Jewish players in contention for Futsalroos squad
Australia’s men’s futsal team, the Futsalroos, are preparing to play in their first international tournament in almost three years, and will be guided by new national head coach, and current Hakoah Futsal Club head coach, Miles Downie.
Several Jewish players are also in contention to make the Futsalroos squad, which will play in Group B of the 2022 AFF Futsal Championship in Bangkok from April 3-12.
In their pool will be Vietnam, Myanmar and Timor Leste.
The last time Australia played international futsal was in the 2019 AFF Futsal Championship in Vietnam, in a squad that included Jewish players Ethan De Melo from the Mascot Vipers and UK-based Jarrod Basger.
Both are in contention to make the squad again.
Hakoah Futsal Club president Daniel Sharp said Jewish players from the club – which is part of Maccabi NSW – have been asked to attend upcoming Futsalroos squad trials, include Robbie Ezekiel, Gilad Swartz, Jono Barzel and teenage goalkeeper Noah Felich.
“It takes a decade to become an overnight success, and having trained for many years, some Hakoah players are now being recognised as being among the best in the country,” said Sharp.
“Being asked to trial for the national team reflects the huge amount of effort that these guys have put in for many years. They have been part of winning the NSW Futsal Premier League in 2019 – the toughest domestic futsal tournament in Australia –they’ve medalled at the Maccabiah Games, and are now on the cusp of representing their country.”
Downie said becoming Futsalroos head coach is “a dream come true”.
“While there is only a short period before this tournament, we’ll go to Bangkok and give it our very best,” he said.
“There is a lot of excitement in futsal circles regarding the participation of the Futsalroos at the AFF Futsal Championship, and with a lot of exciting young players coming through in Australia, next month represents a great opportunity to start introducing them to international futsal.”
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