KARACHI: Installation of floodlights at futsal arena inside the Olympian Iftikhar Syed Academy has been completed, making it Pakistan’s first futsal arena with facilities for night matches. It will be inaugurated soon.
There are facilities for various other sports at the academy, including hockey at synthetic turf under floodlights.
The arena has been developed due to the fast increasing popularity of the game among the youth of Karachi. Around 32 teams participated in a recently held local futsal tourney at the basketball court in the same play ground.
Futsal is a variant of football, played on a smaller pitch, usually indoors. It is played in 40 minutes time with halves of 20 minutes. Olympian Iftikhar Syed, president of the academy, said that the floor of the fustal arena is fully marbled and two moveable goal posts have been installed at both side of the field.
The arena is fully covered with a strong net to stop the ball from going outside the arena.
Syed said that he had invited the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to organise a futsal tournament at the academy featuring top national and regional clubs.
He said that PFF responded enthusiastically and expressed its delight over the construction of first floodlit futsal arena. He further said that the arena would also be used for playing skating hockey.
From: The News