The FFA has announced - well I wouldn't call it announced, more like buried a few words on a Capital Football website - that Futsal National Championships are to be rid of their:

U11 Boys and Girls, U13 Girls (Boys will play) U15 Girls (Boys will play).

Reasons given are: We don't want to disadvantage the weaker states, there isn't enough quality around.

This is an unbelievable decision in my view.

As a former teacher if we offered maths to boys not girls we'd be shot for discrimination. And girls not doing maths would actually - I know it sounds silly - but they wouldn't improve!

Radical view that!

How are players expected to improve if they don't get to train, prepare and play at a National Championships?

Why would players remain in the game? Of course not all or even many will be W-League players, but playing for your State at a National Championship is a great experience for most kids in any sport and who knows where an U11 or U13 kid could go.

Ask those that rejected Tim Cahill at 13! Same experts I suppose!

What is the FFA doing?

Player development? - and isn't Futsal supposed to help the skill level - or don't the FFA know that?

Apparently NSW, Queensland and ACT wanted teams in all age groups although with the ACT you'd never know based on last years debacle.

So if all the above States and Territories wanted teams - and NSW provide two, plus Country and Northern why couldn't the competition run? Queensland even called for Coaches for the Age Groups abolished!

Some kids have trained and played Rep futsal for two years and are in tears that they can't play...not because they don't want to but because there isn't a 13 year old age group.

If you want kids to improve - let them play, nurture them and see them progress.

I'd like to know the real reason why U11 boys and girls, U13 Girls and U15 Girls National Championship Futsal has been abolished.

The old "they aren't good enough argument" - for kids, for development - seems ludicrous. The Socceroos won't win the World Cup in Fozzie's lifetime but we let them enter.

Should we pull them out as well?

So can someone please explain the benefits for the boys of playing futsal and the benefits of the girls and the U11 boys missing out.

It looks like discrimination, it smells like discrimination and suggests whoever is making the decision has no idea of the impact on the kids.

They love the game, they want to play and some bureaucratic nonsense, as it's not development is it, has slashed the program.

Grassroots - do they even care?

Enlighten me someone I'm all ears. My local Federation merely sent an abusive text saying it's on the website and that we should all learn to read! The FFA has cut for reasons of disadvantage....

And we want to improve our players? Will we have better players next year if they don't train and play for three months in preparation for Futsal Nationals.

For the love of the game..let them play!

This is what they say to the kids who can't play, now go away!

The trials for the 2012/13 program will take place on the 14th and 21st of October. For the full list of which age groups are trialling when and where, please click here. Please note that the FFA have combined the girls age groups from this year onwards into double age groups, hence there is no longer a separate age group for U11, U13 and U15 girls. This was due to low numbers and a lack of adequate depth in many states, preventing them from fielding a team in these age groups. These changes are therefore designed to ensure all states can enter teams into all age groups, improving the competition for everyone.

Not sure how it improves the competition for everyone - if you aren't allowed to play!

Will last years NSW, Queensland, Victoria, ACT U12 girls make their U14 team this year? Will they benefit if they miss out? Will they care about competition being improved for everyone - if they aren't there?

I tweeted the @ffa - but no reply.

I look forward to a reply from the FFA or anyone who knows how this decision will improve players, encourage player skill development and enhance the love of the game and improve morale across the grassroots - we're so important - cohort.

just play for vikings/australianfutsal whatever they are called.

In Victoria we believe that it is a Boultbee or High Performance decision.

We are lucky to have that if it were not for Federal Government funding to Capital Football I was told there would have been no Futsal Nationals.

Some crap about the best versus the best and the second round of the World Cup.

Here’s what I’ve heard nearpost from different people involved at club level. They’ve heard that it was the tournament organisers that pushed for it because it would reduce costs, take out 4 age groups and you can use one less venue. It costs a fair bit to hire out each venue for the week and if Arthur is right and they rely on government funds then that’s a plausible reason.

I can understand removing the 11 girls because they usually only get 3-4 states entering and most years combine it with the 12s anyway. However, I don’t get why they would cut the 13s and 15s if that’s the excuse they are using when according to the program from last nationals, last year’s 12s and 14s had the most teams enter in the girls age groups. You would think that most of the players and teams would come back the following year so saying it is due to low numbers doesn’t make sense to me.

It is unfortunate that these types of decisions are usually made by the state federation presidents and CEOs, who think about things from a business point of view, and not the people who truly understand the needs of the sport. From a development point of view the administrators who have made this decision obviously don’t realize that in most states nationals training is the only opportunity that players get for a good level of futsal training, in some places it is their ONLY opportunity to train due to lack of court availability or cost of court hire. NSW will be alright due to their strong premier and super leagues but everywhere else will struggle to improve the quality of their futsal.

Someone better tell Queensland that they have changed the age groups because they have announced their coaches for all age groups 11s to open male and female and are also advertising their trials for all age groups. They also are planning on entering regional teams in most age groups.

They may say that this decision is made so that every state can enter each age group but on past experience states like SA, WA and Northern NSW always say they will enter more and more girls teams but then only show up with a couple (WA and Northern NSW didn’t send any teams last year), Tasmania usually only enter a couple of boys teams and NT has never sent any teams. So what happens if WA, NNSW and Tasmania fail to send girls teams again?

It will be interesting to see what happens as I can’t see the positives in this move.

Good points made from a teacher's insight in the learning process.

I'd like to see detailed responses from FFA.

In this state , organisationally Vikings have been hopeless this season.

Our club will discontinue its participation in next year's roster and just play FFA futsal.






Edited by Decentric: 15/9/2012 04:20:27 PM

Excellent point.

We have a very good bean counter here as FFA CEO, but he has a limited football background. His views appear to carry more weight than the state TD's.

Having said that, he is a good bloke. He is highly thought of in the Tassie football milieu. I'm probably biased though, because he has provided positive feedback to our club president from parents writing to him lauding our club training/coaching program.:)

have a foot in both camps

vikings schools comp very good getting u10 onwards involved early, and so have school nationals end of sept,
vikings state team already picked start training oct
vikings club brilliant comp
FFA qld summer futsal league the only decent thing they do
FFA local club futsal never materialised despite the fanfare opted not to go back to the other ffa club futsal after last years debacle