A new sport has emerged in Lamar County. A futsal league has recently been formed, and organizers say everyone is welcome to come join in.
According to Wikipedia, the origin of “Futsal” began in 1930 when Juan Carlos Ceriani, a teacher in Montevideo, Uruguay, created a version of indoor football for recreation in YMCAs. This new sport was initially developed for playing on basketball courts, and a rule book was published in September 1933. Ceriani’s goal was to create a team game that could be played indoors or outdoor, but that was similar to football(soccer).
Since then, the popularity of the sport has continued to grow across the globe. Both FIFA and UEFA officially recognize the exciting, fast-paced small sided soccer game that is now played across the world.
Futsal earned the status of FIFA’s official form of indoor soccer in the 1980s as it was recognized as a scaled-down version of outdoor soccer played indoors. It is a five on five small-sided game played on a hard-surfaced basketball-sized court with a smaller, low bounce ball. Futsal is played with touchline boundaries and without walls.
“Soccer’s most prolific players have roots and started playing futsal before even playing outdoor soccer. With my passion for the sport of soccer and our local kids to become better overall soccer players I decided to introduce them to the game of Futsal,” explained Spencer Berchinal who is credited with beginning the local league.
“I have adult women nd men’s teams, high school, middle school, and grade school, divisions,” he added.
He also believes that this Futsal league will contribute to greater success in high school soccer and even to that of college level and beyond.
“My vision for this league is to better local kids in all aspects of the game passing, dribbling, and shooting, so it transfers into the outdoor game of soccer,” said Burchinal.
The newly formed Paris Futsal League will meet on Monday and Thursday evenings from 5:30- 9:15 p.m. at Family Fun Center located at 2625 Spur 139, Paris.
“Everyone is welcomed, we offer a full concession stand with eats and drinks,” said Burchinal.
Admission for adults is $5, while those aged 6-18 are just $3 and kids five and under free
Photo from Paris Futsal League.
