Fadhil Yunus
Futsal remains one of the more popular sports in Brunei Darussalam, as is highlighted by the strong presence of both recreational futsal and series of competitions.
To this end, local certified instructor Haji Puspa bin Haji Mohammad from the futsal fraternity hopes to articulate his vision of reinventing and transforming the sport in line with its recent modernisation, as seen as in many countries.
The establishment of Gol Brasil Futsal Institute of Brunei Darussalam aspires to produce and nurture a pool of both quality players and coaches with a fresh and modern perspective. Gol Brasil, an institution designed to develop young futsal players and export them to the world, was initially based in Brazil and is coordinated by CBF A License coaches.
It has since been expanded to Australia as an affiliated member and is developed as a programme by the Australian Football Association (AFA) which seeks to target academy teams, futsal schools, holiday camps and international tours.
It is widely recognised as the largest and fastest growing futsal specific development programme in Australia, and has also been expanded to some states in Malaysia.
In 2019, Haji Puspa with the assistance of Gol Brasil Australia introduced the concept and philosophy of the programme to Brunei Darussalam. The move was made possible after receiving his badges as a certified international instructor of Gol Brasil Futsal Institute, enabling him to run grassroots futsal coaching courses on behalf of Gol Brasil and Vikings Futsal Global.
Since receiving his certification, Haji Puspa was selected as a course instructor in Debak, Sarawak in July 2019 before being chosen to conduct the Gol Brasil Futsal Level 0 and Level 1 Community Coaching Course in Kuching in November 2019.
After setting up the Gol Brasil Futsal Institute of Brunei Darussalam, the Gol Brasil Futsal Community Coaching Course Level 1 was introduced in Brunei Darussalam and attracted 12 local participants, including coaches from domestic futsal clubs.
As part of the course, participants are taught the introduction to basic rotation, principles of dribbling, shooting, and passing and support play. The course should be viewed as an alternative platform to the existing organisation and support the existing coaching pool to ensure that they are better equipped when they attend courses such as ones hosted by Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
It offers the wider community even with basic and limited coaching experience opportunities to train players through a meticulous and thorough internationally-acclaimed programme, thus supplementing the existing coaching pool who are in different stages of development.
The course educates participants not only in familiarising the key concepts of futsal but also provides them technical knowledge and the necessary tools to develop the current or new generation of players.
Recently, Haji Puspa conducted the Gol Brasil Futsal Coaching Community Course Certificate Level 1, reviving activities that have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The diversity of participants is such that it included Dr Jimmy Chin, a medical professional who intends to take up a coaching course aligned with his passion and interest in futsal.
“Knowing the history now after Haji Puspa introduced the origins of futsal, I think the big draw for me is sharing the knowledge and accessibility of the knowledge where at the grassroots level, people can come and join the course easily without too many layers.
“My hope is greater collaboration and support so Brunei futsal can improve. The skillsets that you gain from futsal such as agility and working in tight spaces can be applied to football.”
With regards to the outcomes of the course, he expressed hopes of gaining personal development and knowledge as well as applying to his teams before adding to contribute in the grassroots level.
