The Americans Are Coming!

In our continued efforts to work and grow the sport together with our American friends, Futsal Canada is proud to announce that the US Youth Futsal National Teams are coming to Toronto for a friendly tournament series at one of the most spectacular sports venues in the country.

From December 29-31st, after a series of I.D. camps across the United States, elite American futsallers born in 1998-99 as well as 2000-01, for both boys and girls, will be coming to enjoy a goodwill competition as well as engaging in a cultural exchange. There will be a welcoming dinner on Sunday December 28th for the players downtown and games will commence the following day. The public is welcome to come out on Monday December 29th from 12-6pm to enjoy some classic futsal action.

Matches will take place at centre court at the phenomenal, $220 million dollar Toronto Pan American Sports Centre (TPASC) in the east end of Toronto, a legacy project of the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Games.

Centre Court at the new Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre

U.S. Men’s National Futsal Head Coach Keith Tozer will be manning the sidelines for the visitors and is looking forward to visiting Canada.

“All of us associated with U.S. Youth Futsal are very excited about taking our youth National Futsal Teams to Canada. This past year we have seen some great players in all of our regional centers across the U.S. and these players represent the best of those. I am also very excited about the coaching staff we have assembled highlighted by Otto Orf who was the Co-MVP Goalkeeper of the 1996 CONCACAF Championships in Guatemala and Mark Litton who is our current goalkeeper coach of the U.S. Futsal Mens National Team and Technical Goalkeeper Director of U.S. Youth Futsal.

Also a big thanks to Futsal Canada and Kris Fernandes for organizing such a great and important event. This is just the beginning of a great working relationship between our two countries as we both try and grow the sport of Futsal both nationally and internationally. I couldn’t more proud to be a part of this historic event!”

TPASC Director of Sport and Recreation Rafael Torre and Futsal Canada Director Kris Fernandes.

The partnership with TPASC also calls for an annual tournament to launch in 2015 in addition to additional special futsal projects and events.

Director of Sport and Recreation for TPASC, Rafael Torre, welcomed the sport to the state of the art facility, the best of its kind in Ontario.

“We’re very excited to host elite level futsal here at the Pan Am Sports Centre, a sport that fits perfectly with our facility. As a futsal coach at a previous Futsal Canada competition, I know this event will be thoroughly enjoyed by all participants and spectators. We look forward to kicking off the new relationship and hosting many more excellent futsal competitions together in the years to come.”

With 80% of Canada’s population located within 160km of the U.S. border, Canadian and American club teams have played each other for many years and this event will continue to strengthen the bond between both nations while furthering development of the five a side game.

“We’re now very pleased to welcome our neighbours from the south for what will be a fantastic event at a phenomenal venue that Toronto can now call its own. We are going to see some truly excellent young futsallers from across North America showcasing their skills on the court while providing much-needed exposure for Canadian players to compete against high level international competition, which is one of our primary objectives for futsal player development. After partnering together with the Brazilian Futsal Federation this past summer the natural next step was to continue building upon our great relationship with the Americans and this event will further forge our partnership.” said Futsal Canada Director Kris Fernandes.