Many fans have been waiting for this moment. The group draw for the FISU World University Championship Futsal took place in Lausanne. Right at the start of the men’s tournament, there will be a blockbuster clash between Brazil and Portugal. The Polish University Team can count themselves lucky with the draw.
The summer holidays will be marked by championship-level competition. From 1 to 7 July in Warsaw, 10 women’s teams and 16 men’s teams will compete for medals. Student-athletes from 18 countries around the world will take part in the tournament. Over the course of the week, 48 matches in the men’s tournament and 27 in the women’s tournament will be played in the Polish capital. There is sure to be no shortage of goals, spectacular moves and fast-paced play – in short, everything that has made fans fall in love with indoor football.
After every draw, there is always talk of both the ‘dream group’ and the one nobody wants to be in. This time was no different. In the men’s tournament, two futsal powerhouses – Brazil and Portugal – will face off as early as the group stage. Two years ago, the Brazilians won the silver medal at the World University Championships, whilst the Portuguese were knocked out in the quarter-finals after losing to Croatia, the eventual tournament winners. Group B will also feature teams from Finland and Israel, who will be hoping to spring a surprise.
The bronze medalists from two years ago, France, will face Lebanon, the USA and Georgia. The teams in Group D – Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Lithuania – are also hoping for a good result. In this case, it is difficult to pick a clear favorite to progress.
The Polish University Team has no cause for complaint either. In the men’s tournament, the hosts have been drawn against the Czech Republic, to whom they lost 4–5 in a hard-fought match in 2022, so this presents an opportunity for a rematch. In the group, Poland will also face Cyprus and Costa Rica, who are regular participants in the senior world championships.
In the women’s competition, the Polish team will play Portugal, the 2024 academic world runners-up, as well as Taiwan, Costa Rica and the USA. Meanwhile, the defending champions, Brazil, will compete in Group B, where their rivals will be Germany, Finland, Lebanon and France.
– The Polish men’s team has avoided the top favorites: Brazil, Portugal and France. I really wanted to avoid those teams in the group stage and I’m glad we managed it. Of course, you can’t underestimate anyone. Costa Rica have some excellent individual players. The Czech Republic are on a similar level to Poland – sometimes we win, sometimes they do. In Cyprus, futsal is becoming increasingly popular, although football still dominates there. However, I believe we have a good chance of progressing from the group. In the women’s tournament, Portugal and Brazil will be the main contenders for the title. The battle for third place looks set to be very close, and much will depend on the line-ups of the individual teams. However, I am optimistic,” said Tomasz Aftański, former coach of the Polish University Futsal Team and currently one of the tournament organizers.
The Men’s and Women’s FISU Futsal World University Championships Futsal will be held in three venues: OSiR Włochy, OSiR Bemowo and the Znicza Pruszkow hall.
The event is organised by University Sports Association of Warsaw (AZS Warsaw). The partners of the championships are the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the City of Warsaw, the Local Government of the Mazovia Province and the Polish Football Association. Media patronage for the event is provided by TVP Warsaw and the Futsal-Polska.pl.
11 Jun
