Ronaldo's debt to Futsal

1) The European Futsal Championship trophy weighs 10.5kg and stands 44cm tall. It was created by Design Bridge in London and produced at the GDE Workshop in Milan.

2) Ukrainian-born Konstantin Eremenko holds the record for most goals in a final tournament, scoring eleven times as Russia claimed the 1999 title. He also hit the winning penalty in the final shoot-out victory against Spain.

3) Reigning world champions Spain (FIFA winners in 2000 and 2004) have dominated the UEFA Futsal Cup for club sides. Playas de Castellón FS won the 2002 and 2003 editions before Boomerang Interviú FS took the 2004 title.

4) Petr Fousek of the Czech Republic and Istvan Huszár of Hungary are the chairman and vice-chairman of the UEFA Futsal Committee respectively. The other members are Semen Andreev (Russia), Cornel Cristian Bivolaru (Romania), Boris Durlen (Croatia), Ioannis Economides (Greece), Tomas Gea (Andorra), Javier Lozano (Spain), Pierre Schiepers (Belgium), Antonio Silva Pereira (Portugal) and Fabrizio Tonelli (Italy).

5) Real Madrid CF striker Ronaldo is a major fan of Futsal, admitting his love of the game helped Brazil beat Turkey en route to the 2002 FIFA World Cup final. As the ball came to him, his way seemed blocked by Turkish defenders but he toe-poked the ball into the net. "It was just instinctive and I owe it to playing a lot of Futsal when I was younger."

6) Dutch veteran Edwin Grünholz was top scorer in qualifying for these finals, finding the net ten times in his country's three fixtures. Portugal's Majó was his closest rival with seven goals, although injury will keep him out of the action in Ostrava.

7) Spain, Brazil, Italy, Argentina and Ukraine are the top five teams in the world, according to the rankings issued by the www.futsalplanet.com website.

8) More than 25 million people around the world are said to play Futsal. Aside from Europe it is particularly popular in South America and Asia.

9) It is hoped that Futsal will soon be given recognition by the International Olympic Association to be included at a forthcoming Games. Because of its indoor status, the sport would be able to fit into either the summer or winter programme.

10) While Futsal is a sport in its own right, requiring skills and abilities separate to football, a number of its stars have been able to prove their prowess at both. Former Juventus FC and Real Madrid CF defender Robert Jarni is a Croatian Futsal international, while Falcão, the star man at the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship, has been playing recently for São Paulo FC in Brazil's top flight.