International sensation Rico Zulkarnain has rejected offers to play futsal overseas and will compete in the 2016/17 Series Futsal Victoria premiership, starting this Sunday at the Thomastown Futsal Oz Stadium.
Zulkarnain, 26, will suit up for Fitzroy FC, the club that he played with at Futsal Oz Live in July.
Known as ‘RZ9’ in the futsal world, Zulkarnanin is best known for his fast skills, creative game play and his ability to score amazing goals.
He will make his debut in yellow in a crucial match against reigning champions Pascoe Vale FC at 4:05pm this Sunday.
The Welsh national futsal team player made international headlines when he scored a miracle goal at the Mount Evelyn Futsal Oz Stadium during April’s Series Futsal Australia Cup.
CLICK HERE to see RZ9’s amazing goals, used as part of a promotion for his appearance at Futsal Oz Live.
Fresh from helping his West Australian side Claremont Cambio Cumbre win its third-straight Series Futsal Australia title, Zulkarnain says that he is looking forward to making the move from west to east and is planning his life – both in and out of futsal.
“For me, Melbourne and Series Futsal Victoria is the perfect stepping stone in terms of moving forward in my career,” he said.
“It’s another step up and having chosen Melbourne, I can start to work on a few of my creative ventures outside of the game. It’s always been much bigger than futsal for me.
“I have great memories in Melbourne having played in and won the Futsal Oz Live event with Falcao and Douglas Costa, and also winning the Series Futsal Australia Cup with my Perth-based team Claremont Cambio Cumbre.”
Zulkarnain has played in a number of top-flight futsal competitions this year, including Futsal Oz Live, the World Futsal Championships in the USA and the NAS Sports Dubai tournament in the UAE.
He has also received a call up from the Welsh for international duties in December were they will face Northern Ireland, Scotland and England before heading into January’s UEFA Futsal Euro qualifiers.
He says that he turned down offers from international futsal clubs to compete in the prestigious Series Futsal Victoria premiership.
“At this time in my life at 26 years old, I am in no rush to go anywhere,” he said.
“I received offers from many professional clubs around the world, but I want to be in Australia and I want to be in Series Futsal.
“I have managed to achieve the majority of my goals this part year having played in most of the major competitions that this sport has to offer, and the move to Melbourne will allow me to play in a few more high profile competitions over the course of this next year.”
The confirmation of Zulkarnain’s debut in Series Futsal Victoria coincides with the competitions’ new push to encourage more fan involvement. The Thomastown Futsal Oz Stadium now features a large grand stand, between game entertainment and the popular ‘Cross Bar Challenge’ that allows selected crowd members to win cash prizes.
Gates open at 2pm on Sunday. CLICK HERE for more details regarding the Series Futsal Victoria game day.
CLICK HERE for live stream coverage of this Sunday’s match, featuring Rico Zulkarnanin’s Series Futsal Victoria debut. Coverage starts on Sunday, 3pm AEDT.
[…] CLICK HERE for news story. […]