned. We are focussing a lot of age-group teams and we believe futsal will help creating a wider base as far as the younger age groups are concerned,” Menezes concluded.

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