Futsal and Beach Soccer: last Sunday’s traditional gathering enhanced by distinguished guests

DAY 1 for the refereeing team assigned to futsal did not fall on Tuesday 3rd, nor on Monday 2nd, but on Sunday 1st October, when the referees of the small-sided game met at San Marino Stadium for the traditional pre-season gathering. It was a chance to build team spirit before the real action began – which in their case would start little more than 24 hours later – but also an opportunity to review the most recent amendments to the Laws of the Game. Presiding over the day, and in particular over the key educational sessions, was a truly high-profile panel of “instructors”: from the CAN 5 Élite Commissioner (and UEFA Referee Observer) Angelo Galante, to the CONS Beach Soccer Head (and FIFA Beach Soccer Instructor) Michele Conti, through to Martina Piccolo, CAN 5 Élite referee and also a FIFA international referee for futsal. As can be inferred, even the youngest of the disciplines overseen for some time now by the ASA, namely Beach Soccer, had its due and important place within the programme at the Stadium. This was particularly appropriate given the extraordinary progress being made by international referee Raffaele Delvecchio, now a regular presence at the top international competitions in this discipline, most recently the European Championship staged on the sands of Alghero. As per tradition, the gathering was opened by greetings from FSGC President Marco Tura and the Head of the Futsal Department, Valeria Canini. At lunchtime it was then the CAN President, Cristiano Ascari, who brought his greetings, not in person but via Zoom due to overlapping professional commitments. The sessions of the gathering continued into the afternoon, also featuring a few lighter, recreational moments. Finally, it was ASA Futsal Head, Massimo Nanni, who brought proceedings to a close, taking the opportunity to wish all the Biancazzurri referees the very best of luck ahead of the imminent start of the season.

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