Online Reporter
Nyasha Kada
MBARE-BASED five aside soccer team, Sunshine Stars, are the champions of the Northern Region Futsal League.
The team was crowned champions after beating Glen Stars 4-0 in their season finale played at their home stadia, Mbare Netball Complex.
Sunshine Stars Club chairman, Dexter Chafa was delighted to have reached this milestone in his maiden season.
“I am so happy that we are the league champions.
“The entire squad from the players to the coach really worked hard and put up commendable performances throughout the entire season.
“ I am also happy about the turnouts at the games, five aside is not really that popular yet with locals but we had good numbers coming through to support at the games which is good for the growth of Futsal in the country, so I would like to also thank the supporters that attended the games” he said.
He however, lamented over the lack of sponsorships from the corporate world.
“Futsal is still growing and needs all the support it can get.
“ We are inviting the corporates and business moguls to come and be part of Futsal.
“There is great potential in the game and a lot of potential to be unlocked,” he added.
Former Futsal player and Sunshine Stars coach, Aaron Madedza who also scooped coach of the year award added that he was happy with the team’s performance.
“It was tightly contested league but our players did exceptionally well on and off the field and that’s why we won.”
The Northern Region league is made up of 10 teams. In second position was 401 FC whilst 16 Views F C came third.
Futsal is a variant of association football played on a smaller field with five players per team, including a goalkeeper.
The name “futsal” is a combination of the Spanish words “fútbol” (football) and “salón” (hall), as it was originally designed to be played indoors.
