Former Cardiff City FC players came up trumps in a head to head collision against the Welsh Futsal Select team on Friday, in the first ever Cardiff City Legends Futsal Match to support children's charity, Ty Hafan. The big game at the @Futsal arena in Llanishen, Cardiff, saw former stars such as Jason Perry, Neal Ardley, Andy Legg, Martyn Margetson, and Scott Young showing their support for the charity by coming out to play the fastest growing indoor sport on the planet. Current stars Joe Ledley and Stephen McPhail were also present to watch the action. £1,000 was donated to Ty Hafan after the event.
The game ended 5-3 to the Cardiff City Legends. Their fate looked uncertain at the end of the first half when the Welsh Futsal Select team was 2-0 up, but goals from Neal Ardley and Scott Young saw them triumph by full time. Spectators enjoyed collecting signatures from the players in their programmes, and were treated to a freestyle football display by Ash Randall, who has featured in television adverts alongside stars including Wayne Rooney and Thierry Henry. Life-limited children from Ty Hafan attended the match to watch the action along with their families. The Under 9's Cardiff City Academy team played a preview match before the big event, and cheered on the Legends throughout their game.
The fun was rounded off with a £1,000 donation from @Futsal to Ty Hafan at the end of the night. Managing Director Frank Rodriguez, who presented the cheque, said: "Handing over that cheque and knowing it will make a difference was fantastic. Everyone at @Futsal thinks the world of Ty Hafan, and we're delighted to have helped support such a worthy cause. It was great seeing how quickly the ex-Cardiff City players picked it up; it's very similar to 11-a-side football with just a few modified rules to suit the indoor format."
Ex-Cardiff City player Andy Legg said: "It was a really fun event, we all enjoyed playing Futsal and knowing you're supporting such an important charity is a good feeling." Frank Ady, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Ty Hafan, added: "We were thrilled that @Futsal and Cardiff City chose Ty Hafan as their charity of choice."
Until now, Wales has been one of just a handful of nations in the world not to be involved in the increasingly popular Futsal sport often branded 'the future of 5-a-side football'. The Welsh Futsal Select team players came from all over the world including Albania, China, Iran, England and Wales.
@Futsal Cardiff is a state-of-the-art indoor arena offering four FIFA Futsal pitches, one international FIFA Futsal pitch, live video replays of your game, a Sports Bar, electronic pitch-side score boards, hi-tech Futsal sports flooring, a multifunction room, changing rooms with showers and plentiful spectator seating.
The game is played between two teams of five players, each team being allowed up to seven substitutes due to the energetic nature of the game. Although similar to football in some respects, playing arena boundaries are marked with lines and not walls or boards, and the ball can be kicked above head height so goals are a similar size to hockey goals. Corners can be taken and throw-ins are replaced by kick-ins from touch lines, both of which must be taken within four seconds. Futsal is the international game which saw stars such as Ronaldo, Robinho and Fabregas developing the skills that have shot them to worldwide fame.
Futsal is the only officially recognised form of indoor football by worldwide football governing body FIFA. It is also supported by UEFA and the FAW, and is emerging as an integral part of their plans. It is the world's fastest growing sport with 30million players across the globe.
To sign up a team at @Futsal Cardiff, or to book a pitch, just call 0871 2000 950 or head to www.futsaluk.net. @Futsal also offers free taster sessions. To donate to Ty Hafan, just go to the Ty Hafan website at www.tyhafan.org.
