GOIANIA – Last Tuesday, 31 March, in Goiânia city, Goiás, the 15th World University Futsal Championships was officially launched by CBDU at the Goiás State Governmental Palace. The WUC will take place in the city from 22 to 29 August, 2016. Two Arenas are already confirmed to host the tournament, i.e. Goiânia International Sports Arena and International Sports Arena Newton de Farias in Anápolis. Around 500 student-athletes from approximately 16 countries are expected for the competition.
The Launching Ceremony was honored by the presence of Marconi Perillo, Goiás Governor; Lusimar Santor, WUC OC President, Luciano Cabral, CBDU President and FISU Vice-President and local authorities.
“After the huge success of hosting the Brazilian University Games in 2013, Goiânia has demonstrated once more the result of this success and now we have achieved with a lot effort and commitment the opportunity to host an international sport event. The WUC will be really important for the city, not only because of tourism and the local economy, but also for the development of new generations of Goiás Futsal players”, Lusimar Santos commented.
The 2016 WUC Futsal will be organized by the Brazilian University Sport Association (CBDU) and the Goiás University Sport Federation (FGDU) with local support from the State Government and Goiânia Mayor. This will be the 3rd time the WUC Futsal will be held in Brazil.
CBDU staged the inaugural edition of the Championship, in 1984, in São Paulo City. The second time was in João Pessoa, Paraíba, in 2000. At that time, only the men’s tournament existed. The women’s tournament started only in 2008, in Vitória, the third Brazilian city to have hosted this WUC. At that competition only the women played, while the men’s competition took place in the same year but in another city, Koper, Slovenia.
“Futsal is one of the most popular sports in Brazil. In 2016 Brazil will host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro but futsal is not part of the official Olympic programme. Organizing this WUC in Brazil, right after the Olympics, will bring along an opportunity to bring the WUC Futsal more to the attention of the futsal aficionados around the country and the world”, CBDU President Luciano Cabral explained.
Brazil is a quadruple WUC Futsal Champion with both the women’s and men’s teams. The last title was conquered by the women, in Malaga, Spain, in 2014. The Brazilian girls have also won the Championship in Vitória (2008), Novi Sad (2010) and Braga (2012). Although the men’s team ended up with the silver medal in Spain last year, the Brazilian men won the gold medal in São Paulo (1984), Jyvaskyla (1997), João Pessoa (2000) and Braga (2012).
(Source: Everton Melo, CBDU Press Officer)