Researcher Says Futsal Needs a Boost in Netherlands
From Gerben van der Waals
I want to show my gratitude to all of you who have helped me in
completing this research about Futsal. The original document is written in Dutch, and I
don't think any of you speak Dutch. Therefore I have made a small summary of the
conclusions of my research.
The original document shook up the Futsal community in the Netherlands already. In
particular because I conclude that the Dutch Football Association is in part responsible
for the poor performances of the Dutch Futsal team and the declining role of Futsal in
general in the Dutch society.
Here is a summary of the conclusions of "Futsal in the Netherlands: An investigation
about the performances and popularity of the national Futsal team of the
Netherlands". If anybody wants to have the original document, send an email to gerbenvanderwaals@hotmail.com.
Football and Futsal. Two different sports who are much alike. Especially
non-experts see both sports as the same. One is being played indoor, the other outdoor.
In the Netherlands, however, there is a big difference between football and Futsal. When the national football team participates in a World Cup tournament, the country turns orange. Millions of people watch football games on television. When the national Futsal team, however, participates in a World Cup tournament, almost nobody knows. Their matches are not even being broadcast on television at all. All that remains is a small article on the third page of the newspaper.
In general, the Dutch community shows no interest in Futsal. Football remains the king
of sports. I found that strange because it's almost the same sport. When I looked closer,
I not only saw that Dutch society shows no interest in developing Futsal, the performances
of the national Futsal team were also significantly lower than the performances of the
national football team. Strange, because this is not the same everywhere. In Spain for
example the national Futsal team is the most successful sports team in the history of the
country.
The questions that I wanted to find answers on are the following:
1. How can the difference in popularity between football and Futsal in general (in the
world) be explained?
2. Why is Futsal more popular in South America and South Europe than in the Netherlands
and some other European countries?
3. To what extend do these differences contribute to the poor performances of the national
Futsal team of the Netherlands?
4. What did the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) do to improve these results and
what are they doing at this moment?
5. In what way does the nature of these measurements relate to the nature of this
organization (KNVB)?
6. What are the limitations concerning the recent development of the number of associated
Futsal players of the KNVB?
The original research counts six chapters. The first shows that the performance of the
national Futsal team is significantly lower than the performance of the national football
team. It does this by analyzing results from the past and by comparing the number of
associated members of the KNVB to the number of members of other Futsal countries.
First, the analyses show that the national football team obtains almost a full point per match more than the national Futsal team (based on the results of previous World Cup tournaments). Second, when you look at the associated members, the Netherlands should be able to do better.
I say so because numbers do matter. If there are many people who play any particular sport, the chances are higher that there are very talented players between them. The reason why, for example, Germany, Brazil and France won so many World Cup Tournaments is because there are many players associated with the national association. For example, France counts more than three million organized players, and Germany almost six million. Together with a good football policy you can become successful.
Another example: the reason why the Netherlands is a very good skating country, relates to the great number of participants.
The Netherlands counts one million registered football players. This is one of the reasons why it is a reasonably good football country. The Netherlands count over 60,000 registered Futsal players. Compared to over one million football players, this is not much. However, on an international scale, this number counts for a fifth place on the ranking list (Brazil 290,000, Spain 101,000, Japan 100,000 and Italy 70,000).
Internationally speaking, they should be able to perform well, you should say. However the Netherlands holds the thirteenth position on the international ranking. So there is something wrong. The policy of the KNVB has something to do with this. Because the national football team holds at this moment the second place on the international ranking, while taking in account the number of registered players, they should compete for a fifth place. The conclusion: the KNVB is willing to invest in football, but not in Futsal. But why?
This has something to do with the history of both sports. Football in general is more popular than Futsal because of the place and circumstances in which it arose. Chapter two of the original research explains this. Modern football is originally invented in England. In the time it was first played, England was the wealthiest and the most powerful and prestigious country in the world. Somewhat like America is today. Continental elites and local citizens from the colonies developed a common interest for everything in the UK. So, also habits were taken over. Football was one of them.
Futsal was originally invented in Uruguay in the 1930's, and Brazil was the first nation to standardize the sport. That's why many people think Futsal is a Brazilian sport. Brazil was no powerful, rich or prestigious country. But Brazil was a very successful football nation. Because many associated Futsal with football, football players all over the world were playing Futsal like the Brazilians did it. So the reason why Futsal is reasonably popular in the world relates to the success of the nation football team of Brazil.
Futsal is more popular in South Europe than the Netherlands and the rest of the continent because of its history with South America. Spain had colonies all over South America. Brazil was a colony of Portugal. When the society became increasingly modern, many people from the European continent emigrated to South America and vice versa. Futsal in Europe was therefore first played in Spain. Just like in South America, it was members of the YMCA who played the sport.
Because Futsal is not very popular in the Netherlands, and not as popular as in South Europe, the KNVB saw no need to invest in the sport. They thought investments would not be profitable. And as you know, money makes the (Futsal) world go round.
In the past, the KNVB has applied a top-down policy, just like Spain did in the late nineties. They broadcast summaries of matches of the highest division. It did not work. After two years the sponsors were no longer willing to pay for the costs. In Spain the top-down strategy worked because television ratings were excellent. Therefore at this moment the KNVB applies an bottom-up strategy. The are trying to develop Futsal from the bottom up. Investments are being made in popularizing youth Futsal and to improve the relation between Futsal and football (clubs). This is, to my opinion, also the best strategy. First bottom-up, then top-down.
The KNVB needs to grow. More Futsal players have to register. It is the best way to improve results at this moment. This is because professional Futsal in the Netherlands is a Utopia. The KNVB estimates that there are about 200,000 or more Futsal players in the country. Only 60,000 are registered unfortunately. How come? Today everybody says society has become more individual. It is everybody for himself. Recent research, however, does not confirm this thought. Though people have become more independent, people often choose for the group.
There has been a decline in team sports registration. Many want to participate, but only at a time that is convenient for them. And in many team sports you have multiple obligations. For instance, you have to train and attend matches. That's why individual sports are more in favor lately. You can do it whenever and wherever you want.
During my research I have found that the KNVB acts as a 'greedy institution' demanding maximum loyalty of its members. They are not open to new ideas, are not interested in growing and are very conservative and traditional.
So there is a difference in what Futsal players want, and what the KNVB demands. The ties that the KNVB offers are too tight. Futsal players want to be a member, but the rules of the KNVB make it difficult for them to do so.
Chapter 6 shows that the KNVB needs to change from a greedy institution to being more
connected to the community. They need to desire to grow, to be more open, less
conservative and display less rules. Then they will attract more members. More members
will help the association develop an international cachet. Also, there will be more
talent, which will provide opportunities to win at the international level.
This is a very small summary of what my research is about. Different
sociological theories are processed into my research that I have not mentioned here. If
you want to know more, please do not hesitate to contact me.
- Gerben van der Waals
Master Sociologie
Faculty of society and behavioral sciences
Direction Labour, organization and policy
Attendants Dr. R. Stokvis & Prof. Dr. N. Wilterdink
Februari 2005
Gerbenvanderwaals@hotmail.com