4th European Universities Futsal Championship

Today were in halls Livade and Kraška played the last games in European universities championship in futsal. We couldn’t see two matches, because teams of Montenegro and Turkey decided to go home early. In the finals we saw the teams from Dniepropetrovsk (Ukraine) and Zagreb (Croatia). The fight for third place was between Novi Sad (Serbia) and SUMI (Ukraine). UKraine didn’t win two medals, because Novi Sad beat them. The last two games were played in main hall – Kraška, which was full of people. All of the matches, that we could see, were very interesting, because the players were trying very hard to achieve the best place they could on this championship.

The final match was very intense. Croatians managed to score the first goal, but it was the only one they made. Ukrainean team from Dniepropetrovskplayed very well; they showed that already at the beginning of this tournament. They made a tie after the opponent scored and soon took the lead. Croatia lost in the final with 3:1 and was placed second. The winners of the forth European Universities Futsal Championship us the University of Dniepropetrovsk from Ukraine.

Medallists
1. Dnipropetrovsk State Finance Academy, Ukraine
2. University of Zagreb, Croatia
3. University of Novi Sad, Serbia 

Congratulations to the winners, and also to all teams participating. And a special thanks to all of our volunteers - you did an excellent job. THANK YOU! 

17 - 20 PLACE
Louvain, Bel : Eindhoven, Ned
In the match between the 5th placed teams in A and B group the Netherlands team showed that they are better then the Belgium team. At first half they were leading 7:2, and in the second half just increased their lead to 11:2. They convincingly won this game.

13 - 16 PLACE
Primorska, Slo : Roma IUMS, Ita
The Slovenian home team was playing against the Italian team for the position of 13-16 place. The Italian team started the game with their goal but the Slovenian team soon caught them. The result was tide to the 27. Minute when we saw the last goal on the game, from the Slovenian team, which led them to their victory 4:3.

Wroclaw, Pol : Murcia, Esp
Spanish team took the lead already in the first half. They were leading through whole match. Poland did not play very well, but also the Spain team played excellent. Poland made in the second half three goals, which was all given from penalty shot. Spain won the match with four goals ahead. The final result was 8:4 for Spain.

9 – 12 PLACE
Zurich, Sui : Erciyes, Tur
For the first time on this championship we saw penalty kicks. To the last minute the Turkish team was leading 6:5. Them the Suisse player, number 10 saved their game by scoring another goal and changing the score to 6:6. Because of one missed penalty kick of one of the Turkish players and none on the Suisse side the penalty shots stopped with the fifth player of the Suisse team. They won 11:9.

Tampere, Fin : Roma Tor Vergata, Ita
The Finns and the Italians went head to head, both aiming for a consolation 9th place.  Tampere took the lead 4 times, but kept allowing Roma Tor Vergata to equalise.  When Roma scored the 4th and final equaliser there was no stopping them getting the win.  Roma were the stronger team and duly bagged a 5th and winning goal to win 5:4.

5 – 8 PLACE:
Coimbra, Por : Split, Cro
Coimbra stepped into gear with 3 early goals and some great defensive play kept out Split for all of the game.  The game ended 7:0 and Coimbra looked like they had something to prove.

Nancy, Fra : Ljubljana, Slo
Nancy have been improving as the tournament progresses and put up a good fight against the defending champions, Ljubljana. The game was poised at 3:3 before Ljubljana stepped up a gear and went on to win the match 5:3.

SEMI FINALS
Dniepropetrovsk, Ukr : Novi Sad, Ser
The second semi final also ended in a draw and went to a penalty shootout.  The score was 1-1 at half time, in what was a very tight match, both teams playing very tentatively.  Dniepropetrovsk took a 2-1 lead and looked like reaching the final as they were creating the better chances.  Novi Sad, however broke and scored the equaliser for 2:2.  Neither side wanted to give away a goal and the match ended slowly with very few chances.  After 5 penalties the score was 4:4 and it went to sudden death.  The Ukrainian goalkeeper made the decisive save to put Dniepropetrovsk through to the final.

