History of Futsal

Futsal orignated in the South American countries of Uruguay and Brazil where, in the 1930’s, two versions of small-sided football were being played in the cities of Montevideo and Sao Paulo respectively.

In Brazil, a version began to develop on the streets of Sao Paulo, leading to the publishing of the first rules of the game in 1936 from the country that would soon become the masters of the game.

Juan Carlos Ceriani, an Argentinian physical education instructor living there at the time observed many youngsters practising football on basketball courts owing to the shortage of football pitches. It was there and then that the idea for a five-a-side variation came about.

Borrowing from the rules of water polo, handball and basketball, Ceriani drew up the original rules of game, which were quickly be adopted across South America. In 1965 the Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol de Salon (South American Futsal Confederation) was formed, consisting of Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina and Brazil, the latter having quickly developed into a hotbed for the sport.

Futsal crossed the Atlantic to Europe along with the many Spanish and Portuguese immigrants returning from South America at that time. The continued growth in the sport then led to the foundation of FIFUSA, the Federacion Internacional de Futbol de Salon (International Futsal Federation), comprising of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay.

In 1989 FIFA recognised the potential of the sport and asserted itself as the governing body, abbreviating Futebol de Sala to ‘Futsal’ and organising the first FIFA Futsal World Championship.

Under FIFA’s control new rules were introduced aimed at improving the technical aspects of the game for players and spectators alike.

The ball was made slightly larger (increased to a size 4) but still weighted to reduce bounce. Linesmen were replaced with a second referee and unlimited substitutions were introduced to improve the dynamics of the game.

FIFA’s relationships with its member associations enabled more and more countries to gain access to Futsal knowledge and resources.

Finally Futsal could begin to establish itself on the worldwide stage.

UEFA also contributed to the growing popularity of the game by organising the first European championships in Spain. Russia took the title after a penalty shoot out.

The tournament attracted large crowds and convinced UEFA to extend the development of the game, encouraging more of it’s member associations to take part in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Championships held in Russia in 2001 and Italy in 2003.

Encouraged by the growth in stature of the domestic leagues in Europe, UEFA created the official European competition for Futsal clubs the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2001, with teams from member associations earning their right to play in the competition by winning the National League or Championship organised by their own association.

UEFA now continues to organise the UEFA Futsal Cup and European Championships amongst their major flagship tournaments with increasing popularity and attendance by futsal fans.

Futsal is still in the embryonic stages of development in England but over recent years has made massive strides in growing the game on a national level as well as developing an England National Team. This development has taken place through the commitment and resource that The FA has invested in this small-sided game.

The FA has shown a commitment to creating a lasting history for Futsal in England by developing their own FA National Futsal league and competitions structures. The FA Futsal Leagues comprise of three regional men’s competitions that provide six teams for the end of season play-offs to determine the national champions. The FA Futsal Cup for men and women begins with local leagues and progresses through regional qualifiers to the three day Finals at the EIS in Sheffield in July. The introduction of a British Universities Futsal Championships with a representative team taking part in the FISU World Futsal Championships has seen the game expand rapidly in the Higher Education sector. The development of the British College Sport Futsal Programme has seen the sport introduced into the Further Education sector.

An England senior men’s futsal team has contested qualification matches for the FIFA Futsal World Cup and UEFA European Championships. The team draws its players predominately from FA National Futsal League clubs and semi professional 11 a side football. The squad get together on a regular basis and each year open trials are held to recruit new talented players in an attempt to move England up the international futsal rankings over the coming years.