Why Futsal is here to stay

Ok, so you’ve heard about futsal. It sounds like this foreign game played by foreigners. Well remember that was Football (soccer) before the immigrants brought it here. Now we are in love with that game, Soccer. Many people think of Futbol (which is Football in Spanish) when they hear Futsal. I’ve seen many people spell it FUTSOL. Others think that the ball is real heavy, while others have never even heard of it.

Well let’s look at the reason it’s called Futsal. Futsal comes from two Spanish words that were combined. Futbol (football) and Sala or Salon (indoor) were combined to make the word Futsal. In other countries they may call it Futbol de Salon.

Futsal was invented in Uruguay, but it was Brazil that adopted it and made it what it is today. Brazil started winning all the world cups and developing player after player, non stop. Everyone knew that if you wanted a good player, you had to go to Brazil. The one constant that was found was that Brazilians played a lot of Futsal and street soccer, which are similar. Futsal and street soccer were perfect for Brazil for several reasons that you can read about here. But just to name a few, there was a lack of funds for grass pitches, the fabelas were overpopulated, and the goals were smaller. So in the crowded cities, small concrete courts were used as their soccer fields. When the game went indoors, not much changed. The floor was smoother, the temperature was controlled, and the rules were modernized.

When other countries started focusing on player development, they did what we all do today, go find what is working and copy it and/or make it better. Don’t reinvent the wheel, just do what is already working. Pretty soon Spain adopted Futsal as a form of player development and it was their success as well that increased the popularity of Futsal throughout Europe.

Today, Futsal is the fastest growing sport in the US. Futsal is here to stay in the United States, even though many people may still have their doubts. The US Youth Futsal Association now has leagues across the United States and is growing at a very rapid pace. Futsal is not only being played in the winter, but also during the summer months, as well as in southern states where winters are very mild. The US Soccer Federation has finally started their US National Team and US Youth National teams. Today Futsal is rapidly expanding across the US and this is great news for everyone involved with soccer because Futsal only helps you be a better soccer player. Keith Tozer, US Futsal coach, is at the helm and leading the charge. He is also the US Youth Futsal technical director.

The people that will benefit the most from this revolution is you and me. Parents and their kids who play soccer. Why? because Futsal will be played by our kids at one time or another due to its popularity. Playing Futsal will make a huge impact on their development. Futsal forces players to use their feet, control the ball, improve coordination, and play in tight spaces. These are all factors that contribute to increased player development. The ball is constantly played on the ground, it’s rare that the ball leaves the floor. This forces the players to use their feet and with that comes foot skills improvement.

Everyone that starts playing Futsal immediately falls in love with the fast pace of the game. The only players that don’t like Futsal are the ones that can’t control the ball.

If you have any questions about Futsal, send me an email . I currently own a Futsal league and train all of my players using Futsal.