Zagreb, Cro : SUMI, Ukr
The story we already saw today repeated itself in the match between Croatia and Ukraine. The Ukraine team was leading 1:0 in the first half of the game. In the first minute of the second half their scored another goal but quickly got one back from the Croatian team. The score was equalled in the 39th minute by the player number 10. Then followed the penalty kicks. After the first five players the score was still tied. In the next round the player of the Ukraine team missed one goal and the Croatian team won 8:7.

Zurich, Sui : Dniepropetrovsk, Ukr
The match was between Switzerland and the superior Ukraine, who gave the first goal in the first minute. Is seemed that the Swiss would be easy opponent, but it wasn’t so, because the Swiss took the lead and at the end of the first half the result was 5:4 for Suisse. Then Ukraine played very aggressively and they scored ten goals to win the group; the final result was 14:6. 

Primorska, Slo : Louvain, Bel
The game between Slovenia and Belgium was very intense. Through the entire match they were very close together. Although Slovenian scored twice in a row in first half, Belgium caught them and the final result was 5:5.

Erciyes, Tur : Novi Sad, Ser
Both teams needed to win and that we could see in an intense game. We saw lots of fouls and one red card in the Serbia side. Turkey had a free kick but they missed. Serbian scored the goal three times in first half. Final result was 7:3 for Serbian.

Split, Cro : Roma IUMS, Ita
In the match between Croatia and Italy the players were passing the ball. One goal on the Croatian side, one on the Italian. All to the score 6:6, when the Croatian team broke out and scored 3 more goals, wining 9:6.

Nancy, Fra : Wroclaw, Pol
The first match of the day was between France and Poland. The French team played well and had a lot of shots and they used them good. They scored 7 times.

Zagreb, Cro : Munster, Ger
In the match between Croatia and Germany the Croatian team had all the strings in their hands. They were leading all through the game, with no goals on the German side. They won 7:0.

Podgorica,Mon : Roma Tor Vergata, Ita
Team from Montenegro started the first half very good. They took the lead with two goals. When the second half of the game started Italians were better. They were shooting towards Montenegro goal more often than in first half. They scored five times, Montenegro scored in the second half only once, so the final result was 3:5.

Ljubljana, Slo : SUMI, Ukr
At the beginning of this match we did not see very good game. Ukraine played with five players in attack, so Slovenian gave easy two goals. They only made higher difference of goals in the second half. Result at the end was 4:1 for Slovenia.

Roma Tor Vergata, Ita -SUMI, Ukr
The game was very interesting. Ukraine was playing good as always. They deserved to win and they did. The final result was 2:5.

Wroclaw, Pol - Munster, Ger
In the first half of the match between Poland and Germany, Germany was leading. They were attacking a lot. Poland returned the strike in the second half, when they managed to make a tie and the result at the end of the match was 5:5.

Nancy, Fra: Tampere, Fin
The French - Finland match was decided in the 32 minute when the France scored their fifth, but not the last goal. The Finland team played good and had some chances but they were unsuccessful. They succeeded to reduce the  different  to 5 goals but still lost 6:1.

Coimbra, Por : Zuirich, Sui
The game between Suisse and Portugal was a game nobody should miss. The Suisse team started the game with their goal in the third minute. Just a minute later the Portuguese returned the strike. The score was tide to the 32. minute, when the Portuguese, with some struggle, succeed to score another goal. After a quite equal match the final score was 4:2 for the Portuguese team.

Murcia, Spa : Podgorica, Mon
The next game in group D was between Spain and Montenegro. The first half ended equal, 1:1. In the second half the Spanish team took the lead and the Montenegro team could not catch them any more. The final score was 3:2 for the Spanish team.

Dniepropetrovsk, Ukr : Louvain, Bel
The Ukraine once again showed that they are rightfully named as one of the best teams on this championship. The game between Ukraine and Belgium ended 12:4. From the beginning they had control over the game and won as it was expected.

