8th WORLD UNIVERSITY FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Nyiregyhaza, Hungary
August 24th - 31st, 2002
On August 24th, the Opening Ceremony of the 8th World University Futsal Championship took place in the city center of Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. It was witnessed by all the participants and by hundreds of Hungarians who gathered around. At 8:30 PM the 12 delegations marched past the crowds and the invited VIPs. The FISU flag was raised and the Gaudeamus played. Dr. Robert Frenkl, President of the Organizing Committee gave a speech welcoming all the delegations to the Championship. Ms. Laszlone Csabai, Mayor of Nyiregyhaza also welcomed the delegations to the city and spoke about the tradition of sport in Nyiregyhaza. Mr. Ferreira de Sousa, FISU EC delegate thanked the Mayor and the OC and officially declared the Futsal Championship open. Mr. Lazlo Helmeczy, President of the County Council was also present.
Next came the cultural program. About 40 children displayed their futsal and basketball skills while female cheerleaders cheered them on. Following this performance, the crowds were treated to some traditional Hungarian dancing. Following these 2 performances, the crowds and teams were invited to stay in the square to enjoy some rock music and dancing which went on until midnight. The VIPs were then invited to the County House for a formal reception. Those present included CISCA reps, OC VIPs, Referees, and three leaders from each delegation. Mr. Lazlo Helmeczy gave a toast to those present and to the success of the Championship. Mr. Ferreira de Sousa thanked Mr. Helmeczy for his support and presented him with a FISU plaque of the Championship.
Referee Seminar
On the same day, Mr. Tom Van Der Hulst, FIFA delegate held a 'referee seminar' for the futsal referees. All the referees from the participating countries (12 referees present) gathered to discuss the modifications to the rules of Futsal.
'Champagne Clink'
The FISU family, referees and Heads of Delegations were invited by Ms. Laszlo Csabai, the Mayor of Nyiregyhaza to the City Hall on Monday afternoon August 26th for a 'Champagne Clink”'in honor of the 8th World University Futsal Championship 2002. The Mayor welcomed the guests and spoke about the history of Nyiregyhaza and its sport traditions. She warmly welcomed all the participants of the Futsal Championship and wished them all the best in the days to come. The CISCA Chairman, Mr. Ferreira de Sousa thanked the Mayor for the welcome to Nyiregyhaza and all the support the government has given to the World University Futsal Championship. Mr. Ferreira de Sousa presented the Mayor with a gift on behalf of FISU. The guests were then welcomed on to the balcony of the city hall for a beautiful view of Kossuth square in the center of Nyiregyhaza.
Semi-Finals
Hungary played against the Russian Federation and Italy met Ukraine in the semi-finals of the tournament Friday evening, August 30th at the Nyiregyhaza arena. Even with the home court advantage the Hungarian team was unable to score against the powerful Russian team who ended up winning the encounter 2 – 0. The battle for the second spot in the finals went to Italy as they defeated Ukraine 4 – 2.
Finals
Russia and Italy met for the battle of the gold medal of the 8th World University Futsal Championship on Saturday, August 31st, at the Nyiregyhaza arena. The crowd was quickly brought into the match as Russia scored the first goal in the first couple of minutes of play. The Italians responded quickly by tying the game at the 5:43 mark of the first half. Inspired by the cheers of the crowd, Russia took the lead once again bringing the score to 2-1. Both teams heated up at the 10 minute mark of the first half and were each given red cards as a result. Although the teams played 4 against 4 for 2 minutes, neither team was able to score. However, #10, Ionov Gennady added to Russia’s lead going into half time with a rocket shot 10 meters out of the net.
Although Italy was placing a lot of pressure on the Russian Federation in the second half, they were unable to score. A beautiful save by the Russian goalie # 16 Serguei Zouev helped the Russian team maintain a comfortable lead with 8 minutes left in the game. In a desperate attempt to score, Italy pulled their goalie with 3 minutes to go and played with 5 players in the pitch. With the extra man advantage #7, Mirko Antonazzi had a great scoring opportunity, which was soured by another beautiful save by Russian goalie Serguei. Russia secured their lead with an open net goal scored with 7 seconds left in the game. The final score in the gold medal match of the tournament was Russian Federation 4 – Italy 1.
