New Caledonia Futsal team hoping to make in the top three at the OFC Futsal Championship
The New Caledonia Futsal squad is hoping to finish amongst the top three teams of the Oceanic Football Confederation Futsal Championship.
This time they are looking for a semi-final place at the competition which will run for five days, from May 16 to 20, 2011. The championship will be held at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji.
The New Caledonia team has been placed in Group B of the draws. The team will be competing against current champions Solomon Islands, francophone rivals Tahiti and underdogs Tuvalu. Group A comprises of host nation Fiji along with Kiribati, New Zealand and
Vanuatu.
Although the New Caledonia team is facing tough draws, yet they will be strong competitors for a semi-final place.
The coach of the New Caledonia team Eric Michalak said, “Our main objective is to make the semi-finals, after that anything is possible, we are not the favourites but we have the ability to finish in the group's top two places.”
The coach of the squad is aware of the competition the team will be facing. The Solomon Islands have won the championship since the last three years and have also featured in the 2008 FIFA Futsal Championship.
Eric Michalak added, “It will be tough as they are the favourites and have set the benchmark for futsal in Oceania for the last three years. They also participated in the last FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2008 in Brazil. They are on a higher level than everyone
else but anything can happen in a one-off competition.”
The numbers of participating teams have increased to eight in the 2011 championship. The winner will earn a place at the 2012 FIFA Futsal Championship going to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The New Caledonia team has the most number of the players on the squad who have participated in the 2010 OFC Futsal Championship. There are only two new faces in the squad, Elia Kaudre as a defender and midfielder Julien Drudri.
The team from New Caledonia will face a tough challenge in the group against defending champions Solomon Islands. Their second match is also going to be a tough one against Tahiti.
The New Caledonia team has worked really hard during the last one year. They have featured in a lot of matches in order to gain pace and efficiency in the style of play.
Futsal is the new face of football. The OFC is striving hard to develop the sport in the region. FIFA is also extending its full support to promote the game.
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