1st Rounds of National ID Camps Start This Weekend

With the position of Mens National Head Coach still vacant as of today, the CSA Futsal Player ID Camps will still go on ahead as planned starting tonight in Toronto and on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa. Here is a brief look at what to expect.

Taking place at the spacious gym at West Humber Collegiate Institute in Toronto’s west end, the first of 2 preliminary identification camps will take place as the best futsal players from Southern Ontario converge to showcase their skills and prove their worth to the national team. Futsallers from traditional hotbeds such as the Toronto and London Futsal Leagues look to make their mark while top players from some of the lesser-known regions such as Sarnia, Thunder Bay and Tottenham are aiming to show that the smaller towns can produce diamonds too.

The top 20 players and 4 goalies will be selected after this weekend to participate in a more demanding and in depth 3 day camp from September 30-October 2nd that will also integrate with a pair of Toronto Futsal League and Ontario Soccer Association open house sessions from 2-4pm both days for parents, coaches, and clubs to come out and learn about futsal through demonstrations and will include registrations for team and individuals for the season.Visit www.torontofutsal.ca for more.

The 3 hour Friday session will see the prospects worked hard in a series of training tests and matches led by Futsal Canada Senior Technical Director, Lorenzo Redwood. Having won multiple league provincial championships both as a player and a coach, Redwood will be looking for fast, versatile, and committed players with great ball control that are eager hungry to learn new skills.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for every player that plays futsal and wants to go somewhere with it. he said early this week. “For years it was only AMF futsal that provided world cup opportunities but now they are finally being given the chance to represent Canada and shine on the biggest futsal stages in the world through CONCACAF and FIFA. The really great thing is that everyone within the futsal community here already knows that we have a lot of good raw talent that can be refined into something special and what’s even more exciting is the chance to discover new players that may blow us away. To say we’re excited about these camps is an understatement.”

The day after, over in the nations capital, the Ottawa Carleton Futsal League has declared September 24th Futsal Day in Ottawa. Being held at Confederation High School, the day’s festivities will start at 9am with some local youth games which will be followed by a series of speeches by district, league and CSA officials before culminating in their national player tryout which, in a unique twist, will be held in front of spectators, who are sure to enjoy the action.Visit www.futsalottawa.ca for more.

Ottawa will also play host to the CSA Futsal Working Group this evening while on Sunday the 25th, a panel of futsal advocates from various provinces will meet to discuss how to move the CSA futsal coaching program forward.