Vic Hermans named PFF futsal consultant

Dutch futsal legend Vic Hermans will help the PFF in bolstering the local futsal scene.

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--The Philippine futsal scene is set to go to greater heights this decade as Vic Hermans comes along as the Philippine Football Federation's technical consultant for the said sport.

On Monday, the PFF formally introduced the Dutch coach and former player as the one who will help PFF futsal chief Kevin Goco oversee the happenings in the domestic indoor football scene.

"This is a tremendous honor," Hermans, who coached Iran to the 2011 AFC Futsal Championship and Thailand to the 2013 Southeast Asian Games gold, said in an online press conference.

"This is a mark of a new age and a new chapter for Philippine futsal development," added Goco.

Right now, Hermans' focus is to further bolster the youth futsal scene, but eventually, he will help put up a national team in the first team level.

"That must be the end goal," he further said.

With more indoor arenas being put up in the Philippines, the PFF has been using futsal as a means to introduce football in general to the public.

"There is a growing niche market among communities playing futsal all over the Philippines," Goco added, citing the inclusion of the sport in the secondary girls division in the Palarong Pambansa and its reinstatement in the Batang Pinoy games as examples.

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