3 Saskatoon players clinch spots in 1st FIFA Futsal World Cup
Canada won CONCACAF series against teams like Costa Rica, Mexico and Honduras
Canada Soccer's women's futsal national team — which features three Saskatoon players — won the inaugural CONCACAF women's futsal championship in Guatemala City last weekend, clinching a spot in the first-ever FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Futsal is often compared to indoor soccer, but played in a smaller court with a few different rules.
The fast-paced game has made its mark internationally, but is still growing in Canada and across the province.
Saskatoon's Erica Hindmarsh, Jadyn Steinhauer and Jade Houmphanh are three of the 14 Team Canada players who beat Panama 8-2 to win the championship. University of Saskatchewan Huskie Coach Jenson Barandica-Hamilton also joined the team as an assistant coach.
Barandica-Hamilton said he was "amazed" when the team, which had only started playing together earlier this year, was able to secure the win.
"I don't think it has fully sunk in yet," he said.
"What we were able to accomplish is really mind-blowing in a way, considering we beat some countries who had been preparing for years for this event, whereas our program is a very new program."
Alex Derosa, head coach for the Canadian team, was given the opportunity to compete in the tournament at the beginning of January and did not start assembling the team until the middle of February, Barandica-Hamilton said.
"It's a very, very quick turnaround in terms of putting together a national team and going to compete at international level," he said.
Players like Humphrey, Hindmarsh and Steinhauer have been participating in futsal during their off-seasons from soccer, building on their decision making, technical ability, speed of play and creativity, Barandica-Hamilton said.
A surreal moment
Houmphanh, a defender for the team, was finishing one of her nursing shifts when she received a call from Barandica-Hamilton [her coach on the Huskies], who told her she would be one of the 14 girls invited to play on Team Canada. She said it "felt like a very surreal moment."
Houmphanh first got into futsal for fun in 2016 after a former coach introduced it to her.
Houmphanh said many people on the national team were surprised to see people from Saskatchewan playing, as most players were from Quebec and Montreal.
"I feel like myself and my other two teammates that got selected have very unique qualities about ourselves that helped us stand out at the camp and then make the final roster."
The team had no expectations coming into the competition and wanted to see "where they stood," Houmphanh said.
In its first game against Costa Rica, Team Canada lost 2-3. Despite the result, the players gained confidence.
"I think that really solidified us to just see the level that we were at compared to other teams."
The team went on to win four straight games to win the tournament.
Houmphanh said she hopes the success from winning the championship will show it pays to invest in women's sports and give women different opportunities to progress in their athletic careers.
"I feel like sometimes we're overlooked compared to the bigger provinces," she said.
"But there is talent, and there's a lot of good programs going on that is building the sport in our province."
Next up, World Cup
Team Canada is now set to compete at the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup in the Philippines starting on Nov. 21.
Barandica-Hamilton expects a "massive challenge" for his team, which will compete against countries that have professional futsal leagues like Costa Rica, Portugal, Mexico and Brazil.
"But as I said, we're a team that is very 'live in the moment,' are very 'pride in what we do', and and we hope to represent well."
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With files from Sarah Onyango and The Morning Edition