World’s first ‘6-a-side’ mini Football World Cup kicks off

Hundreds of football fans from the UAE have travelled to Portugal to watch the world’s first-of-its-kind ‘Six-a-Side’ mini football World Cup, which runs in Lisbon from September 23 to 29, 2018.

Organised by International Socca Federation (ISF), the inaugural edition of Socca 6 World Cup, is taking place in the iconic Praça do Comércio in Lisbon’s city centre. Best national teams of 32 countries from around the world are competing in the week-long tournament. The 6-a-side football is gaining momentum with 2.1 billion people are playing in the new format worldwide.

The ISF is the leading organizer of international small-sided football competitions for both national teams and club teams in the formats of 5,6, 7 and 8-a-side football.

In a statement issued to the UAE media, Mr. Shahzeb Mehmood Trunkwala, Vice President of International Socca Federation (ISF), said, “We are happy to see the immense interest of football fans from the UAE in the league. The ‘6-a-side’ football tournament aims to cater to the millennial generation. The mini World Cup, featuring players of the best continental and worldwide national teams, has so many positives to gain from it. This is also a great opportunity to compete for the world title for countries that have never won it before.”

Mr. Trunkwala is also the CEO of Leisure Leagues Pakistan (LLP), which hosted several international footballers including Brazilian star Ronaldinho and Welsh Ryan Giggs last year in Pakistan. Now he is setting the stage for participation of Pakistan in the inaugural edition of IFS Socca World Cup.

He wants to see the International Socca Cup hosted in a Gulf country in the near future. He is also seeking opportunities for the LLP to play in the region as part of showcasing Pakistani players’ talent in 204 countries and play in regular international football tournaments.

The ISF Vice President further said, “I have been advised by the ISF director board to seek opportunities to take the game of mini Football World Cup to the Gulf countries as well and establish the game in the region as we did it in the UK and Pakistan. We are seeking the possibilities for hosting the Socca World Cup here in future. We are also keen on providing opportunities to football teams from the Gulf countries. This will help promote the region’s image making it easy to welcome global players to play in the region. This will provide greater opportunities for the Gulf youth to showcase their talent around the world.”  

“We would also establish teams from the region, providing opportunities for them to travel to other countries, while hosting other country teams as well. This will help us pave the way for the International Socca Cup to be hosted in the Gulf and establish our strong presence among the football loving nations in the region,” he elaborated.

The IFS has developed a spectacular purpose-built stadium in the city’s Main Square, close to all the city’s tourist amenities, providing an idyllic backdrop to the world class football tournament.

The ‘Six-a-Side’ mini football World Cup is being supported by a number of organisations as well as receiving substantial support from governments. This format is a variation of association football, in which each team fields six players (five outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, a reduced game duration.

The ISF was founded in 2017 by national operators of small-sided socca leagues from across Europe and Asia. The global federation runs continental and worldwide cup competitions for national teams, as well as Champions league competitions for club teams. ISF’s national license holders represent the largest and strongest league operators in their respective countries.