Copyright dailypost
A total of 63 clubs were registered under the Port Vila Futsal League (PVFL) in the recently concluded season, according to the Program Coordinator Joel Tarivuhavuha. 12 clubs are in the Premiere Division, 10 in the First Division, another 10 in the Second Division, and 32 business house teams. With each team fielding between five and ten players, this year’s competitions engaged more than 600 young players, offering them an active and positive outlet through the fast-paced sport of futsal. Tarivuhavuha described the growing participation as a direct result of the Vanuatu Football Federation’s (VFF) ongoing efforts to expand the sport, led by National Futsal Development Officer Ben Hungai, who is based at the Wan Smol Bag area in Port Vila. “Organising these games is about giving our youth opportunities to stay active and focused,” Tarivuhavuha said during the Daily Post Sports Program yesterday. “It keeps them away from harmful activities like drugs and alcohol while helping to develop the game of futsal across the country.” Futsal — often seen as the foundation of football — has produced a wave of local talent in Vanuatu, particularly in Port Vila and Luganville, with several players advancing to represent both the national futsal and national football teams. However, Tarivuhavuha noted that facilities remain a major hurdle to the sport’s continued growth. “Our biggest challenge is the lack of a designated futsal court,” he said. “We currently rely on the Wan Smol Bag Courts and the Korman outdoor courts, but when there’s bad weather, we have to postpone matches — and that’s something we face all the time.” Despite these challenges, excitement for futsal in Port Vila remains strong. One of the city’s leading teams, the Southern Legions Futsal Club, is now preparing to represent Vanuatu at the OFC Men’s Futsal Champions League in Fiji next month. Coach Henry Kalsei said preparations are going well. “The boys are training hard and looking forward to competing at the international level,” Kalsei said. Meanwhile, the Port Vila Football Association — which oversees the city’s outdoor football competitions — has 27 registered teams, underscoring futsal’s rapid rise as one of the most popular forms of football in the capital. With 64 teams officially registered and hundreds of young players involved, the 2025 PVFL season stands as a major milestone for Vanuatu futsal — proving that the small-sided game continues to play a big role in shaping the country’s next generation of football stars.
