Australia’s national men’s Futsal team, the Futsalroos, have begun their preparations for the 2019 AFF Futsal Championship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in late October.
Head Coach Rob Varela has selected an extended training squad of 25 players from across Australia and Europe as the team prepares for its qualification campaign for the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan in February next year.
“We are excited that we are able to plan and prepare properly for this important tournament with an extended squad and importantly an extended program of training camps leading into the qualifying tournament in Vietnam,” Varela said.
“We are fortunate to have a strong pool of talent with us training in Sydney over the next few weeks and we will announce the final squad of 14 in early October.
“This is the start of a long journey, one which could take us to the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup, so these next few weeks are a vital part of our preparation with players from all over Australia,” he said.
There are two Groups at the 2019 AFF Futsal Championship, with the top three teams from the tournament advancing to the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan.
The Futsalroos have been drawn in Group B with Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Group A features Thailand, Myanmar, Timor-Leste and Cambodia.
The Futsalroos begin their qualification campaign with a game against the host nation on 21 October in Ho Chi Minh City. They meet Malaysia the next day and conclude with a match against Indonesia on 23 October. The semi-finals of the competition will be held on 25 October, with the Final occurring two days later.
The AFC Futsal Championships also act as a qualifier for the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania.
Should Australia qualify for the AFC Futsal Championships, they need to finish in the top four Asian nations to qualify for the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be held in Lithuania from 12 September – 4 October, 2020.
