History of Futsal
Futsal was invented in the Philippines in 1930. The international governing body FIFUSA (Federación Internacional de Fútbol de Salón, 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, while the United States Futsal Federation coined the name "Futsal" the same year.

FIFA soon began to administer its own indoor football games, creating its own version of the rules and hosting its first FIFA Indoor Soccer World Championship in 1989 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1992 it was the FIFA Five-a-Side World Championship (Hong Kong) and since 1996 it has been called the FIFA Futsal World Championship (Guatemala). One of the most remarkable changes was the reduction of the ball weight and increase in ball size (from a handball size to a football size 4), which enabled faster play and, for the first time, scoring goals with the head (though this is still difficult and uncommon). In 2004, members of PANAFutsal (La Confederación Panamericana de Futsal, The Pan-American Futsal Confederation) formed AMF (Asociación Mundial de Fútbol de Salón, World Futsal Association), an international Futsal governing body independent of FIFA Both FIFA and AMF continue to administer the game.

Some professional players start out with Futsal to build fundamental skills Brazilian players Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Juninho and many more started out playing Futsal. In Brazil, the majority of children start out with Futsal rather than association football since it requires less space and many schools in the country do not have a field to play traditional association football. There are also some notable players like Falcão who continue to play Futsal at the club level. Iranian Vahid Shamsaie has scored the most goals in Futsal history - he has helped Iran win every AFC Futsal championship except one.


Futsal: The game explained
The official rules for Futsal –‘The FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game are published by FIFA and cover all aspects of the rules that the game should be played to and the disciplinary actions that players face when they infringe on those rules. Click here to download the 2008 Futsal Laws of the Game or click here to view online with interactive videos. Click here to download the 2008 Futsal Questions and Answers document published by FIFA.

There are 18 laws in all, ranging in focus from the technical requirements of the ball and pitch through to the exact workings of the accumulated foul rule. These are the basic principals of the game that make it different from any other versions of five-a-side that you might have played before:

The Pitch
Futsal is played on a marked pitch and the ball can go out of play (see illustration for dimensions and layout of pitch)

The Ball
Is a fundamental factor in making the game and is by virtue of the laws of the game required to be a smaller, heavier, ‘low bounce’ version of 11 a-side ball

Head Height
There are no restrictions (apart from the ceiling of the sports hall!) as to how high the ball can be kicked in Futsal

Rotating Substitutions
Up to 12 players can be used in one match and there is no limit on how long a player must stay on or off the pitch. Players must enter and leave the field of play via the ‘substitution zone’ that is marked on the pitch in front of the team’s benches

Kick-Ins
In order to restart the game after a ball has gone out of play the ball is kicked back into play from the touchline and from corners. The ball must be placed stationary on the touchline and the feet of the player taking the kick-in must not cross the line

The 4 Second Rule
For kick-ins, free kicks, goal clearances and corner kicks the player in possession of the ball has 4 seconds to restart play which the referee will count with their fingers in the air. If play isn’t restarted within four seconds an indirect free kick will be awarded to the opposing team. The goalkeeper is not allowed to control the ball for more than 4 seconds in his own half

The 5m Rule
Players are required to keep 5m from the player in possession of the ball on free kicks, corners, goal clearances, kick-ins and penalties

Goalkeepers
Goalkeepers are allowed to come out of and players are allowed to go into the penalty area. A goal clearance must be thrown out and the goalkeeper cannot touch the ball again until it has crossed into the opponents half or a member of the opposition has touched the ball

Accumulated Fouls
Each team will be allowed to give away 5 direct free kicks in each half, then on the sixth foul a direct kick is awarded to the opposing team and the defending team is not allowed to position any players (other than the goal keeper) between the ball and the goal. The kick may be take from the 10m mark or, if the foul was committed closer to the goal than the 10m mark, then the kick may be taken from the position where the foul took place

Real Time
A Futsal match consists of two twenty minute half's that are played real-time which means the clock stops whenever the ball goes out of play

Time Outs
Each team is allowed a one-minute time out in each half lasting 60 seconds

Sliding Tackles
Sliding tackles are not allowed in Futsal but players ARE allowed to slide on the pitch, for example to stop the ball from going out of play. For a player sliding to be considered an offence, the tackler’s opponent must have possession of the ball. Referees will not give a foul for a slide if the opponent does not have possession of the ball

Red Cards
If a player is sent off then the team to which the player belongs must remain with 4 players until either two minutes have passed, or the opposition have scored a goal

In an International or National Conference Futsal match there are three referees and one timekeeper, here's what they are responsible for:

First Referee
The first referee is responsible for controlling the match and has full authority to enforce the laws of the game. They will keep a record of the match and provide the appropriate authorities with a match report if required and will act as a timekeeper if one isn’t present

Second Referee
The second referee is also permitted to use his whistle to stop the game for any infringement of the laws and will ensure that the substitutions are carried out correctly

Third Referee
The third referee assists the timekeeper and the other referees by recording details of the game on the match report sheet such as times of goals, stoppages and the number of accumulated fouls. The third referee should also try to control the bench area for the two teams, only allowing the coach to stand a give instruction to the players

The main differences between Eleven-a-side Football, traditional English Five-a-side and Futsal are summarised below:

Traditional 5-a-Side		Futsal		Eleven-a-Side
Five players on court – limited substitutions		Five players on court – rolling substitutions		Eleven players on pitch – maximum three substitutions
No By or End lines – use rebound boards Ball constantly in play		Played to lines. Ball is returned to play with a kick-in		Played to lines. Ball returned to play with a throw-in
Use of indoor or Astroturf pitch		Use of wider and longer indoor pitch		Use of outside grass pitch
Only Goalkeepers permitted to enter penalty area		All players allowed to enter the penalty area		All players allowed to enter the penalty area
Use of restriction to the height of the ball		No height restriction on ball		No height restriction on ball
Use of rectangular goals. Use of football size 5 for adults		Use of square goals (3m by 2m). Use of size 4 Futsal ball (30% reduced bounce)		Use of rectangular full-size goals. Use of football size 5 for adults
Unlimited fouls		Five foul limit. No wall for direct free kick from 10m after fifth foul		Unlimited fouls

Futsal Pitch