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Welcome to the Official Home Page
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Austin Futsal Association
History of Austin Futsal

The Austin Futsal Association was founded in 1993 by Scott Placek and Ade Harding, then coaches with the River City Rangers F.C. After observing the success that adding futsal to the training regimen of the Rangers `77 team, Placek and Harding set about to create an indoor futsal league for the youth teams in Austin. Starting with 16 teams and 120 players, the 93-94 winter league was held at Webb Middle School in Northeast Austin. The league was an immediate success and the end of the winter season was followed shortly with requests for a summer session.

With the support and enthusiasm of Doris Kingston at the South Austin Recreation Center, Austin Futsal held a summer season of even greater numbers. Word of mouth led to a large increase in demand for the following winter, with a Far North Austin league being set up by Bob Jones and Jim Daniels and managed by the Longhorn Soccer Club. In addition, Austin Futsal continued to play in Central and South Austin. During the season, the AFA was featued in a full page article by the Austin American-Statesman. Following the Winter 94/95 season, the U14 champion River City Rangers 81 participated in the 1995 Futsal National Championships in Buffalo, New York. Coached by Scott Placek, the Rangers 81 team claimed 2nd place in the nationals and placed South Texas firmly on the national futsal map.

The Winter 95/96 season saw explosive growth as Austin Futsal split into three local leagues. The Longhorn club continued to manage the leagues in Williamson County. In addition, North Austin Futsal, managed by Cheryl Vickers, took over the central and Northwest Austin leagues. Finally, South Austin Futsal, run by Lisa Schlimgen took over operations south of the river. In Winter 95/96, Austin Futsal registered approximately 1300 players on over 150 teams. The season culminated with the first interleague championships, held at Westview Middle School in Pflugerville, Texas. In the U16 age group, the Caphorns, formed by the top players on the Longhorn and Capitals 81 teams defeated the River City Rangers 81 team to claim the National Championship bid. In thrilling U14 match, the Pflugerville Sidekicks beat the Longhorn 82 team with a final minute goal. The U14 final was officiated by FIFA international referee Susan Chichinelli. Both the Sidekicks and the Caphorns participated in the 1996 National Championships, both claiming second place.

In the fall of 1996, Austin Futsal hosted an Australian state youth team for a series of matches.

Austin Futsal continued under the direction of Lisa Schlimgen and Ken Davison through the winter of 1999-2000. Though the league went on hiatus for 2000-20001, US Futsal has asked original founder Scott Placek to return and work with Austin Futsal to restart the program. We welcome any volunteers interested in making sure that Austin youth players have access to the best indoor developmental game around. FIFA sanctions Futsal for a reason -- it develops players for the outdoor game. Please join us in developing Austin Futsal.