About

WHO WE ARE

Macedon Ranges Futsal (MRF) is a volunteer run not for profit incorporated association overseen by a small committee. We were established in 1998 in order to organise and promote futsal in the Macedon Ranges area. We are affiliated with Football Federation of Victoria (FFV), the governing body for futsal and soccer in Victoria and the Australian Futsal Association (AFA). Our motto is ‘Making a difference through futsal’. Our primary aim is youth development in all areas.

What is futsal?

Futsal is a fast fun five-a-side version of indoor soccer usually played on netball-sized courts. The name futsal comes from the Spanish fútbol sala or fútbol de salón and from Portuguese futebol de salão. The game is thought to have originated in Uruguay at around the time of the country’s victory in the 1930 soccer World Cup and is now played across the world. Many of the stars of outdoor soccer from South America and Europe including Pele and Ronaldo played futsal in their youth. There is a widely held view that futsal is a powerful way to develop the quick decision making, artful teamwork and individual skill that make for great players and teams in soccer and many other sports.

 

WHAT WE DO

Our mission

We exist to give people in the Macedon Ranges the opportunity to play the great sport of futsal affordably and in a safe, inclusive, fun and encouraging environment. Our deeper purpose is to give young people in the area the full benefits of participating in team sport and - through their involvement - to develop to their potential on and off the court.

In order to achieve this, we:

  • run a futsal competition for players of all levels from 6 years of age to adults
  • offer a training academy (called Skillz) overseen by experienced coaches for young players who want to learn how to play and develop their foundational skills
  • give young people the opportunity to take on leadership roles as volunteer referees, coaches and competition coordinators
  • provide pathways for selected players, coaches and referees to participate in higher level regional, state and national competitions including through our Bushrangers representative teams.

Our vision

Our vision as an association is to be a force for good in the lives of young people in the area. We believe that active involvement in team sport brings many benefits for young people that go way beyond just pure enjoyment, health and fitness. These benefits are many and include:

  • improving self-confidence
  • greater engagement with community, deeper and wider friendship groups
  • developing the ability to trust and work cooperatively with others
  • developing the ability to be a reliable team member and ultimately to be a leader
  • developing the ability to commit to achieving individual and team goals
  • learning to deal effectively and constructively with being challenged, winning and losing.

Futsal is an excellent way to give young people these benefits because it:

  • is relatively inexpensive to play
  • does not need expensive equipment
  • is indoors making it a year round sport (a significant benefit here in winter!)
  • only requires 7 - 9 players to make a team
  • is highly accessible and can be readily enjoyed by players of all ages, sizes and skills levels.

We aim through our volunteer not-for-profit model to ensure that participation remains highly affordable for families. We hope to be able to encourage young people who may not have played sport otherwise to get active and reap the many benefits of being involved.

Our values are:

  • Service – to the people who participate and the wider community
  • Respect – for all those involved – including players, officials, volunteers and spectators
  • Integrity – including fair play on court, dealing honestly in good faith with all stakeholders and careful stewardship of our finances and equipment
  • Inclusiveness – facilitating appropriate participation by any community member who wishes to be involved
  • Community mindedness – acting consistent with our core belief that we are part of, and exist solely for the benefit of, the community in the Macedon Ranges.

 

WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN HELPING US?

We are always on the lookout for empathetic team players who are interested in helping us achieve our mission. Besides the important part played by our team managers and coaches, there are opportunities to be involved on our committee and in other volunteer roles including coordination, refereeing and higher level coaching. If you would like to help please contact us we would love to hear from you. 😊