Novi Sad, Ser – Roma IUMS, Ita
The teams were in the first half of the game very close together. Serbs took the lead in the last half and then they were unstoppable. In the whole game they scored six times and Italians scored twice.

Eindhoven, Net : Split, Cro
At the beginning of this game we saw just three goals. Eindhoven started good - they took the lead with two goals. In second half the rest of the goals were given. The Netharland got red cards and they could not do anything, because the Croatian team gave 8 goals and the final result was 4:9.

Nancy, Fra : Munster, Ger
It was a good game. French had good control over the ball most of the match. They started with strong attacks and did not let the German team to develop their game. The final goal was achieved two minutes before the end of the match and result was 6:0.  

Podgorica, Mon : SUMI, Ukr
he hall was full of people, so the atmosphere on this match was great. The players were playing aggressive on both sides, they were attacking the goals. Montenegro had a lot of opportunities but they did not use them - they only scored tvice. Ukraine gave goal six times.

Coimbra, Por – Primorska, Slo
Portuguese were playing well as it was expected. Slovenian were defending good, they also gave one goal. Portugal team scored three goals in the first half. The result at the end was the same as at the end of the first half.

ETH Zurich, Swiss : Chatolic University of Louvain, Belgium
The second game of the Swiss (ETH Zurich) and the Belgian (Chatolic University of Louvain) team was in Livade hall. The Swiss team was leading through all the game. The Belgian team tried to keep up with them but without any effect. The Swiss team won 12:5.

The University of Ljubljana, Slovenia : The University of Roma, Italy
The match was very intense. Slovenia and Italy were both playing good. Italy first gave the goal. Slovenia managed to made a tie and then they gave another goal and won with result 2:3.

Louvain, Bel : Coimbra, Por
At the beginning of the game the teams were quite equal. The Portugal team led in the first half with 1:0. The other half was more dynamic. Belgium managed to score three goals, but that was not enough, because the Portuguese played excellent and the result of the game was 3:8.

University of Zagreb, Croatia : University of Physical Education in Wroclaw, Poland
The match between the Croatian (University of Zagreb) and the Polish (University of Physical Education in Wroclaw) team was from the beginning to the end very undecided. At first the Croatian team  took the lead  but the Polish team quickly caught up with them. In the second half Croatian took control of the ball and won 8:6. 

Catholic University of SA Murcia, Spain : SUMI National University, Ukraine
Today we saw the first game between Spain (Catholic University of SA Murcia) and Ukraine (SUMI National University) on this championship. Because of the lead of the Ukrainian team the Spanish coach decided to take the goalie out of the game and put another player in. That did not help him because the final score, despite all, was  6:2.

University of Primorska, Slovenia : Dnipropetrovsk State Finance Academy, Ukraine
The last game of the day was Slovenia (University of Primorska) against Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk State Finance Academy). In the first minutes Ukraines scored their first goal. They continued their lucky strike all to the end of the game when the score was 10:0. Surprisingly, the Ukraine team had a lot of support from the public in Kraška hall which gave them one more reason to take down the Slovenian defence.

Today, the 4th European University Futsal Championship officially started. In the morning, the first matches were played, and in the evening, the Opening ceremony was held on a square by the sea in Izola. 20 teams participating from 16 countries presented themselves at the ceremony, which was accompanied by dance performances. The championship was officially opened by prof. dr. Otmar Kugovnik, the President of the Slovenian University Sports Association (SUSA), and some other esteemed guest speakers welcomed the participants.

The Matches are played in sports halls Livade and Kraška in Izola, and all the matches have free entrance. Since there are quite a few excellent players in some teams, the matches are deemed to be interesting.

For results of the matches please check out the Results page which is updated several times throughout the day, or read the internal Bulletin of the championship. In cooperation with our main media sponsor Slovenian futsal portal Kapodol, the latest information, along with pictures can be read at http://www.kapodol.com/Evropsko_univerzitetno_prvenstvo/2007/ (in Slovenian only).

During the day, teams participating at the championship are arriving. Tomorrow, the championship will officially start. 

