The neglected, dismissed cousin of football has not only kicked itself up from the canvas but has come out swinging in 2025. Futsal within Melbourne has recently begun its ascendancy to the heights it once experienced before the COVID-19 pandemic.
11-time Series Futsal Victoria Men's champions and current title holders Fitzroy Tigers lift their fifth consecutive title at the end of the 2024 season. (Image: Jack Bowlen)
Series Futsal Victoria (SFV) before the COVID-19 pandemic was something magical. Under the banner of Series Futsal Australia, the competition went nationwide, extending its reach to Adelaide, Perth, and the Gold Coast, hosting annual competitions in each city.
The men's competition primarily had the spotlight, hosting some big names in the football world. Brazilian futsal legend Falcao, alongside fellow countryman and former Juventus, Bayern Munich, and current Sydney FC attacker Douglas Costa, competed in the competition. Furthermore, identifiable Australian footballing names, including 10-time Socceroos striker Andrew Nabbout and former Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC winger Elvis Kamsoba, had exhibited heavy involvement.
After several years without the governing body formally associating with futsal, Football Victoria has reignited its affiliation with SFV, publicly announcing it in December 2024. Predicated on multiple factors, including a high-quality level of competition, social media engagement, and scope for collective growth, it was purely a no-brainer for FV to officially rekindle a relationship with the sport despite its volatility.
Both competitions have boasted some extraordinary talent over the last 12 months. In the women's competition (SFVW), former 115-capped Matilda Elise Kellond-Knight was involved in Melbourne AKU's title-winning season. In the process, joining forces with Australian Women's Futsal National player Jessica Au and Canberra United striker Maja Markovski. Claudia Fruscalzo accompanies Au in the Australian national team and represents the Fitzroy Tigers in SFVW. New Zealand international futsal representatives Sophie Williams and Danielle Bradley accompany the league's plethora of National Premier League talent. NPL Victoria Women's 2024 Grand Final winners Ashka Miyata, Mami Ambo, Danielle Galluccio, Sarah O'Donoghue, and Steph Galea are just a handful of local talents applying their trade on the courts.
Melbourne AKU captain and Australian women's national team player Jessica Au (far right), pictured with Elise Kellond-Knight (centre) and teammates. (Image: Josh Fusco)
The men's competition in 2024 showcased one of the strongest teams in the country. The 11-time SFVM champions Fitzroy had found success on a national level, winning the Men's 2025 National Futsal Championships, which were played in Melbourne.
The competition also showcased some of Asia's most recognisable players within the sport. Indonesia boasts a massive futsal culture to the extent that it has its own professional competition. Representing the Indonesian men's national futsal team and Black Steel Papua in the Indonesia Pro Futsal League, Samuel Amos, Wendy Brian Ick, and Evan Soumilena entered SFVM on loan, representing Moreland Blues FC on a three-game deal.
Furthermore, the competition has fostered men's Futsalroo talent like Fernando De Moraes, Aaron Yu, Corey Sewell, Scott Rogan, Atay Ibrahim, Christos Apostolakis, and Adam Cooper.
From left to right: Moreland Blues captain Kevin Dos Santos, and Indonesian National Team players Samuel Amos, Wendy Brian Ick, and Evan Soumilena. (Image: Jack Bowlen)
In conjunction with the competition regaining its rhythm and establishing professional status through meeting international court size regulations, the sport's historical volatility has experienced profound stability, with a record-high number of new and existing participants at both a competitive and social level.
The subsidiary's parent, Futsal Oz, has acted as Melbourne's premier Futsal organisation since its inception in 2006. Spearheaded by founder and president Peter Parthimos, the organisation has charted numerous rollercoaster periods of growth and decline. No matter the hurdle lashed at it, the organisation has failed to falter—feasibly, a testament to the optimism, determination, and persistence possessed by
Parthimos.
As established by rival states, the "shoebox" label is notorious amongst Victoria's futsal community. The phrase was coined concerning the smaller court on which the competitions were played for decades, which were incompatible with an internationally recognised court size.
With the shoebox label no longer existing, granted that the Darebin Community Sports Stadium possesses an internationally recognised court size, the predicament makes it the most promising time for Victorian players to have a more significant opportunity to represent Australia.
The competition experienced its greatest year to date on a scale of social media engagement. Over eight months in 2024, "seriesfutsalvictoria" on Instagram achieved over five million profile interactions. Media manager and league commissioner Josh Fusco labelled the achievement "exactly what our sport needs in order to relish further."
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"We have the product. We have the interest. The Black Steel Papua guest appearance in the men's competition acted as the spark we needed. It was inspiring to notice that our YouTube livestream viewers had amassed similar numbers to a top-end National Premier League fixture," Fusco told Front Page Football recently.
"It is now about polarising the next generation of players and fans to become immersed within the sport. Given the recent major appreciation of indoor sports across Australia, like basketball, perhaps we can offer football fans something different, something unique, while not stifling the growth of football."
After years of volatility, hoops, valleys, and pure uncertainty, one thing has remained pure throughout its entirety—the demand to play at a high level. This theme has been showcased through the unrelenting effort held by players, club administrators, league administrators, and fans of the sport. With FV in affiliation, it might be a safe assumption to declare that futsal is genuinely beginning to find the recognition it rightly deserves. An eyebrow raised as to how far it can be pushed.
Want to read more about futsal in Australia? Click here and read our interview with Australian women's futsal national team player Marianna Tabain about the team's formation!
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