FC Copa Academy and Copa Futsal are proud to announce that Coach Raphael Araujo has been selected to the US Futsal National Team. After an extensive identification and selection process of domestic camps by US Soccer, the US Futsal National team now travels to Croatia later this month as they prepare for the upcoming 2020 CONCACAF Futsal Championship in Guatemala. This competition will define the countries which will compete in the upcoming FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania 2020.
"It is an honor to represent the USA playing futsal, a sport that I love so much and grew up playing in Brazil. Futsal added so much to my game, helping me become a much better soccer player. These US Futsal National team camps have been both challenging and amazing experiences by allowing me to play at the highest level.” Coach Rapha goes on to state “Having learned so much at these events allows me to bring back to our Copa Futsal program a deeper understanding of the game. What makes me very happy is that I have the chance to lead by example, by showing all players in Copa Futsal, that hard work pays off and to never give up on their dreams."
Roberto Aguas, Copa Futsal’s Executive Director of Coaching states “It is incredibly humbling when one of your own gets to achieve a dream in representing their country in a sport that we love. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Rapha for a number of years and he has consistently shown a level of passion for the sport which is unmatched. We are so happy and proud of him.”
Coach Rapha has been part of FC Copa Academy and Copa Futsal coaching staff for many years. He has been an integral part of the development of our players as well as a passionate supporter of the great game of Futsal. Copa Futsal was launched over 10 years ago and has been successful in developing player’s technical and tactical understanding of the game. As a result of its Futsal focused curriculum, Copa Futsal has led players and teams to 15 state and 6 regional titles. Additionally, Copa Futsal has fielded a team in the NLPF (National League of Professional Futsal) and the US Futsal Northeast Regionals for the last 4 years, where coach Rapha has served as its captain.
Andrew Santos, Director of Copa Futsal shared “I am thrilled for my colleague, Rapha Araujo, on his amazing accomplishment. I’ve had the opportunity to work in our Futsal Academy with him and also play next to him on our NLPF Futsal team. This is a great honor for Rapha and we are very proud to support him with our entire Academy behind him!”