She has played football from the tender age of eight, kicking the ball around with her father, who taught her all the tricks he knew.

At 10, she joined an all-boys team when a school coach noticed her talent.

"I had a pretty rough time. I had to earn their respect to prove that I deserved to be on the field. Eventually I made it to the starting line-up," says Miriam Delogu.

But after her school days, Delogu found it difficult to keep up her interest in the sport, until two years ago when futsal courts began to pop up all over the Klang Valley.

Now, the 18-year-old college student is captain of a women’s futsal team.

"We play because we love the sport. We’d get together two or three times a week."

Spotting a profitable trend, more operators are cashing in on this market.

The number of women playing futsal has doubled in the last three years, says Sports Planet franchise manager Mohd Nazri Md Akim.

In 2002, only 15 per cent of Sports Planet patrons were female. This has now grown to 30 per cent, and is still increasing.



KICKING UP SOME FUN: Women playing futsal in Subang Jaya. The sport has drawn interest among women as a fun way to exercise and meet people.

"Some even come from as far as Singapore to participate in tournaments."

There is even a Sports Planet-managed futsal venue in Subang Jaya which caters specially to women.

Its pitches are smaller and it has a ladies’ changing room.

Sports Planet also offers women discounts of up to 50 per cent on Sundays and Mondays. Not surprisingly, the women note that more men are beginning to turn up on Monday nights to play, and perhaps to watch.

Futsal originally spread in South America where it was called futebol de salao or indoor football. Unlike the 11-a-side, futsal needs just five players and the court is about one-third the size of a full pitch.

The smaller pitch and shorter game period means a lot of energy and speed are required to play. At the same time, players have more contact with the ball, which helps them develop skills such as decision-making and passing.

Because the rules prohibit sliding tackles, shoulder charges and other rough football tricks, women can play without worrying about getting hurt.

For assistant manager Amida Othman, 25, who plays at Sports Unlimited, futsal has proved to be an effective way to get in shape and meet people with similar interests.

"I wasn’t interested in sports but when Sports Unlimited offered free futsal training two years back, I decided to give it a shot." Now Amida meets up with friends to play once a week.

Teammate Sazrina Samad, 24, also enthuses about futsal, saying it is an affordable sport.

History of futsal

* The term "futsal" is the international term for the game, derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word futbol or futebol for soccer, and the French or Spanish word salon or sala for indoors.

* Also known as Five-A-Side.

* Originated in Montevideo in Uruguay, when Juan Carlos Ceriani devised a five-a-side version of soccer for youth competitions in YMCAs in 1930.

* Gained popularity throughout South America, particularly in Brazil.

* Popular footballers Pele, Zico, Socrates and Bebeto developed their skills playing futsal.

* Now played worldwide under the auspices of world football governing body FIFA.

* First international competition held in 1965, won by Paraguay.

* Brazil were crowned the first FIFA Futsal World Champions in January 1989.