Play Futsal!
By Sally Kerans/ skerans@cnc.com
Thursday, December 8, 2005

No it isn't a shoe store. Futsal, (that's f-u-t-s-a-l ) is coming to town, and it's causing a revolution in soccer. So says Bruce Diver, who sought and received Zoning Board of Appeals approval Monday night to bring the game to Danvers.

Board members might not have understood the game (few do at this point), but they happily approved a futsal facility on Route 1 in the industrial park, which isn't zoned for recreational use.

Diver, front-man for the fledgling futsal league and coach of the third-ranked team in the country, the Black Widows of Masconomet High School, said the building at 7 Electronics Drive, off Route 1 South between Route 62 and Dayton Street, is ready to go but for a court and some paint.

Diver explained the indoor soccer-like game is played on a basketball court with a low-bounce ball and, especially appealing to parents, he said, without the physical contact of soccer.

"I played indoor soccer for years, and I've broken I don't know how many fingers," he told the board.

"Wall soccer gives you bad habits, " he said.

By contrast, he said, futsal doesn't include the pushing and other tough contact of soccer. He said the sport encourages technical and tactical skill-building and is popular among parents and players alike.

It doesn't attract large crowds of spectators, he said, prompting board member Bob Pariseau to say, "Don't forget, we grannies and grampies are spectators."

Accompanying Diver to this week's ZBA meeting was Danvers resident Carla King, coach of a futsal team comprised of Danvers High School girls.

Five players per team are on the court at one time, Diver said. The goalie plays for only four seconds.

Diver has been working for the past few years to promote the sport locally. Games have been played every week at the North Shore Regional Vocational on Log Bridge Road in Middleton.

"It's growing, but I need a place to run it," said Diver.

This will be the first futsal facility in Massachusetts.

The Zoning Board stipulated certain hours of operation and said no concession stand would be allowed at any time, only vending machines.

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USFF sanctioned programs within the state of Massachusetts as of this date comprise:

Boston Futsal League
Catholic Youth Futsal League
Chelsea Futsal Club
Essex County Futsal League
Greater Fall River Futsal League
New England Futsal Academy
Newton Futsal Club
Norfolk County Futsal League
Revere Futsal Club

The Massachusetts Futsal Association is the local representative of the United States Futsal Federation (USFF), which under the banner of United States Soccer, is the national governing body for Futsal in the United States.

Futsal is the only international form of indoor soccer approved by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

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