10/08/2018
Hi all futsal followers. This necessarily lengthy post is to let you know about 2 things: the immediate future of futsal and the situation with the futsal shirts. I'll deal with the latter firstly as it's a long story which I will try and keep short. Some may have noted the posts on the Facebook and website pages earlier in the year indicating that we were trying to sort out our shirts order. The lack of any information from our end does not mean that we haven't been trying to sort the matter out I can assure you. However there was nothing to be gained by simply saying 'we're still trying to sort it out'. So today I have received information that I can pass on and it is this: Kombat (the company where our order was placed back in January) has defrauded us of the deposit money we paid them for the shirts. The information I have only received today indicates that we are very much not alone in this and that the matter has been handed on to the Office of Fair Trading and potentially the Federal Police as well as the ACCC. People across the country have been ripped off by this mob and we now have proof. As I say, it's a long story but from next week our own complaint will be lodged with the OFT, who I have spoken with this afternoon, and the police. What will happen from there is anyone's guess.
So we will need to work out what to do from here and there's a few options. In the short term until we can sort it all out, if anyone has paid for a shirt they are most welcome to drop into the FCQ Office with proof that they have paid, speak to Bruce Wherry and we will organise to refund you.
Now, what we do with the rest will depend on how we deal with futsal itself which has been another matter we have been working on, looking at various options from not running it at all, advice we've had from a couple of quarters, to trying to find a suitable location that will ensure that the game can pay for itself which it has not been able to do for the last couple of years. So, the good news is that after much searching and discussions, we are going to try and get futsal going again! For some weeks myself and Cal Lynch have been in discussions with Mark Guymer about how we might make it work and we have a few plans up our sleeves. We will be planning to head back to YWCA but under a very different arrangement that will see futsal played only on a Sunday, all day, with various age groups. Mark has worked out a schedule that we believe will work but only with cooperation from parents etc, remembering we no longer have a dedicated futsal person such as Chantal. So, over the next little while, we will be posting more information about the season ahead, which may also involve matches with the Bundaberg group with whom we've already had discussions as well as the state championships if we can get enough interest.
So that's about as much as I can tell you all at the moment. Bear with us as we get things organised around the venue etc and of course, sorting everything else out.
If anyone wants to discuss any of the issues here further with me or want some clarification about anything here, I'd appreciate you contacting me directly via the FCQ Office or my email which is [email protected]. I won't be engaging back and forth with comments posted here. Thank you for your understanding as I know this has been a long drawn out process. Here's hoping we can get things off and running. Jim Douglas
