One of the most trusted futsal coaches in the world, Dutch Victor Hermans, is in town to spearhead the FIFA Futsal Course that will run until Friday at PAREF Springdale.
In the five-day futsal course, the participants who are mostly regular football coaches from Cebu, Leyte and parts of Western Visayas, will get the rare opportunity to immerse themselves in Hermans’ deep pool of knowledge of the under-appreciated sport of futsal.
In last Monday’s welcome dinner at the residence of Cebu Football Association’s (CFA) president Ricky Dakay, around 40 football coaches were present to meet and greet Hermans.
Hermans managed six different futsal national teams and guided three of them to the world cup, which earned him the position as FIFA’s futsal coach.
According to Hermans, futsal is the foundation of football, although it’s a five-aside and indoor version of the 11-aside football, the game is more tactical and needs precise ball-handling skills, which is essential in developing a well-rounded football player and team.
“We have to push this game to the right direction. Philippines can’t play with Iran, Japan and Thailand without the proper football training and part of this is futsal. We need more competitions and development of this game in this country,” said Hermans.
He believes that the Philippines can play football and futsal together but with the lack of support from local football associations, Herman said the dream of developing a well-rounded football team is farfetched.
According to Red Avelino, the Philippine national team’s head coach for futsal, the game was introduced in the country in 2001. From then on, it developed rapidly with the Philippine team reaching international tournaments. But from 2005 until the present, there has been no further development.
But with the help of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) a few years back, futsal will now be part of the regular sports to be played in next year’s Palarong Pambansa in Albay, according to Philippine futsal department head Esmaeil Sedig.
According to Hermans, what holds back the development of futsal here in the country is the lack of facilities, the proper structure of organization and financial support from both the private and government sectors.