The International Futsal League made a return in Singapore last Thursday, after two years of inaction, no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The league is made up of teams that are part of the international communities based in Singapore. It is akin to the Champions League where the teams may represent a certain nation but their players hail from across the globe.
The pandemic, unfortunately, took a toll on the teams as the league, which at one time boasted 14 teams, only saw seven teams participating in the 19th edition this year.
During its formative seasons, the league was known as the Corporate Futsal League. It later evolved into an international league, thus the change in name.
Like in the previous editions, this season was sponsored by Sahara Bar & Restaurant. The eatery is co-owned by former footballer, Esad Sejdic. The Serbian, who had played in the S-League and M-League before, had also featured in the futsal league.
His team, the Kabuki Knights, was one of the pandemic’s casualties.
Gurdwara Katong FC (GKFC) and Predators FC kicked off the season opener. GKFC is a multi-racial team representing a Sikh gurdwara in the republic, while Predators is made up of players primarily from Europe.
Both teams were tied 3-3, and the winning goal was the result of a mistake by Predators’ Raphael Reich, that allowed Dashmesh Singh to score a hattrick and his team’s fourth goal.
The following match was between Joga Bonito – a team of Malaysians – and Singaporean side SKR.
SKR consisted of players regarded as among the best in the five-aside scene in Singapore. They include K. Senthil and K. Kelvin, who have also featured for other teams previously.
SKR won 8-2 but they were in for some special attention from their opponents. It was commendable that some tough challenges didn’t put them off their game, as they kept their cool, and let their football do the talking.
Joga Bonito didn’t live up to the meaning of its name, and their frustration was compounded, as they believed they were denied a goal.
The day’s action ended with the Japanese team, SGP making its debut against another debutant, Malaysian side, FC Certis Rangers (FCCR).
The Japanese team impressed from the get-go. They were punctual as a team, and organised in their warm-up, with their team captain explaining the rules to them. And when they were playing, their bags were neatly arranged in a line.
On the pitch though, they were caught by surprise by FCCR’s fast play. FCCR took a deserved 2-1 lead into half-time.
In the second half, SGP upped the ante and went on to break the hearts of the valiant Malaysians with a 6-5 score.
For FCCR’s captain, T. Arun Kumar, it was a poignant return to action. He paid tribute to his former coach, the late Serbegeth Singh by bringing a Tottenham Hotspur jersey with the name ‘Shebby’ printed on it.
Arun was one of the players who was part of MyTeam, a team conceptualised from a reality television show in Malaysia. The team was coached by Serbegeth, a former international who passed away in January.
MyTeam went on to take the national team, comprising mostly Under-20 players, with three senior footballers. Arun was best remembered for scoring the opening goal of the match that stunned FA of Malaysia officials. MyTeam, however, were edged 2-1 in the match.
One more team that has yet to play, and is the only survivor from the previous season, is ProFut5al.
It is made up of Portuguese and Brazilian players.
It would be interesting to see if the pandemic had blunted them, or if they remain flamboyant and passionate.
We shall also see if they are still the life of the party at the end of the season, especially after several players had become fathers over the past two years.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
