Youth and adult athletes will have an opportunity to compete in a unique sporting event — the 2023 Hawaii International Futsal Cup, which will take place July 27 through 29 at Spencer Kalani Schutte District Park in Waimea.
The three-day tourney will feature clinics and pool play on the first day, pool play and friendship games on day two and championships with an awards ceremony on the final day.
The tournament’s divisions will be girls and boys 10U, 12U, 14U and 16U — as well as open women’s and open men’s. There will be a minimum of four teams and a maximum of six teams per division.
Registration fees are $350 per team and $50 for individuals, but the tournament will be free for spectators. Registration is due June 30. Forms can be obtained from and turned in to recreation@ hawaiicounty.gov, or at 799 Pi‘ilani Street; Hilo, HI 96720.
What is Futsal?
Futsal is similar to soccer — but with five players per side, a 40-minute match duration, pitch and goal dimensions from handball, and goalkeeper rules from water polo. It is typically played indoors on a hard court.
Futsal is also usually played with a smaller and harder ball than soccer.
The name “Futsal” comes from a contraction of the Spanish “fútbol sala” — which means “indoor soccer.”
Invented in 1930’s Uruguay, the game eventually spread throughout South America — where the rules were standardised and the first international confederation was formed in 1965. In 1989, FIFA took over as the sport’s governing body, holding the first edition of its World Cup that January in the Netherlands.
It is normal in many countries for young players to grow up playing futsal. This includes soccer stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Wissam Ben Yedder.