DALLAS, Texas — Interactive virtual football is a thing for the future, says CONCACAF general secretary Enrique Sanz.
According to Sanz the emerging trend, as it stands, is “a bridge between the future and the present”. ”I see the CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup as a bridge — a bridge between the future and the present of the traditional soccer fan and the new generation of soccer fans,” said CONCACAF’s chief administrator.” When we first announced the CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup everybody was saying, ‘what is this?’. But what we wanted to do is emulate our Gold Cup with the Interactive Gold Cup, so we started with 5,000 players and down to the best 12 in the same format of the Gold Cup representing the different regions,” Sanz told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday night.He said the aim of the virtual tournament is“to connect the athletes on the field with interactive players…we are looking at the new generation and we know this will get more popular with them,” noted Sanz, a Colombian-born American. Those caught up in the wave of the virtual phenomenon, Sanz suggested, are very knowledgeable individuals of the game.“The interactive players know a lot about the game… they know every coach, every player and what they do, they know the tactics, so it’s a very interesting experience and so far we are getting very good feedback,” Sanz argued.Meanwhile, Jamaica’s representative Karl Cowan, who made the final 12 and who was eliminated at a group play-off Tuesday night here, said he got into virtual stratosphere by chance. “I had a little spare time on my hand and then I started to play with my friends but there wasn’t much competition there, so I started to play online and there was good competition,” he told the Observer. He said he learnt of the CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup while he was online playing with overseas opponents.“There was pop-up of a tournament and that the top player would get a chance to represent Jamaica, and I took a shot at it, and here I am,” said Cowan, a supporter of Harbour View FC, the Jamaican Premier League champion.The Jamaica Public Service engineer was happy to shed light on how he was able to make the final cut of 12 which earned him an airline ticket to the actual Gold Cup.“You are competing against about 3.5 million people across the world, including Brazil, Spain, Italy on the Play Station network, so basically we just play games against each other to see who could come out with the best record. At the end of the season they look at your record and they match you with some pre-determined stuff,” he explained.Cowan agreed with Sanz that players of the virtual ball game are usually very up to date with the nuances of the game, even if they have not physically played it at a high level.“The better you are at real football, the better you’ll be at virtual football… I think it’s a very good simulation,” said Cowan.The Constant Spring Garden resident would not let the opportunity slip to weigh in on Jamaica’s football.“We have natural ability and very good individuals, but in terms of team play that is where we need to get it together. We struggle to play as a unit and we also find it difficult to keep a unit together and because of that it shows on the field,” he noted.“Another big weakness that I see is within the fundamentals, including our ball handling skills which are not at the level that is necessary to carry us to the international level,”Cowan added. Representing the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the Gold Cup interactive tournament, Carlon Garcia, believes the virtual format gives average players the opportunity to lift their game on another frontier. “I think virtual football is the great equaliser as not everybody is naturally athletic, so for those who can’t play physical football on the field, they equalise that by playing virtually,” he stated. Garcia added that “these games are becoming more realistic” and the player has to possess “some degree of knowledge” because it involves a lot of tactics.Others making the final 12 were Diego Orozco (Guatemala), David Medina (Honduras), Juan Ambriz (USA), Kevin Dehizadeh (Canada), John Castilla (Panama), Josue Paul Renderos Granillo (El Salvador), Jean Jacques Pierre (Haiti), Bouver Bique (St Martin), Irvin Velazquez (Mexico) and Luiz Adrian (Costa Rica).Meanwhile, the final of the Interactive Gold Cup was by El Salvador, clipping Mexico 1-0 in a giant screen showdown at Cowboys Stadium between the semi-final matches of the real deal.The champion of the 2013 CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup, Josue Paul Renderos Granillo, won an all-expense paid VIP trip for two to receive the CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup trophy in Chicago during the festivities surrounding the final of the actual CONCACAF Gold Cup at Soldier Field on Sunday.The Interactive Gold Cup is a competition involving contestants engaging in an online virtual play-off fashioning the format of the actual Gold Cup on a PlayStation 3 console.– Sean WilliamsLike our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserverCONCACAF general secretary Enrique Sanz (centre) poses for pictures with the finalists of the inaugural CONCACAF Interactive Gold Cup at Cowboy Stadium on Tuesday. Gold Cup Interactive champion El Salvador’s Josue Paul Renderos Granillo (4th right) and Jamaica’s Karl Cowan (right) are also pictured. (PHOTO: CONCACAF)View the original article here
Virtual football a thing for the future – CONCACAF chief
