Futsal Canada versus El Salvador

Futsal in Canada has been around  for three decades 

and is going to Guatemala for a play off with El Salvador,

The winner will get the last spot  in the Concacaf

Championships , leading to four teams qualification for the 2012 Fifa Futsal World Cup

In the Picture Futaal Canada Founder Carlos Mateus with the Canadian Futsal Team representative at the Brazilian Grand Prix - Goalkeeper Roy Blanche first on the right . 

CONCACAF Press Release:

NEW YORK -- The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced that host and defending champion Guatemala will face the United States, Panama and the winner of a playoff between Canada and El Salvador in Group A at the 2012 CONCACAF Futsal Championship, following a draw held today at the Intercontinental Hotel in Guatemala City.

Group B will consist of Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The tournament will be played July 2-8 at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City, Guatemala, marking the third time that the Central American nation has hosted the event.

To determine the last qualifier, Canada and El Salvador will face off in a two-leg playoff on June 28 and 29, also at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City.

For the first time, CONCACAF will send four teams to a FIFA Futsal World Cup. The next edition will be held Nov. 1-18, 2012, in Thailand.

CONCACAF has staged four previous futsal qualifying events for FIFA tournaments, with the United States taking first place on two occasions (1996, 2004). Costa Rica (2000) and Guatemala (2008) have captured one title each.

A complete schedule will be announced in the coming days.

http://www.futsalplanet.com/news/news-01.asp?id=16539

20/06/2012 Canadian Futsal Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel Montverde coach Robbie Aristodemo joining Canadian National team by Joe Williams June, 19 2012 Montverde girls soccer coach Robbie Aristodemo leaves Wednesday morning to join the Canadian National Futsal team for training in Costa Rica. The Canadian team will be playing in a World Cup qualifying tournament in Guatemala July 2-8. If Canada finishes among the two top teams in the qualifying tournament, they will compete in the Futsal World Cup in Thailand in November. Futsal is a sport similar to indoor soccer. It is played on a court about the size of a basketball court with a smaller, heavier ball and smaller goals than in traditional soccer. Unlike indoor soccer, there are no walls and instead of five field players and a goalkeeper, futsal has one less field player. “This is actually my first time with the futsal side,” said Aristodemo, 35, who retired as a player 1 1/2 years ago and coached at Montverde this past year. “It’s really a totally different game, really popular around the world.” Aristodemo, a midfielder originally from Toronto, has played professional indoor and outdoor soccer and has been a part of the Canadian National teams for Under-17, Under-20, Under-23, Olympics and World Cup. He also played at the University of Tulsa. He has played for the Baltimore Blast (Major Indoor Soccer League), the San Diego Sockers (Professional Arena Soccer League), the Cleveland Force (Major Indoor Soccer League), the Toronto Lynx (United Soccer League Premier Developmental League) and the Seattle Sounders (Major League Soccer). “The call [to the national team] actually took me by surprise,” Aristodemo said about being named to the national team on April 1. “I have played for the coach [Sipho Sibiya] before. I talked to my wife and family and they said to go for it. Since then, I have been training on my own. It was a very big commitment after taking more than a year off. “This kind of gives me one last hurrah.”

Futsal Canada Founder Carlos Mateus in Brazil coaching futsal at College level. "I wish all the best of luck to the Canadian Team in Guatemala.