Futsal

Futsal started in 1930 when Juan Carlos Ceriani, a teacher in Montevideo, Uruguay, created a version of indoor football for YMCAs.[6]

Originally developed for basketball courts,[7] a rule book for the new sport was published in September 1933. Association football was already highly popular in the country, and after Uruguay won the 1930 World Cup and gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, it attracted even more practitioners. Ceriani's goal was to create a team game similar to football that could be played indoors or outdoors.

While writing the rule book, Ceriani combined the principles of association football—where the ball may be touched with every part of the body except the hands—with rules from other sports: from basketball, the number of players (five per team) and the game's duration (40 active minutes); from water polo, the goalkeeping rules; and from team handball, the field and goal sizes.

The YMCA spread the game quickly throughout South America. It was easily played by everyone, everywhere, and in any weather condition, helping players of other sports stay in shape all year round. These reasons convinced João Lotufo, a Brazilian, to bring the game to his country and adapt it to the needs of physical education.

Initially, the rules were not uniform. In 1956, the rules were modified by Habib Maphuz and Luiz Gonzaga de Oliveira Fernandes within the YMCA of São Paulo, Brazil, to allow seniors to compete. Luiz de Oliveira wrote the Book of Rules of Futsal in 1956, then adopted also at the international level.

In 1965, the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol de Salón (South American Futsal Confederation) was formed, consisting of Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru and Argentina.

Shortly after, a tournament was organized. It attracted some interest in South American media, which regularly began to follow futsal. In particular, it was the Brazilian journalist José Antônio Inglêz who passionately contributed to the rapid spread of the game, as well as being credited as the man who coined the name "futsal".[8]

The most attended futsal match in history was played on 7 September 2014 on Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brazil's capital Brasilia between Brazil and Argentina in front of 56,483 spectators.[9]

Length of the field[12]

minimum 25 m × 16 m (82 ft × 52 ft), maximum 42 m × 25 m (138 ft × 82 ft).

Ball

Ages 13 and up: Size 4, circumference 62–64 cm (24–25 in), weight between 400–440 g (14–16 oz) at the start of the game.

Ages 9–13: Size 3, circumference 56–59 cm (22–23 in), weight between 350–380 g (12–13 oz) at the start of the game.[13]

Dropped from a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in), the first rebound must not be lower than 50 cm (20 in) or more than 65 cm (26 in).[14]

The ideal futsal ball should weigh 390–490 grams.[15]

Time

There are two periods of 20 minutes with time stopping at every dead ball. Between the two periods there is a break of 15 minutes. Each team may use one time-out per half, which lasts one minute. Some leagues and tournaments use 25 minute periods with running time.

Number of players

There are five players for each team in the field, one of them as goalkeeper, and a maximum number of 12 players that can be used each match. Substitutions are unlimited and on-the-fly.

Fouls

All direct free kicks count as accumulated fouls. A direct free kick is awarded for kicking, tripping, charging, jumping, pushing, striking, tackling, holding, spitting, and deliberate handling. Indirect free kicks, such as playing dangerously and impeding, do not count as accumulated fouls. A team is warned by the referee when they commit five accumulated fouls in a half. All accumulated fouls after the warning result in a direct kick from the second penalty mark.

Cards

A caution can be shown for unsporting behavior, dissent, failure to respect the distance on a restart, excessive delay of a restart, persistent infringement, or incorrectly entering/leaving the field of play. A player or substitute can be sent off for serious foul play, violent conduct, spitting, illegally denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, abusive language, and receiving a second caution. Sent-off players are ejected from the game and their team must play short for two minutes or until the other team scores a goal.

Free kicks

Taken from the spot of the infringement or on the line of the penalty area nearest the infringement (indirect only). All opponents must be at least 5 m (16 ft) away from the ball. The kick must be taken within four seconds or an indirect kick is awarded to the other team.

Kick from the second penalty mark

Awarded when a team commits 6 or more accumulated fouls in a half. Second penalty mark is 10 m (33 ft) from the goal, opponents must be behind the ball, goalkeeper must be at least 5 m (16 ft) away.

Penalty kick

6 m (20 ft) from the center of the goal for fouls inside the 6 m (20 ft) goal keeper's area.

Goalkeeper

When in possession of the ball, the goalkeeper has 4 seconds to get rid of the ball. If the ball is kept too long, the referee will give an indirect kick to the other team. The goalkeeper may play freely when in the opponent's half.

Goalkeeper pass-back restriction

Once the goalkeeper has released the ball either by kicking or throwing, the goalkeeper may not touch it again until the ball goes out of play or is touched by an opponent. The sanction for violation is an indirect free kick. The goalkeeper may receive the ball freely when on the opponent's half.

