What a BBC Article Could Mean for Futsal

By David Knopf, Futsal World Editor

We have no direct parallel to England’s 47-year drought since it won the 1966 World Cup with a 4-2 final victory over West Germany.

But let's imagine for a moment that ice hockey was founded in the U.S. and that it, far and away, has become our most popular sport.

Then, as Americans traveled the world, we began to export our beloved sport to other nations on distant continents. Years later, ice hockey is the world's most popular sport and America's professional league has become the best and richest in the world.

Then one year, say 1980, the U.S. defeats the Soviet Union to win the Olympic gold medal in a final that captivates the nation and sparks an outpouring of nationalism. The victory goes down in American sports lore as “The Miracle on Ice.”

But years later, there’s been no sequel, no repeat performance. Other nations begin fielding better hockey teams with more skillful players, and the 1980 Olympic trophy begins to tarnish in a display case in Colorado Springs.

Having imagined what that might be like, let's transition back to England and its near-obsession with returning to the glory days of 1966. Theories abound on why England has slipped in international soccer competition, surrendering the pinnacle to nations such as Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Spain.

For more than four decades, English fans have pinned their nation's frustration on everything from the weather to the condition of fields to coaching and the academy system.

Then at the end of March of this year, England’s best-known media outlet, the BBC, comes out with a long feature story entitled “Could Futsal help produce an English Lionel Messi?”

For a nation much smaller and far more compact than the U.S., that would be like The Washington Post or The New York Times running a lead story on an innovation that could return the U.S. to its hockey glory days.

We strongly suggest you read Gary Rose’s BBC story in full at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21533802. The last time we looked, 220 BBC readers cared enough about their national sports passion to comment.

Here's an excerpt that got our attention:

"For years, coaches at grassroots level have had to contend with poor facilities, uneven pitches and unpredictable weather, undoubtedly hindering efforts to improve the technical ability of the next generation of English footballers.

The Football Association has already recognised the need for an overhaul, pledging to invest £150m over the next three years to improve facilities.

However, it is another step they are taking, which won't garner the kind of attention a multi-million pound cash injection has, that could ultimately prove as influential.

The latest edition of "The Future Game"  - the FA's technical guide for young player development - will include a recommendation for a sport which the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo grew up on - Futsal.

Futsal, a small-sided variant of football played between two teams of five players in an indoor arena, is something that has been played for decades in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Italy - countries who have won seven of the previous eight World Cups between them, and are also the top sides in Futsal."

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After you read it, let us know what you think. You can respond to the editor at davidknopf48@gmail.com. And, as usual, you're always welcome to share an opinion or story idea with us.