Colombia - World Cup Champs!

Champions!

Of course, that's in futsal, not football/soccer.

Colombia pounded Paraguay 8 - 2 Saturday to win the Futsal World Cup. Sure, it's not the BIG World Cup, and playing at home might have made a little bit of a difference. But, for a soccer-crazed nation which didn't even classify for the last real World Cup, the victory's a boost.

(Foto: Minuto 30)

Futsal's a bit of a strange creature. It's basically indoor football. But nine of its ten World Cups have been won by South American teams. From Europe, only Portugal, which won the 1991 Futsal World Cup, Spain and Russia have placed in the top four.

I read in Semana that this sport shouldn't be called football or futbol, because the FIFA holds a monopoly on that word when related to sports played with round balls, and has created its own rival league with slightly different rules.

Across Bogotá you see young guys kicking round balls around on concrete courts with small goals at either end. So it makes sense for Colombia to continue to do well in this sport, and hopefully Colombia will do well again in the next World Cup, which likely won't be played in Colombia.

Colombia overwhelming Ecuador 14-0 (Photo: La Cariñosa)

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours