South Australian Futsal League chief Raff Frasina says that the three SA-based clubs could spring a surprise in next month’s Series Futsal Australia Cup.
Heading into the seventh edition of the national tournament, South Australian teams have competed in all Cups but have never reached the final.
Frasina says that the increased competitiveness of the eight-team Macron Premier League will put Adelaide Fusion, Gepps Cross and tournament debutants West Lakes in the best possible position.
“The Macron Premier League has been the strongest it has ever been – It has been good preparation for our three teams,” Frasina told SeriesFutsal.com.
“They’ve had high level matches week in week out. Last season, we had four strong teams and four weaker teams, but this year, every team could win any match on their day. That should put our three teams in good stead of the SFA Cup.”
Frasina says that West Lakes and Gepps Cross will recruit some local West Australian players to top up their squads, while SA champs Adelaide Fusion will be at their strongest for the competitive titles.
“Fusion won the championship and they’ve had a squad that has been training and playing together every week since the last SFA Cup,” he said.
“They have retained all their players. The will be predominantly local Adelaide boys. I think they have a great chance.”
Frasina says that the strength of the league and the clubs should see one, if not more, make the semi-final stage of the tournament.
“I think you’ll see at least one of our sides in the semi-finals,” he said.
“It would be great to see two, but I’m confident that we can get at least one team in there.”
The Series Futsal Australia Cup will be held for the first time in Perth on October 7-9.
See the Series Futsal Australia Cup’s promotional video below.