John Ndlovu
The Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Five-A-Side league is planning to accommodate sixteen teams this season up from the right that that have over the years made up the local structures of this football version.
This reporter interviewed the Chairperson of the league Ojilive Sibanda who revealed that the league will have age group-sets on top of running the regular First Division.
“This year we intend to run things differently. At the moment we are seized with the issue of mobilizing teams and spreading awareness of the game.”Said Sibanda.
He added that the league also intends to encourage a lot more young people, unlike before when Futsal seemed to be a social league for the middle-aged.
“The Association’s main aim is targeting age groups from Under 21s going down for development purposes after forming the league we will then forward the teams to ZIFA there will also be training of coaches and referees.We are also bringing in this initiative aiming to create jobs for the youth, give them a platform to showcase their talent locally and even internationally and keep them away from social ills such as drug abuse.”Sibanda added.
Sibanda also revealed that the league will continue to use the Bulawayo Football for Hope facility as a venue for the league while still encouraging the development of alternative stadia.
Futsal is a sport recognized by the Federation Internationalé de Football Association (FIFA), Union of European Football Association (EUEFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF),which involves ten players(Five each)from each team playing in a small-sided indoor football court. The sport was developed in the 1930s in Uruguay by Juan Carlos Ceriani who was a teacher by profession, the sport further spread to South America and was later adopted by the World governing body FIFA in 1989 which held the first world cup edition in the Netherlands in the same year which was won by Brazil at the expense of the hosts. Later, other governing bodies such as CAF and EUEFA also adopted the sport.