Canada Faces El Salvador in CONCACAF Futsal Playoff Qualifier

CONCACAF has announced that the 5th edition of the continental Futsal Championships will take place in Guatemala from July 2-8th. Six teams have automatically received berths directly into the eight team competition while the Caribbean Football Union will host a six team regional tournament in which the winner will advance while the final spot will be contested by Canada and El Salvador.

Futsal Canada will immediately release additional details as it comes in but for now here is the media release from our friends at CONCACAF.com

For Immediate Release
www.CONCACAF.com

GUATEMALA TO HOST 2012 CONCACAF FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIPNEW YORK (Wednesday, January 18, 2012) – The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today that the 2012 CONCACAF Futsal Championship will be played July 2-8 at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City, Guatemala.  It marks the third time that the CONCACAF finals will be staged in the Central American country.

The Domo Polideportivo was the venue for the 2000 FIFA Futsal World Cup, 2007 Pan American Games qualifying, the 2008 CONCACAF Futsal Championship and numerous Guatemalan international friendly matches.

The competition will be comprised of eight teams, including six that progress directly to the finals.  Host Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and the United States will be joined by two other qualifiers.

The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) will conduct a six-team regional tournament Feb. 17-23 at Polideportivo Kid Chocolate in Havana, Cuba.  The field is made up of host Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, St. Kitts & Nevis and Trinidad & Tobago.  The team with the best record (excluding Cuba) will advance to Guatemala.

The last berth to the CONCACAF finals will be decided by a two-game playoff between Canada and El Salvador on dates to be determined.

For the first time, CONCACAF will send four teams to a FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will next be held Nov. 2-18 in Thailand.

CONCACAF has staged four previous futsal qualifying competitions for FIFA tournaments.  The USA was crowned confederation champion twice (1996, 2004), while Costa Rica (2000) and Guatemala (2008) won single titles.  Cuba has finished as runner-up on each occasion.

About CONCACAF

CONCACAF “The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football” is one of six continental confederations of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and serves as the governing body of football in this part of the world. It is composed of 40 national associations, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Surinam and French Guyana in the south.