Futsal
WHAT IS FUTSAL?
Futsal is the approved version of five-aside football and the world’s fastest-growing indoor sport. Futsal is a small-sided – 5v5 – game played with a smaller (size 3 or 4) low bounce ball, on a basketball-sized court without rebound walls or nets. It is a game that combines fun, creativity, speed, technique, teamwork, and quick thinking.
With millions of players worldwide, futsal is a fantastic game in its own right, with professional leagues throughout Europe, South America and Asia, and a FIFA Futsal World Cup every four years. The current world champions are Brazil. Futsal produces technically excellent players and as such is an invaluable tool for football development. Futsal actively promotes:
- individual ball skills, close control, and dribbling,
- creativity and improvisation,
- maintenance of ball possession,
- one-touch passing (along the ground)
- accurate shooting, and
- teamwork and off the ball movement.
At the Taranaki YMCA, we have a Wednesday night social and competitive futsal league.
World superstars such as Pele, Zico, Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Iniesta, Messi, and Neymar have all acknowledged the role futsal played in their football development. Futsal has its own superstars with Brazil’s Falcão, arguably the world’s greatest player and often referred to as ‘The Pele of Futsal’. He has won the world player of the year 4 times and is among the most skillful players.