McLean Challengers Win Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional U11G Futsal Championship
The MPS Challengers U-11 girls, under the direction of Coach John Guidi, captured the US Futsal Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region Title in a dominating performance over Presidents Day Weekend. The tournament was held in Mansfield and Foxborough Massachusetts from February 16-18, 2008. The Challengers went undefeated in group play against teams from New Jersey, Maryland and Massachusetts, defeated the Baltimore Bays/Ginga in the semi-finals, and the storied futsal-only club, the Barbarian Football Coalition of Pittsburgh PA, in a convincing 3-0 final. The Challengers qualified to play in the USFF national championships to be held in Baltimore in July. Futsal is FIFA's official indoor game, and is played on a hard surface court without walls.
In addition to outdoor soccer, the Challengers also play futbol de salon, better known as "futsal." Futsal is FIFA's official indoor soccer game. Futsal is enjoyed around the world, but particularly in South America where it originated in the 1920s. It is played 5v5 on a hard surface court roughly the size of a basketball court, with no walls. Players wear flats, rather than cleats, and use a special low-bounce ball slightly smaller than a soccer ball. In addition to being extremely fun, the game emphasizes ball control, movement and precision passing. The Challengers, and many other McLean travel teams, compete during the winter months in the Washington Area Regional Futsal League (WARFL). WARFL is one of the largest youth futsal leagues in the country. WARFL also works with the Virginia and Maryland futsal organizations to sponsor futsal state cup championships in the two states. FIFA's US representative for futsal is the US Futsal Federation (USFF) which sponsors regional and national championship tournaments. The Challengers are the 2007 Virginia futsal state cup champions and won the WARFL tournament in both 2006 and 2007.
After a strong winter season and an outstanding second place finish at the Regional Futsal Tournament in
