Futsal great urban substitute for soccer

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It is difficult enough trying to spot a small patch of greenery in the capital's concrete jungle, but locating a grassed area the size of a soccer field is becomoing impossible for players of the world's biggest spectator sport.

"That's why everybody I know now plays futsal, instead of soccer," said Edi, 30, who has been playing soccer since he was a toddler.

"Finding a soccer field in Jakarta is hard and expensive. Even the ones that are available are not well-maintained, which can lead to serious injuries."

The lack of adequate and affordable green space to play soccer is the main reason why futsal, an indoor variation of soccer, has been gaining popularity in big cities during the past few years.

Futsal, an acronym derived from the Portugese or Spanish phrase for indoor soccer, requires a playing field of at least 15 meters wide and 25 meters long, smaller compared to soccer's 45 by 90-meter minimum.

The smaller field also means that fewer players are involved during a match, five on each side compared to soccer's standard of 11.

"The smaller size also makes it more fun, everybody gets a chance to touch the ball," said Edi, who plays twice a week after work hours with his friends.

He added that because futsal was played indoors, it fit his schedule better since he often worked until the evening.

"It also makes it possible to play at any time in any condition, rain or shine," he said.

He said that futsal players developed their ball handling and passing skills faster because of the increased ball touches, which he estimated could reach 10 times more than in conventional soccer.

"In soccer, defenders often just linger around doing nothing, in futsal everybody is actively moving and gets a share of the ball," said Edi.

He said that the prices of renting a futsal field, which runs anywhere between Rp 75,000 to Rp 300,000 per hour depending on the facility, was reasonable, especially since it was shared jointly by the players.

"We all split it up equally and end up paying Rp 15,000 for each session, to me its cheap considering the amount of exercise I get and the camaraderie between friends," said Edi.

Currently there are futsal fields all around the city including those in Pejaten, South Jakarta, Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, Senayan, South Jakarta and Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

Edi said that currently the best playing field was Planet Futsal in Kelapa Gading.

"It's the priciest one, but the field's turf is from synthetic grass and is well maintained," said Edi.

Planet Futsal's center manager Damianus Nono said that nowadays interest in futsal has reached a crescendo, at times causing headaches to his staff.

"Even though we officially open at 8 a.m., sometimes people bang at our doors at 7 a.m., others want to play until past midnight," said.

Damianus, who has been with the center since it opened last year.

"When we first opened, we didn't know the demand would be like this," said Damianus, whose center has three fields. "I guess finding an adequate playing field is a real problem in Jakarta."

He estimated that 60 percent of those who played at Planet Futsal were students and 40 percent were adults, most of which came to play directly after work.

He said that the reason aside from the lack of space, the reason that futsal has gained popularity was because it required less people and less equipment.

"You only need to call up four friends to play instead of 10 and you don't really need special shoes to play," he said.

He said that because of the high enthusiasm for futsal, his company would be opening locations in Kuningan, South Jakarta, Sunter, North Jakarta, Medan, North Sumatera, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Pontianak, West Kalimantan and Malang, East Java.

Edi said that the addition of more futsal fields in the city was a positive development.

"Sometimes, because of the high demand, it is hard to reserve a futsal field," said Edi. "Even bribing to get a field doesn't work."