My futsal past...

When a former colleague of mine asked me about futsal today, he really caught me off guard. He thought I was still working at my former company and by default, still the futsal organiser. I told him I was no longer working there but would ask those who were still there about the current futsal arrangements.

As I talked to another former colleague who was still working there, I couldn’t help recall the time I used to organise weekly futsal. It all began when a colleague who was is an avid football fan suggested we play futsal during the excitement of the 2006 World Cup. The timing was pure genius. The turnout wouldn’t have been so great had it been any other time. The rest is history. He routinely got people to play futsal week after week. When he left the company a few months later, I took over the organising duties. After a while, it wasn’t easy getting enough headcount each week. I remember having to come up with catchy emails and doing cubicle rounds to get people to come.

In the beginning, we played at Section 13 on Sunday afternoons but as the headcount became less and less, we decided to play on Monday night instead. A lot of people couldn’t make it because Sunday was spent with family. Monday night wasn’t easy for me at first; I didn’t like playing at night especially after a tiring day at work but I got used to it. We played at a futsal centre in Puchong because at the time, there was no futsal court in Cyberjaya. It may seem like madness playing futsal from 8pm to 10pm on Monday nights, but it did somehow get rid of Monday blues :P

Then, as if our prayers were answered, a futsal court opened at a sports centre in Cyberjaya. What a relief, not having to drive so far (well, relatively far) at night just to play futsal! Actually, there were two futsal courts in Cyberjaya then; one was indoor and the other outdoor. I preferred the outdoor court as the floor was more bouncy but because it wasn’t grass, unlike the indoor court, players were more susceptible to injury. And what a long list of injuries we would get after each game. The girls tended to be more aggressive because the knew the guys held back :P Next morning, we would complain about our injuries and body aches. I usually had toe injuries due to the double combination of not wearing proper futsal shoes and not kicking the ball the proper way.

Sigh, I miss those days…