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Raymond Jaravaza
A BULAWAYO Five-A-Side League pre-season tournament is scheduled to kick off at the Bulawayo Athletics Club (BAC) with all local clubs expected to take part, an official has said.
The tournament, which will be run over two weekends, will be used as a yardstick to gauge the level of preparedness of players, club coaches and referees before the league resumes in April.
Local five-a-side football is making a return after a three-year hiatus.
Last year the Bulawayo Five-A-Side League executive organised a course for coaches, referees and administrators that was conducted by former Zifa High Performance Committee member Gibson Homela where he took participants through the theoretical and practical as well as sports medicine aspects of the game.
a�?Now is the time for the participants who took part in last yeara��s course to apply what they learnt on the field of play. Remember five aside football has not been played since 2014 so we want to use the pre-season tournament to gauge the strength of our teams before the league starts in April.
a�?On Sunday teams will play in the preliminary stages of the tournament then we proceed from the quarter finals right up to the final match the following weekend,a�? said Bulawayo Five-A-Side League vice-chairman Chance Moyo.
All the 10 clubs based in various suburbs across Bulawayo will take part in the pre-season tourney.
Five-A-Side football a�� also known globally as futsal a�� is played on a smaller field and sometimes in indoor venues.
It is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper and unlimited substitutions are permitted, the ball has less bounce than a regular football due to the surface of the field.
The surface, ball and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.
Nationally Futsal falls under a Zifa Standing Committee led by chairperson Felton Kamambo who also doubles up as the Zifa Central Region League boss.
Online Reporter