By Canadian Press

Canada futsal team gathers in Montreal ahead of CONCACAF Championship

Nov 1, 2019 | 11:49 AM

Canada came close to making the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup, denied by a 7-4 loss to Cuba in the CONCACAF qualifier.

Coach Kyt Selaidopoulos looks to end Canada’s 30-year absence from the futsal world championship when qualifying starts anew at the CONCACAF Futsal Championship in May, at a yet-to-be announced location.

Selaidopoulos currently has 25 players in camp in Montreal, including 10 returnees from the last CONCACAF tournament, with an eye to eventually cutting down to a 14-man roster. The May qualifier will send four teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean to the 24-country World Cup in Lithuania in the fall of 2020.

Canada had to beat the U.S. in a two-legged playoff just to get to the CONCACAF tournament three years ago. There is no word yet on whether the Canadians will face another playoff this time.

Many of the players ply their trade in the MASL (Major Arena Soccer League).

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Returning veterans include the Brazilian-born Freddy Moojen. The 36-year-old won the Golden Boot at the 2016 CONCACAF qualifier with five goals in three games.

The camp roster includes Jacob Orellana and Nazim Belguendouz, Canada Soccer’s Futsal Player of the Year in 2018 and 2017, respectively. Wandrille Lefevre, a former Montreal Impact and Ottawa Fury defender who won three caps for Canada outdoors, is also in camp.

Selaidopoulos is encouraged by the growth of the Futsal Canadian Championship, from Quebec versus Ontario in 2016 to the current eight teams (Quebec, Quebec 2, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Yukon and Nunavut).

“There is a big improvement. Our first session this morning after a year (apart) with 25 guys to me was very positive,” Selaidopoulos said Friday from Montreal. “It’s a plus to what we had in 2016.”

“The game is growing,”he added. “Now we just need an extra push.”

Still the Canadian teams doesn’t get together much. There was one camp last year and Canada played a two-match friendly series against three-time CONCACAF champion Costa Rica, losing 5-4 and 5-0.

Canada was one of a record-122 FIFA member associations competing for a place in the 2016 World Cup in Colombia. Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama and Guatemala represented CONCACAF at the 2016 World Cup.

The Canadians lost to Costa Rica 3-2 and beat Curacao 7-4 before falling to Cuba at the 21016 CONCACAF qualifier.

Canada is up against CONCACAF countries that have Futsal leagues and futsal-only players.

The indoor game is five-a-side with two 20-minute halves. The clock stops whenever the ball goes out of play or there is a break in play.

Each team starts with one goalkeeper and four outfield players on the pitch, with unlimited substitutions.

The futsal international playing surface can be a maximum of 42 metres long (minimum is 38 metres) and 25 metres wide (minimum 20 metres). The goals measure three metres wide and two metres high.

Futsal was part of the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.

Brazil has dominated the world futsal scene, winning five of the eight FIFA World Cups. Spain has won twice and finished runner-up to Brazil three times. Argentina is the defending champion. 

Canada has not qualified for the Futsal World Cup since the inaugural event in 1989 in the Netherlands, where it failed to advance from the first round after beating Japan and losing to Argentina and Belgium.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2019.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press