5 Reasons To Play Futsal
1. It’s the Official FIFA Game & Superior to Other ‘Indoor’
Futsal is the official FIFA 5-a-side football (soccer) game. It was developed in the late 1980s in order to grow and promote football throughout the world.
Futsal is designed to more closely compliment the 11-a-side game. Unlike other indoor and 5-a-side variations of the games, there are outs, so passing and making runs are of major importance.
In a statistical study comparing Futsal to indoor arena soccer with walls, players touch the ball 210% more often. With limited space, an out of bounds and constant opponent pressure, improved ball control skills and technique are required.
More than any other 5-a-side or indoor variation, Futsal encourages teamwork, tactics and strategy. This gives the game great depth, with the better teams analysing the strengths and weaknesses of themselves and their opponents and then developing strategies accordingly.
Futsal has it’s own FIFA World Cup
2. It Accelerates Your Learning Curve and Skills
You only need to look at the South American and European countries where Futsal is most widespread to see the impact it has on the skill level and decision making of the footballers who grow up playing it.
With the confines of a smaller pitch and less players. Players are constantly involved in the game, getting more touches, working in tighter spaces, under more pressure and forced to make more quick decisions per game than they would playing or training in the outdoor game.
Think for instance of the Futsal goalkeeper. Goalies are only allowed 4 seconds in possession of the ball, with turnovers overs far more likely to be punished on a smaller pitch.
With only four team mates and pressure being applied up the field, goal keepers have to be sure of foot when called upon. They are forced to make saves on the regular and from closer range.
The ball goes out over the goal line more often, meaning many more decisions about distributing the ball. The game moves so quickly that reading the play becomes incredibly important as to when to rush out or retreat in the face of a quick counter or dangerous through ball. Corners are taken a closer range, so communicating to defenders and being aware of what’s going on around you become increasingly important.
The same applies for every other player on the pitch, playing Futsal accelerates the learning curve for everyone.
Goal-keeper: Ready for an Attack
3. In A Busy World, It’s Efficient
Futsal is growing and is now available within a short drive of most people’s work and homes. A social league game will typically take up only 40 minutes, with most competitions running on weeknights.
Playing for an outdoor club will generally require a training session or two a week, plus a few precious hours of your weekend. It will also probably cost you a dime in terms of playing fees, uniform and equipment expenses.
If you fall in love with the game, like many do, then you have the option of playing a few games a night or multiple times a week. You’ll also enjoy the fact that there’s no off-season. Futsal is played all year around.
Even if you are just looking to play amongst friends and not in a league, you only need to get ten people together and courts are readily available and relatively cheap to hire.
You also have the opportunity to play Futsal at a high level with inter-city, inter-state and International competitions growing legs in recent years. International Futsal is played on a larger court than most social leagues and in Europe and South America attracts crowds in the tens of thousands.
Futsal in Brazil attracts big crowds
4. It’s Intuitive, Safe & Easy to Learn
With no off-sides and very few incredibly technical rules, the rules of Futsal are easily picked up by new players. With the game growing so quickly, new teams are entering all the time and with most social competitions graded, you will have the opportunity to play against those with similar skills and knowledge.
The game is also a lot safer than other indoor variations that lend themselves to the ball being contested for next to wooden boards and nets.
Other than shin pads, a decent pair of shoes and some kind of uniform, the cost of playing is low when compared with a lot of other sports.
Social League Futsal in Melbourne, Australia
5. It’s Social, A Good Workout & Fun
Playing in a social Futsal team is a great way to have a regular catch up with your friends and also connect with new people. As a growing sport in many parts of the world, the Futsal community tends to be quite tight knit and welcoming.
Unlike other sports, you only need five for a team, and it works with a few subs as well. This makes it pretty easy to keep your team on the park no matter if you have a few unavailable.
The pace of the game makes it an excellent workout, you’ll get a lot of touches, make a lot of runs and do a lot of scrambling defending. Even the goalkeepers walk off with a good sweat up.
The most important thing of all about Futsal is that it’s incredibly fun, no matter how seriously you want to take it. It’s impossible not to find a way to enjoy this great sport.