Futsal

Have you ever heard of a sport called futsal? The word futsal comes from the Spanish word for soccer (futbol) and the French word for indoor (salon). Futsal is similar to soccer. Each team has only five players. It is played both indoors and outdoors on basketball-size courts. Futsal is a compact form of soccer that is played with remarkable speed and awesome footwork.

Futsal is mostly played indoors. But any basketball court or rectangular area could be used to play the game. It has a smaller court and fewer players. The goals are much smaller, too. Unlimited substitution is allowed during the game. Instead of throw-ins when the ball goes out of bounds, there are kick-ins. Because of the amount of running up and down the court, the games consist of two twenty minute halves. Soccer halves are usually forty-five minutes. Scoring is the same as soccer with one point for each goal. Futsal usually has higher scoring than soccer. You are likely to see ten goals between the two teams in an average game.

Futsal, like soccer, did not begin in the United States. Athletes in Uruguay, South America, invented the game in 1930. It became so popular in Uruguay that people in other countries began to play it. Now, over twelve million athletes in over one hundred countries enjoy playing futsal. It is most popular in Brazil, another South American country.