CFL owner and founder, Dante Garcia, split his childhood playing between Columbus and Callao, Peru. Futsal in Columbus would continue off and on as Dante spent months at a time abroad in Peru playing for Academia Deportiva Cantolao or playing soccer at the collegiate level for the University of Rio Grande.

Owner and Founder's Childhood

Circa 2006, Columbus Futsal began with a very grassroots approach. It was a couple teenage friends, using leisure time to spend, with a badly tattered ball. There were no emails, text messages or schedules. The invitation was by the word of mouth with a time and a place. The place was (and still is) Tuttle Park near the Ohio State University. The co-ed group would meet by the graffiti mural, played all night under the lights. The court was merely an empty slab of blacktop in the park was quickly transformed into a street court, using two tin trash bins as goals or "kick-the-can" if you will. This game can be labeled in several ways; street soccer, urban futsal, pelada. It was an area that was also heavily graced with freestyle skills and panna wars.

About Columbus Futsal

Fast forward to 2014.  The youth instruction (academy and free play) and adult pick-up had begun. This time, the new programs were aided by social media which had broadened their reach and networking around the community. Malissa said, “We played, learned, and practiced so much that we began to look for Futsal competitions”., she continued “We soon discovered that there were Futsal events all around us in the Midwest”.  She continued “closest being the USYF Great Lakes Regional Championships in Akron, OH”.  In 2016, Columbus Futsal Men’s and Academy teams competed at the USYF Great Lakes Regional Championships. It was their first-ever competition. The Men’s Team went undefeated and were crowned Regional Champions! The team qualified for the 2016 U.S. Adult Futsal National Championships. They lost in the Semi Finals.

in 2017, the 2008 Columbus Futsal Flyers qualified for the National Championships as they were crowned champions at the Great Lakes Regional Championships.  The CFL Flyers competed at the National Championships in February.  They faced 3 very tough opponents.  They didn't get the results they had wanted.  Malissa said, “Despite losing, it was a very positive learning experience”.

In 2016, Columbus Futsal League (CFL) hosted their first ever Winter Futsal Seasons. Their Winter League are two 8-week Winter sessions which they had over 60 teams, from 15+ local soccer clubs, totaling over 500 youth players from across Central Ohio.  “Columbus Futsal’s first season was a great success and made a huge impact”.  Malissa said, “You could just see the growth of the player’s performance, it was incredible”.  She continued “I think we made so much of an impact that teams actually started renting gym space and researching the sport of futsal to practice on their own, which is great.”  “We are all working together to bring strong, smarter players up out of Columbus Ohio.”

Columbus Futsal has a unique club partnership program which more and more soccer clubs are partnering with their upcoming Winter Futsal Season. This allows Columbus Futsal to impact coaches and players through the sport of Futsal. Westerville United FC was one of their first club partners.  Malissa said, “their coaches were a lot of fun, they have a great youth program”.  She continued, “You can tell the tactical level of coaching improved and sportsmanship from the players was exemplary”. Several soccer clubs who play in MOSSL or BPYSL, including Crew Player Development teams, Ohio Premier, Club Ohio, Barcelona United, and Galacticos FC, competes in the Columbus Futsal League. 

Columbus Futsal have an Academy Program as well.  Their Academy teams are made up from players all over Central Ohio. Some players drive 1-2 hours to train and compete multiple times a week. They are players who value futsal as a sport of its own and want to compete at the highest level and gain great experiences through the game of futsal. 

Players Selected

Several Columbus Futsal players participated at the Ohio State I.D. Trials. Conclusion of their State I.D. Trials, 7 were selected and invited to the 2017 U.S. Youth Futsal’s National I.D Trials, which was held this past summer.  At the National I.D. Trials, their players had a very strong showing which resulted, 5 players selected on the U.S. Youth Futsal National Teams.  The National teams, trains and travels internationally.

Why U.S. Youth Futsal?

Columbus Futsal League said they joined U.S.Youth Futsal because they saw that USYF were providing a great pathway for Futsal players. USYF does so much for the kids, and that is what CFL is all about. A lot of these kids get experiences through Futsal that they may never had been given the chance in soccer. 

Future

Columbus Futsal has a very bright future.  Columbus is a soccer city. CFL is the best winter option for players. It’s a simple winning strategy. It’s global criteria that the US is just now harnessing. THIS is where students become futsal players and students become even better soccer players. All they must do is play!   Malissa said “We can’t get kids to leave futsal, they will literally stay all day”.

For more information visit their website. 

Some Cool Videos By Columbus Futsal League