History of Futsal

The development of Salón Futbol or Futebol de Salão — now called "futsal" in many countries — can be traced back to 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay, the same year the inaugural World Cup was held in the country.

Salon Futbol was developed by Juan Carlos Ceriani to be played at YMCAs. Ceriani's game was designed for five players per team and could be played indoors or outdoors. At around the same time, a similar form of soccer played on basketball courts was being developed in São Paulo, Brazil. These new forms of soccer were quickly adopted throughout South America. The Brazilian Confederation of Sport instituted its first official rules for futebol de salão in 1958.

The international governing body FIFUSA (Federación Internacional de Fútbol de Salón, or "International Futsal Federation") was created in 1971 to administer the game, and held its first futsal world championship in São Paulo in 1982. Due to an apparent dispute with FIFA over the administration of fútbol, FIFUSA coined the word fut-sal in 1985; the United States Futsal Federation coined the name "futsal" the same year.

FIFA soon began to administer its own indoor soccer games, creating its own version of the rules and hosting its first FIFA Indoor Soccer World Championship in 1989 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In 1992, the first FIFA Five-a-Side World Championship took place in Hong Kong. Since 1996 in Guatemala, it has been named the FIFA Futsal World Championship.

One of the most notable changes between futsal and the traditional soccer was the reduction of the ball weight and increase in ball size (from a handball size to a soccer ball size 4), which enabled faster play and, for the first time, scoring goals with the head (though this is still difficult and uncommon).

In 2002, members of PANAFUTSAL (La Confederación Panamericana de Futsal, or "The Pan-American Futsal Confederation") formed AMF (Asociación Mundial de Fútbol de Salón, or "World Futsal Association"), an international futsal governing body independent of FIFA. Both FIFA and AMF continue to administer the game.

Many world-class players began their soccer development with futsal to build their fundamental skills. Some examples include Brazilian players Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Juninho. In many parts of the world, children start out playing futsal rather than soccer, as it requires smaller spaces and numbers.

Why Futsal?

One of the main benefits of futsal is its ability to motivate players in an environment that is conducive to learning. The more pleasure young players derive from their participation, the more they are likely to play and practice on their own. Young players have a natural instinct to play, but their appreciation for soccer must be cultivated. The very nature of futsal is an excellent tool for teaching the individual techniques and skills that are fundamental to any young soccer player’s success.

Futsal assists skill development

  • Allows players to frequently receive numerous touches on the ball
  • Presents many opportunities to score goals
  • Encourages regaining possession of the ball as a productive, fun and rewarding part of the game (defending)
  • Maximizes active participation and minimizes inactivity and boredom
  • Provides a well-organized playing environment with improvised fields
  • Reflects the philosophy of player development
  • Eliminates complicated rules such as offsides that may hinder young players from "playing"
  • Reflects the appropriate role of the coach as a facilitator
  • Makes the game more "beginning coach"-friendly because the game is simplified
  • Allows the game to be the teacher!

For more information on futsal, please contact Washington Youth Soccer’s Technical Department.