Overview of Futsal

Futsal is a 5-a-side version of futbol played on a hard flat surface (court) just a bit bigger than a basketball court, with a smaller, low-bounce ball. Futsal was created in Uruguay in the 1930s as a way to play futbol indoors. It spread quickly throughout South America and is widely acknowledged as a key factor in the development of talent there as well as in Spain and Portugal. Players like Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldinho, and Neymar Jr. all played futsal when they were young and recognize its role in their success in futbol.

Futsal is a great sport on its own merit and its popularity is growing in the US and across the world. In the US we now have both a men’s (est. in the early 1980s) and women’s national team (est. 2024) for futsal and we are looking forward to the first ever Futsal Women’s World Cup in 2025!!

Benefits of Futsal

Futsal is widely recognized in the US for its value in technical and tactical development for young soccer players. The parameters of the game (small-sided, low bounce ball, no walls, limitations on GK, 4 second restarts, etc.) help develop certain skills better than other versions of futbol.
Here are a few aspects of the soccer game that Futsal is particularly good at developing:

• technical ability in tight spaces
• 1v1 ability (attacking and defending)
• movement off the ball to create space and unbalance defenders
• quick decision making
• precision passing
• creative and opportunistic finishing
• combination play in tight space
• defending in 2s and 3s
• GKs reaction speed and ability/comfort with their feet.