Just over a year ago, the Futsal World Championship took place in
Guatemala. It was a huge success in every respect, and as a direct
result, Futsal continues to make astonishing progress, winning more
fans and becoming more and more professional.

utsal fans look back fondly on the tournament, and on the final in
particular. The culmination of the fourth Futsal World Championship
was reached on 3 December in the sold-out Domo arena in Guatemala
City. 7,500 passionate fans witnessed a classic encounter between
Spain and Brazil, with the Iberians winning a dramatic match 4-3. It
was the first time in the history of the championship that Brazil had
not triumphed.


Action from the final of the FIFA Futsal World Championship 2000
between Spain and Brazil (4-3). Photos: Dan Motz

The players fully enjoyed playing in the championship, and their
enthusiasm was more than matched by that of the entire Futsal
community. Guatemala 2000 was an extraordinary event. It was
organised to perfection, and the atmosphere in the two arenas in the
capital city (Domo and Teodoro Palacios Flores) was red-hot. Nearly
100,000 fans witnessed the 40 games – a new record for a Futsal
World
Championship. The 16 teams treated us all to some wonderful games,
scoring a hatful of goals along the way. The level of play continues
to improve, and teams and officials alike could only praise the whole
event, impressed as they were by the radiating warmth of the
Guatemalans.

"The last World Championship did wonders for our sport and has helped
us to take enormous strides forward," said Víctor Beceiro, who is
in
charge of Futsal at FIFA.

Beceiro admitted to being overwhelmed by the positive reaction to the
tournament in Central America. Guatemala 2000, and the inaugural two-
day Futsal seminar with about 100 participants, has helped the sport
reach new levels of popularity around the world. Futsal is currently
played competitively in about 100 countries, and most of them are
using FIFA's guidelines and concept to move the game in the right
direction.

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