Has anyone here played it or refereed it

[haywain]

i had a look through the info about Futsal on the F.A. website with a view to taking the referees course (tempted by the prospect of refereeing indoors)

anyone here care to add any info, useful or otherwise

 

[Ryan]

I've refereed it and it is great fun, give it a go

 

[haywain]

did you do the refs course then, ryan

 

[Ryan]

Yeah, it's a great thing to do once you get to grips with it

 

[KAM]

I had the chance to do Futsal Ref course and did it. It's gets easier once you ref it more times

 

[Brian Hamilton]

I refereed futsal for about 5 months. Think of posh five a side with some strange rules and you'll have the right idea

 

[Ross]

i keep getting tempted to sign up to a futsal course, but something always manages to get in the way

 

[Brian Hamilton]

When played the way it is intended to be played, with concentration on skill and space for the players to move around, it is a wonderful game to watch and referee. In 99% of the games in which I have been involved unfortunately it doesn't look anything like that and because of commercial considerations the game is squeezed into an area which is too small and this leads to too much confrontation and aggression between players.

 

[haywain]

are you sure that you didn't accidently sign up for the cage fighters course instead, Brian

 

[Brian Hamilton]

are you sure that you didn't accidently sign up for the cage fighters course instead, Brian

It was Futsal played on a court 1/3 of the intended size with 3 times the number of confrontations and 9 times the level of aggression

 

[Ross]

It was Futsal played on a court 1/3 of the intended size with 3 times the number of confrontations and 9 times the level of aggression

Sounds like a certain 5 a side league I used to officiate on

 

[BrisRef]

Me and my mates made a team to enter a futsal tournament - it was great fun! Such a skilful, quick sport and didn't actually come with much of the aggression mentioned on here! I'd like to referee it but there's not really any structured league down here in Gloucestershire

 

[Richthekeeper]

i play it regularly but having contacted the Futsal Referees Officer for Wales recently, I found out there are no scheduled conversion courses at the moment.

Leeds @Futsal Arena is looking for Referees though, and you don't have to have done the course.

 

[Brian Hamilton]

i play it regularly but having contacted the Futsal Referees Officer for Wales recently, I found out there are no scheduled conversion courses at the moment.

Leeds @Futsal Arena is looking for Referees though, and you don't have to have done the course.

That's interesting about Leeds as I attended my course there in July (run by Marc Birkett - Futsal World Cup Final referee) and they were refusing to use unqualified referees at that point. It's also where I did four months as. Futsal referee before leaving.

 

[Richthekeeper]

well, i say that, i contacted them on Facebook making it clear that I don't have the conversion (no courses on at the moment) and they responded offering me a trial.

 

[rainertheref]

I refereed my first Futsal game last night, and I'm hooked.

I haven't done any training yet, just read through the rules and am being coached fairly closely, but it really wasn't a great leap from reffing 11v11. The differences are largely technical - positioning, counting to four seconds at every dead ball situation and slightly different signals.

 

[Richthekeeper]

i'm still playing at @Futsal in Leeds - my team is in pole position to qualify for the FA Futsal Cup which starts in March.

last night's game was so frustrating against a team which set out to kick and foul our flair players throughout, earning them two yellow cards. the ref was far too weak and let them get away with foul after foul.

it's important for Futsal referees to remember that they aren't reffing 11 a side!

 

[rainertheref]

it's important for Futsal referees to remember that they aren't reffing 11 a side!

What do you mean by that? Law 12 is pretty much the same for both forms of the game, apart from the removal of "or attempts to trip."

 

[HullRef]

Marc Birkett - Futsal World Cup Final Referee

At the Sheffield United Academy, the match day coordinator (also a ref himself), taught Marc how to ref futsal, it was really interesting listening to how he made it from being a novice to getting the World Cup final.

 

[haywain]

email received from Sussex F.A. - Distances aren't great, Hastings 55 miles, Eastbourne 43 and Southwick 22 - and would have to juggle Southwick with '
proper' football on Sundays, but Sussex do seem to be encouragingly pro-active which is good. Anyway, i've applied, so i can only be rejected at the very worst

Dear Referee

The Sussex County FA is looking for referees to take the Futsal Referee Conversion Course.

This sport, the only 5-a-side football recognised by FIFA, is beginning to grow, particularly in the Hastings, Eastbourne and Southwick areas of the county.

Hastings sees the introduction of a Sunday evening league for adults, Southwick Sunday daytime for youths and Eastbourne continues with a Men’s league on Thursday evenings and Women’s on a Friday evening.

The conversion course is particularly targeting referees who would be able to referee on these competitions.

The course will be held in the Hastings area on Monday 24th March registration 6.45pm for a 7.00pm start, will include, theory and practical work before written multiple-choice exam, with a close of approx 10.00pm.

Although there is no cost to attend, numbers are limited, so a quick positive reply is required to secure a place.

Note: Referees already qualified as Futsal Referees need not attend, but if you are interested in refereeing on these competitions please let me know.

Regards