The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic may have put a stop to many things, but Philippine futsal like its older brother, 11-a-side football (name the Philippines Football League), is poised to take an even bigger step.
The Philippine Football Federation, in conjunction with futsal supporter, the Henry V. Moran Foundation, have made huge strides in the last couple of years to not only increase the profile of futsal, but to become a regional power.
Steps have been made over the past few years to give the sport a bit more prominence.
Together with partners like the Moran Foundation and the Department of Education, the PFF has also started promoting futsal in public schools.
Through the Liga Eskwela Program, from 2016-2018, the Department of Education introduced futsal at the primary school level for the regional Palaro Pambansa eliminations in Metro Manila.
In 2018, with the support of multi-national German financial services provider Allianz, the PFF together with the Moran Foundation piloted a National Youth Futsal Invitational for boys and girls ages 12 to 16 years across nine provincial areas across the country (three each in Luzon, Visayas, and in Mindanao)—Central Luzon and Cordillera, National Capital Region/Manila, Bicol region, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dipolog/Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
Its main objective of the tournament with its local, regional and a national finals was to provide an initial assessment on the level of coaching, refereeing, match organization, and level of futsal players and stakeholders across the country.
The Allianz program also looked to create a pool of potential coaches, referees, organizers, venues and assets in place such as volunteers, equipment, local supporters (public and private) and organizers who can help promote futsal at minimal costs.
This model program eventually won a Silver Award at the 2018 Sports Industry Awards (SPIA) held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Further to that, in September 2018, the PFF together with the Philippine Sports Commission reintroduced futsal to the Batang Pinoy National Youth Games for U13 Boys, U13 Girls, U15 Boys and U15 Girls.
These games served as a preparation for Philippine teams to the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and Olympics.
With that, the Philippines now has three major national youth futsal competitions—Allianz National Youth Futsal Invitational, the Batang Pinoy National Youth Games, and the Department of Education’s Palaro Pambansa where coaches, referees, and match organizers can apply what they learn in courses to develop the sport.
Adding more excitement to the growth of futsal is the involvement of in April of 2019, of renowned Dutch futsal coach Vic Hermans who was invited to assess the futsal program in the country.
The PFF and its support group got more than an assessment. Hermans looks to get involved in the development of the grassroots program.
According to local football officials, Hermans’ three-year involvement will kick-off once this pandemic is over.
Futsal has seen a reemergence internationally. In fact, the sport was introduced as an official sport in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires for both boys and girls.
France, the hosts of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, has submitted a plan/bid to make futsal a demonstration sport and eventually a regular sport at the Olympic games for both men and women.
This looks like it’s going to be an exciting time for Philippine futsal.