Futsal is a sport originated in Portugal and Spain that can be translated as "indoor football."
Futsal is globally recognized as a scaled-down version of outdoor soccer played indoors. It is a small-sided game played on a hard-surfaced, court with a smaller and heavier ball.
"Futsal" started in 1930 when Juan Carlos Ceriani, a teacher in Uruguay, created a version of indoor football for recreation in YMCAs. This new sport was originally developed for playing on basketball courts.
It took many years but in 1985, Joseph Blatter, at that time secretary of football's governing body, FIFA, thought it was the right time to enlarge indoor football's influence, so that's when it was named "Futsal".
It is essential to recognize that Futsal is classified as playing on hard surfaces without barriers or walls. Some indoor facilities we have here in Northern Virginia, like the Sportsplex in Sterling, wouldn’t be classified as a Futsal court.
In walled soccer, players regularly hit the ball against the walls which:
Promotes improper technique
Rewards errant play
In futsal players are constantly reminded to play the same type of quality game that is required for success in the outdoor game. Millions of players around the world play futsal to improve their skills and touch.
The ball is a lot smaller/heavier and the hard floor makes it hard to control the ball, so it demands perfect technique. Every player has to really focus on quick reflexes and perfect touches.
Since the game is so technical this is why some of the world's greatest players like Neymar, Ronaldihno, and Cristiano Ronaldo, started their careers playing it.
Cristiano Ronaldo: "Futsal has been very important in my life. In developing my technique, quick thinking, short movements.
“During my childhood in Portugal, all we played was futsal. The small playing area helped me improve my close control, and whenever I played futsal I felt free. If it wasn't for futsal, I wouldn't be the player I am today."
Globally, its popularity is very high when it comes to the number of people who play it. When it comes to the number of people who watch the professional leagues worldwide it's still a growing sport. Recently, UEFA has put more funding into these competitions which gives it a great chance to become bigger in the next few years.
Just like regular soccer Futsal has a World Cup. It takes place every four years, and 24 nations compete for the chance to win it. The most recent one took place last year in Lithuania and the winners of the competition were Portugal.
Again, just like regular soccer Futsal also has a Champions League, where the top European teams compete for glory. The most recent winner was FC Barcelona.
Futsal is a self-teaching game. Players are constantly put in situations where they must pass, receive, dribble and move, while under pressure, in a tight space. It is so beneficial and it makes playing on a regular pitch a lot easier!
Because of this, we wanted to introduce Futsal to some of our readers who may not know much about it or who may be aware but don't understand its importance.
Over the next few weeks, we will be going into more detail explaining the benefits of Futsal so stay tuned!
How We Can Help:
At FuturElitez Soccer, we emphasize a lot of our player's mindsets and attitudes towards not only football/soccer but life. Not only do we emphasize this with our players, but we put out information for everyone to see such as our blogs, Instagram and TikTok.
We try to put out a message to help everyone live their life to the fullest! If you enjoyed this read, it would mean so much to us if you could share this with a friend/family member. Thank you in advance for always reading our blogs on a weekly basis.