What is Futsal?
Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced small sided football game that originates from South America in the 1930s. It is widely played across the world, and is the small sided football format that is officially recognised by both UEFA and FIFA. The nature of the game places a large emphasis on technical skill and ability in situations of high pressure, and is subsequently an excellent breeding ground for football competencies that can be translated into the 11-a-side format of the game.
Many of the top world class footballers played Futsal in their youth and credit it with supporting their footballing development. Players of the calibre of Pele, Zico, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Lionel Messi to name but a few of the South American legends all played and enjoyed Futsal. But Futsal has not just helped produce South American football stars, on the European stage Cristiano Ronaldo, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas amongst many others have played Futsal to develop their skills.
Futsal began in Uruguay and Brazil where the large crowded cities and a shortage of playing pitches forced a football mad populace to play small sided football and in 1936 the first rules emerged. Futsal was the name chosen by FIFA, which is simply a combination of the Spanish words for ‘hall’ (Sala) and ‘football’ (Futbol): hence ‘Futsal’.
Futsal is a five-a-side game, normally played on a flat indoor pitch with hockey sized goals and a size 4 ball with a reduced bounce. It is played to touchlines and all players are free to enter the penalty area and play the ball over head-height. Games are 20 minutes per half, played to a stopping clock (similar to basketball) with time-outs permitted. There are a number of differences to traditional small sided football, but the dominant elements are the absence of rebound boards and amendments in the laws that encourage and foster skilful, creative play above the physical contact that tends to be a feature of English five-a-side.
Futsal in England
Since 2003 The FA have been supporting the introduction of Futsal in England and during that time the game has grown rapidly. From humble beginnings within this country, with limited awareness and even more limited structures, The FA has established a framework for promoting and developing the sport. The FA has developed and supported the following to drive the growth of Futsal in England:
• England Senior Men’s Team that enters the FIFA Futsal World Cup and UEFA European Futsal Championships as well as playing a number of international friendly matches each season.
Beneath the England team is the England Development Squad and eight Regional Centres of Futsal Excellence for 16 -19 year olds supporting the identification and development of talented Futsal players.
• FA National Futsal Leagues were established in 2008 and are comprised of two divisions with each division divided into three regional leagues (North, Midlands and South) that play throughout the season. The top teams in Division 1 at the end of the season progress into the FA National Super League and on to the Grand Finals to contest for the title of National Futsal Champions. The National Champions progress into the UEFA Futsal Cup to represent England.
• British Universities & English Colleges Futsal Championships are two competitions that have been going from strength-to-strength over recent years with a large number of colleges and universities across Britain entering male and female teams. The growth of university and college Futsal is significantly important for the ongoing development of the game.
• The FA National Youth Futsal Festival has been running since 2007 to encourage young people to participate in Futsal. Boys and girls teams from across the country between the ages of 10 – 16 years old progress through regional festivals to reach the National Youth Futsal Festival. This event is hugely popular and is helping to promote the game within schools and youth clubs. In 2013 over 2,000 teams participated in this competition.
• The FA U19s National Futsal Championships is the most recent competition to be introduced by The FA. The competition acts as a bridge helping to support young players in making the transition between youth Futsal and the adult game.
• The FA Futsal Fives are local recreational Futsal leagues that The FA have established across the country to help provide local opportunities for participants to play the game.
• Coaching & Refereeing The FA have established a number of courses to support the development and learning of both coaches and referees within Futsal.