A Bright Future For Futsal
As an advert for the sport of futsal, the tournament was an unequivocal success. Over the 12 days of competition the accumulated attendance was just under 90,000 and the final was a sell out well in advance. When you consider the hosts were knocked out in the group phase as expected it is even more impressive. This demonstrates that futsal is able to produce enough interest to generate income and be self-sustainable. Futsal is such an amazing sport to play and watch that, even if it continues to receive little support and resources for its development, I am sure reaching this stage is inevitable.
The event organisers, UEFA, should be commended for the excellent organisation and promotion of the tournament. The introduction of the black court at Hungary 2010 was a good idea and differentiates futsal from other indoor sports. However the decision to have a dark coloured ball this year was clearly a mistake that needs to rectified for the next edition. But, overall, they presented the competition splendidly and left a positive impression of futsal.