We have updated the website with some relevant information and the lastest information. Here are the direct links to some of the updated information:
- List of participants (also in PDF format)
- Trainings schedule (also in PDF format)
- System and playing format (PDF)
- Ranking (PDF)
- Matches (also in PDF format)
- Menu (PDF)

Technical meeting for team representatives is on Sunday at 9 PM in the hostel DD Portorož. Meeting for referees is at the same location and it starts at 7 PM.

The deadline for submitting the Individual entry forms is approaching fast - July 9, 2007. We kindly ask the teams to send us the forms if they haven't done so already. 

In order to reflect recent changes, we will be updating our website shortly.

Due to increased numbers of participants and in order to ensure smoother organisation, the sports competitions and practice will be moved from Koper to the nearby town of Izola. The coastal towns are less than 5km apart, and some of the entertainment programme will still take place in Koper.
We would also like to let you know of the updated contacts of the local organising committee:
  OC EUC Futsal 2007, c/o USZP
  Pristaniska 3, SI-6000 Koper, Slovenia
  Fax: +386 5 662 6236 (please mark EUC Futsal on it)
  Mobile: +386 31 665 390
  Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Please note that the correspondence regarding accommodation, sports, etc should be addressed to the local OC. The national OC contacts are still valid, though. 

National and local OC are inviting volunteers from Slovenia to participate at the championship. Information with call for participants and application form (PDF; Slovenian). 

Quatitative forms are due, so please send them in! If you are having problems returning the forms to us, please either re-download the forms, or use the fax number +386 1 520 7827. The forms we have originally distributed were missing a number. We apologise for any inconveniences this might have caused you. 

We are letting you know, that the entries received have surpassed the number of planned participants for EUC Futsal men. EUC Futsal women had to be cancelled since we haven't received enough entries. For men, though, we urge all teams wishing to participate (and haven't done so), to transfer the 1,000.00 EUR deposit to EUSA bank account number. Only the teams who paid the deposit may compete. We will start releasing available places to the teams on the waiting list once those teams pay the deposit. If you need any assistance or clarification regarding that, please do not hesistate to contact us. 

As of today, the deadline for submitting General Entry Forms is over. Applications received from today onwards will be put on a waiting list and will be confirmed only in case some other team withdraws their participation. All registered teams are also asked to sumbit the Quantitative Entry Form, Nominative Entry Form and the Individual Entry Forms. Also note that each competitor has to have a valid Certificate of Academic Eligibility. See GENERAL TERMS for details. 

According to EUSA regulations, please observe the Entry Procedure for EUCs 2007; especially regarding various deadlines:
Deadline General Entry forms: 3 months in advance. With the GE Form the payment of the deposit to EUSA must be done (futsal 1,000.00 EUR per team).
2 months before the EUC: Clarification of payments, number of open places, communication with "missing" countries, discussion with TD, OC, EC, etc.. The EUC is in this phase opened for second teams from each country until the maximum number of teams is reached (entry form together with the payment of the deposit). The criteria is the date of the entry (first come, first play). If the teams withdraws, no refunds will be made. The paid deposit will be equally shared with the Organising Committee and EUSA. 

The Letter of invitation and the General Entry Form are available for download. Please observe the deadline for submitting the General Entry Forms: April 27, 2007. 

Please observe tha changes in our contact details as SUSA has moved its office. The new contact details are:
Slovenian University Sports Association - SUSA
Gortanova 22, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tel: +386 1 520 7826
Fax: +386 1 520 7827 

According to the new naming conventio for the EUSA EUC events, the 'European University Championship' is now branded as 'European Universities Championship'. We have therefore made all necessary changes. 

University of Ljubljana team (Slovenia) has won the title of European University Futsal Champions (men) for 2006. This means our teams will have to try hard to defend the title in 2007, when the championship will be organised in Slovenia. 

European University Sports Association (EUSA) accepted the bid of the Slovenian University Sports Association (SUSA) to organise the 4th European University Futsal Championship in Koper, Slovenia from July 23-29, 2007.