The FIFA Futsal World Cup, an event that is largely ignored in the United States even by soccer diehards, will be played in Brazil this September and FIFA held the Final Draw today. The US team was drawn into Group C along with Italy, Portugal, Paraguay, and Thailand. US coach Keith Tozer had this to say about the draw, “It is a difficult group, but any group at this level is going to present different challenges...Italy and Portugal are two of the top futsal teams in the world, and our group also features two up and coming teams in Thailand and Paraguay.” The tournament will feature twenty teams for the first time. The twenty teams will be divided into four groups of five, from which the top two teams will advance. The 8 advancing teams will then participate in a second round-robin which will determine the semi-finalists.

I've always thought that the US Soccer Federation should push futsal more heavily in the US. The game, which is played on a basketball court sized field with five players to a side, is extremely good at developing close control and skill on the ball, both of which are generally lacking in American players. In fact, most Brazilian players credit their extraordinary ability with the ball to Futsal. In addition, US Soccer has expressed a desire to make the game more readily available to urban children. Soccer has earned a reputation in the US as a game played only amongst affluent suburbanites, at the expense of a significant proportion of the nation's youth. Futsal is more conducive to being played in an urban environment than full-sided soccer games. Games could be played in gyms and basketball courts in cities across the country. It's an option that I think is worth pursuing.

Increased television coverage would be welcome, as well. I'd love to be able to watch both the Futsal World Cup and the Beach Soccer World Cup on television. As yet, that option appears to be unavailable. I'm looking at you Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV.

The Groups:
Group A: Brazil, Russia, Japan, Cuba, Solomon Islands
Group B: Italy, Portugal, Thailand, Paraguay, USA
Group C: Argentina, Ukraine, China PR, Guatemala, Egypt
Group D: Spain, Czech Republic, Iran, Uruguay, Libya