Futsal Cup main round begins

Former UEFA Futsal Cup holders MFK Dinamo Moskva and debutants FC Barcelona are among the 24 clubs competing in the main round running from Saturday.

Preliminary round winners Club Futsal Eindhoven, FS Ilves Tampere, FC Geneva, KMF Leotar Trebinje, Vegakameratene, Györi ETO FC and AC Omonia have joined the 17 clubs beginning in this round. They compete in six four-team one-venue mini-tournaments running until 2 October.

Dinamo, winners in 2007 after losing in the two previous finals, compete for the first time since 2008/09. Familiar talents including Pula and Cirilo are bolstered this season with the addition of Brazilian international Vinicius, a former runner-up with ElPozo Murcia FS. They start their Group 1 campaign next Thursday in Slovenia against Eindhoven, Athina '90, and hosts FC Litija.

For the first time since the very first UEFA Futsal Cup season of 2001/02, neither Murcia nor Interviú FS are representing Spain; instead Barcelona make their bow hoping to emulate their club's football successes in Group 2 against hosts FK Nikars Riga, Györ and Leotar. Another newcomer from a major country are Italian champions Marca Futsal, compatriots of holders ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5, in what looks a tough Group 5 with Romanian hosts City'US Târgu Mures, MNK Split and Ilves.

The top two from each of the six sections will advance to the elite round to join the highest four seeds: Montesilvano, 2011 runners-up Sporting Clube de Portugal and the last two bronze-medallists, Kairat Almaty and Araz Naxçivan. The four elite round group winners after the mini-tournaments, drawn at 13.30CET on 11 October and played from 12 to 20 November, will compete in the finals next April.

Main round groups
Group 1 (29 September-2 October)
MFK Dinamo Moskva (RUS), Athina '90 (GRE), FC Litija (SVN)*, Club Futsal Eindhoven**

Group 2 (29 September-2 October)
FC Barcelona (ESP), FK Nikars Riga (LVA)*, Györi ETO FC (HUN)**, KMF Leotar Trebinje (BIH)**

Group 3 (27-30 September)
Iberia Star Tbilisi (GEO)*, Slov-Matic Bratislava (SVK), FC Mapid Minsk (BLR), FC Geneva (SUI)**

Group 4 (24-27 September)
FK Era-Pack Chrudim (CZE), Akademia FC Pniewy (POL)*, Châtelineau Futsal (BEL), Vegakameratene (NOR)**

Group 5 (27-30 September)
Marca Futsal (ITA), City'US Târgu Mures (ROU)*, MNK Split (CRO), FS Ilves Tampere (FIN)**

Group 6 (27-30 September)
KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac (SRB)*, Uragan Ivano-Frankovsk (UKR), Asa Ben Gurion (ISR), AC Omonia (CYP)**

*Hosts
**Preliminary round winners