History
Fair City Santos were formed officially in 2000, although all the players signed at that time were involved with Futsal with other clubs following the introduction of futsal to Perth in 1997. Many of the Santos players were pioneers of Futsal in Scotland thanks to the involvement of a Perth select team in the Commonwealth Club Championships in Burnley in ’97 and each made a commitment to put together a side to play in the inaugural Perth league. Following a couple of years of development many of the players rejoined the same side and FC Santos was created. Players Potter and Matthew Brand are the two remaining members of the inaugural Club squad still involved from 1997. Of the remaining squad, 7 joined in 2000 with the creation of FC Santos, and since then new players have been introduced annually. Current Club Captain Grant McGregor was one of two youth players brought in 2003 and it says much for his development that he now holds that position.
Since then Santos have endeavoured to bring through top young players to compliment the existing senior players in order to sustain a regular challenge for honours in both the regional and now national league structures. Many of the Santos players involved now were under 18 when they took up the game so the side still has a young average age and is, therefore, still developing, but the desire to continue to develop top young Futsal players is maintained.
As these players continue to develop alongside the senior players there is the potential for FC Santos to continue the success of recent seasons.
The Club has recently developed a second string side to accommodate the large number of players required for national and international squads. Fair City Pumas are the feeder or “B” team for FC Santos and a mix of experienced players with fresh young talent enables the club to bring on the latter players in preparation for competition at a higher level.
It is this mix of youth and experience which has served the Club so well. The experience gained by the players from tournaments in Belgium and Spain in particular, where the team were introduced to the eastern European style of play has also enabled the club to continue to improve. Club Manager Potter has also studied with top Spanish coach Javier Venancio Lopez, now Spanish National team coach at a two-day seminar in Dublin and Igor Kuznechenkov, from St Petersburg in Russia. Santos are unlikely to reach the dizzy heights of either of these individuals, but the desire to improve has meant the players learning the different styles of the southern European and Russian futsal cultures.
Within the existing squad, many of the younger players are proving themselves to be capable players at amateur level on the international stage and the UEFA Futsal Cup provided the sternest challenge yet.
Honours
Scottish Futsal League - Scotland National League Winners - 2006
Scottish Futsal League - Perth League Winners – 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Scottish Futsal League - Perth Summer League winners – 2000, 2001, 2003
Scottish Futsal League - Winter League Cup winners – 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009
Scottish Futsal League - Christmas Cup Winners – 2001, 2002
Maccabi GB Invitational Tournament Winners – 2005, 2008
7 players from FC Santos have represented the Scottish Amateur Football Association at international level in the Masita Cup competition in Dublin in 2002.
