Bonner states belief in futsal

With Shamrock Rovers FC in Austria to make their UEFA Futsal Cup debut this week, the Republic of Ireland are among the latest nations to embrace the small-sided game. And there are some powerful figures backing the sport within the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

Irish bow
Packie Bonner, FAI technical director, is best known as a goalkeeper capped 80 times by Ireland, famed for a penalty save in the 1990 FIFA World Cup against Romania that helped his nation to victory and a place in the quarter-finals. Bonner believes there is considerable benefit to embracing futsal, after the success of their first national championship for Under-21 sides earlier this year that earned Rovers their place in Europe.

'Huge change'
Bonner told uefa.com: "There are two areas we are focusing on when we promote futsal through the country. Obviously the technical side, there is no question about that because the rules are different and you don't get the same tackling and body contact and you are allowed to develop your skills without that pressure of waiting for a tackle to come in, But the other thing is the psychological side of it. The way the rules are laid out when it comes to the sixth tackle there is a penalty. We've recognised that...when it got to the fifth tackle players were shouting: 'Don't tackle, don't tackle'. That to me is a huge change compared to the past."

Next step
The next step is to develop an international side and even a professional league. "We want to get a squad out of it, that would become an squad, and see how that goes," Bonner said. "So yes there is an international dimension to it and a professional dimension to it, but it is a bit down the road for us to run a full professional league for adults, we’ve got to take it in steps. But that would be the vision eventually."

Boon
There is a further benefit to the indoor game. Bonner explained: "We come from a wet climate during the winter, pitches are unplayable for many months and we see futsal as filling that cap. [The Dublin and District Schoolboys League], one of the biggest in Europe, have just passed a rule saying they are going to put seven, eight and nine-year-olds into a futsal league in November and December - that's fantastic, that gives them year round football, 3,000 players getting a taste of futsal."