In an effort to give rise to the level of futsal in the country, The Henry V. Moran Foundation, together with the MVP Sports Foundation, Inspire Sports Academy, and the Philippine Football Federation, all together helped bring Dutch futsal coach Victor Jacobus Hermans into the country to help develop a program and blueprint for futsal development on a local and national scale.
The Henry V. Moran Foundation’s efforts were recently recognized by the Philippine Star, in a feature article highlighting Victor Hermans’ visitation. The quotes below were taken from the article on the Philippine Star.
Vic Hermans has a proven track record when it comes to coaching amongst Asian countries, having worked as a national futsal coach for Iran, Holland, Malta, and Thailand for various tournaments and championships like the AFC Futsal Championships, the FIFA Futsal World Cup, and the ASEAN Football Federation Championship.
Danny Moran has also expressed his excitement for the opportunity of working with Hermans when he said, “We are thrilled to have one of the fathers of the modern game of futsal in the Philippines to help us develop futsal from the grassroots.”
Futsal, which is mainly an indoor five-on-five variant of the ever-popular football, was founded in Uruguay in the 1930s, and is regarded by Henry V. Moran Foundation chairman, Danny Moran, as a potential stepping-stone to improving the overall technical skills of local Filipino players.
Vince Santos, MVP Sports Foundation program director, said this about futsal development, “The MVP Sports Foundation has always been supportive of football development. We are investing in futsal as a means to reach more Filipinos at the base and improve the technical skills of our local players.”
Hermans arrived in the country last April 18, and has since toured several of the country’s provinces to get an overall look at the development of futsal.
“My first impression of Philippine futsal is the same as before when I played against the Philippines as the national coach of Thailand,” said Hermans. “In my short time here, I have observed some youth tournaments. I can see a lot of talents and many areas of potential.” “Futsal is the world’s fastest growing indoor sport derived from football. Over the years, we have seen how futsal has grown. We are honored to have one of the world’s top experts in futsal help us plan, develop and execute a system wherein we can provide opportunities for all Filipinos to play this sport and complement our development in football,” said PFF president Mariano Araneta.