Medal Awarding and Closing Ceremony
The medal awarding ceremony took place at the Nyiregyhaza sport hall following the final game. The teams marched into the venue to the delight of the Hungarian crowd. The Russian Federation was presented with the gold medal, the Italians with the silver and the bronze went to the Ukraine team who defeated hometown favorite Hungary 5-3. Following the medal awarding ceremony, FISU EC delegate Mr. Ferreira de Sousa closed the 8th World University Futsal Championship thanking the Organizing Committee for all their work and the participating teams for putting on a great Championship.
Top-Notch Referee Present
The 8th World University Futsal Championship not only had top international competitors participating, but was also packed with top notch international referees, such as Mr. Pedro Galan Nieto. Mr. Galan accompanied the Spanish team to the Championship and is an international FIFA Futsal referee whom Mr. Tom Van Der Hulst, FIFA Delegate, has characterized as “one of the best FIFA international Futsal referees in the world.” Mr. Galan has extensive international Futsal refereeing experience. He participated as a referee in the FIFA World Futsal Championship in Hong Kong in 1992, Spain in 1996 and Guatemala in 2000. Mr. Galan has also been a Futsal referee instructor for FIFA for over four years and as Mr. Van Der Hulst explained, he is always a great help for his colleagues both on the pitch and in the class rooms. Pedro Galan Nieto’s long history with FISU began at the 4th World University Futsal Championship in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1994, the first year that FIFA referees participated in our World University Championship program.
FINAL RANKING
1. Russian Federation 2. Italy 3. Ukraine 4. Hungary 5. Yugoslavia 6. Spain 7. Portugal 8. Israel 9. Poland 10. Cyprus 11. Turkey Not ranked: Kazakhstan (withdrew)
DAY BY DAY RESULTS
DAY 1 - 25/08 C 1 Spain vs Cyprus 12 - 1 B 2 Yugoslavia vs Poland 7 - 3 D 3 Israel vs Kazakhstan 8 - 1 A 4 Ukraine vs Turkey 19 - 2 DAY 2 - 26/08 A 5 Hungary vs Turkey 20 - 0 C 6 Russian Federation vs Cyprus 21 - 1 B 7 Italy vs Poland 9 - 2 D 8 Portugal vs Kazakhstan 6 - 0 DAY 3 - 27/08 D 9 Israel vs Portugal 1 - 2 B 10 Yugoslavia vs Italy 5 - 4 A 11 Ukraine vs Hungary 3 - 3 C 12 Spain vs Russian Federation 2 - 4 DAY 4 - 28/08 - Rest Day DAY 5 - 29/08 13 Hungary vs Israel 3 - 2 14 Italy vs Spain 2 (3) - 2 (1) 15 Russian Federation vs Yugoslavia 4 - 0 16 Portugal vs Ukraine 1 - 2 17 Turkey vs Kazakhstan 4 - 8 18 Poland vs Cyprus 11 - 2 DAY 6 - 30/08 19 Israel vs. Yugoslavia 1 - 5 20 Spain vs. Portugal 2 - 1 21 Hungary vs. Russian Federation 0 - 2 22 Italy vs. Ukraine 4 - 2 23 Poland vs Kazakhstan cancelled 24 Turkey vs Cyprus 3 - 8 DAY 7 - 31/08 - Place 9-12 25 Turkey vs Poland 3 - 21 26 Cyprus vs Kazakhstan cancelled - Place 7-8 27 Israel vs. Portugal 3 - 6 - Place 5-6 28 Yugoslavia vs. Spain 2 - 1 - Place 3-4 29 Hungary vs. Ukraine 3 - 5 - Place 1-2 30 Russian Federation vs. Italy 4 - 1
Spain vs. Italy
Israel vs. Kazakhstan