Kick-in

A kick-in is used instead of a throw-in. The player must place the ball on the touchline or outside but not more than 25 cm (9.8 in) from the place the ball when out of play. The ball must be stationary and the kick-in must be taken within 4 seconds from the time the player is ready. During kick-in, opponents must stand at least 5 m (16 ft) from the ball. If four seconds elapses or an illegal kick is taken, the referee will award a kick-in to the other team. It is not allowed to score directly from a kick-in: the goal is valid only if someone else touches the ball before it enters in goal.

Goal clearance

A goal clearance is used instead of a goal kick. The goalkeeper must throw the ball with their hands and it must leave the penalty area within four seconds. If goal clearance is taken illegally the goalkeeper may retry, but the referee will not reset the count. If four seconds elapses, the other team gets an indirect kick on the penalty area line.

Corner kick

The ball must be placed inside the arc nearest to the point where the ball crossed the goal line and the opponent must stand on field at least 5 m (16 ft) from the corner arch until the ball is in play. The corner kick must be taken within 4 seconds of being ready or else a goal clearance will be awarded to the other team. The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves.

Referees

For international matches, there must be two referees: one (first referee) is positioned on the touchline near the timekeeper table and communicates with the timekeeper, while the other (second referee) is in the opposite side of the field. At the timekeeper table there is a timekeeper and a third referee, who controls the teams' benches. In minor events, the third referees and the timekeeper are not used.

The Brazil national futsal team line up before a match.

There are five players on the field on each team, one of whom is the goalkeeper. The maximum number of substitutes allowed is nine (FIFA change 2012), with unlimited substitutions during the match. Substitutes can come on even when the ball is in play but the player coming off must leave the field before the substitute can enter the playing field.[16] If a team has or is reduced to fewer than three players remaining, the match is abandoned and counted as a loss for the team with the lack of players.[17]

The kit is made up of a jersey or shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, shinguards made out of metal, plastic or foam, and shoes with rubber soles. The goalkeeper is allowed to wear long trousers and a different coloured kit to distinguish themself from the other players on the team and the referee. The goalkeeper is also allowed to wear elbow pads because the surface is about as hard as a tennis court or basketball court. Jewellery is not allowed, nor are other items that could be dangerous to the player wearing the item or to other active participants.[18]

The match is controlled by the referee, who enforces the Laws of the Game, and the first referee is the only one who can legally abandon the match because of interference from outside the field. This referee is assisted by a second referee who typically watches over the goal lines or assists the primary referee with calls on fouls or plays. The decisions made by the referees are final and can only be changed if the referees think it is necessary and play has not restarted.[19] There is also a third referee and a timekeeper who are provided with equipment to keep a record of fouls in the match. In the event of injury to the second referee, the third referee will replace the second referee.[20]

A futsal field

The field is made up of wood or artificial material, or similar surface, although any flat, smooth and non-abrasive material may be used. The length of the field is in the range of 38–42 m (125–138 ft), and the width is in the range of 20–25 m (66–82 ft) in international matches. For other matches, it can be 25–42 m (82–138 ft) in length, while the width can be 16–25 m (52–82 ft), as long as the length of the longer boundary lines (touchlines) are greater than the shorter boundaries where the goals are placed (goal lines) (Basketball courts of 28 m × 15 m (92 ft × 49 ft) can be used). The "standard" size court for an international is 40 m × 20 m (131 ft × 66 ft) (the size of a handball field).[21] The ceiling must be at least 4 m (13 ft) high.[22]

A rectangular goal is positioned at the middle of each goal line. The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 3 m (9.8 ft) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 2 m (6.6 ft) above the ground. Nets made of hemp, jute or nylon are attached to the back of the goalposts and crossbar. The lower part of the nets is attached to curved tubing or another suitable means of support. The depth of the goal is 80 cm (31 in) at the top and 1 m (3.3 ft) at the bottom.[23]

A futsal arena in Tokyo

In front of each goal is an area known as the penalty area. This area is created by drawing quarter-circles with a 6 m (20 ft) radius from the goal line, centered on the goalposts. The upper part of each quarter-circle is then joined by a 3.16 m (10.4 ft) line running parallel to the goal line between the goalposts. The line marking the edge of the penalty area is known as the penalty area line.[24] The penalty area marks where the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball with hands. The penalty mark is six metres from the goal line when it reaches the middle of the goalposts. The second penalty mark is 10 metres (33 ft) from the goal line when it reaches the middle of the goalposts. A penalty kick from the penalty spot is awarded if a player commits a foul inside the penalty area.[25] The second penalty spot is used if a player commits their team's sixth foul in the opposing team's half or in their own half in the area bordered by the halfway line and an imaginary line parallel to the halfway line passing through the second penalty mark; the free kick is taken from the second penalty mark.[26]

Any standard team handball field can be used for futsal, including goals and floor markings.

A standard match consists of two equal periods of 20 minutes. The length of either half is extended to allow penalty kicks to be taken or a direct free kick to be taken against a team that has committed more than five fouls. The interval between the two halves cannot exceed 15 minutes.[27]

In some competitions, the game cannot end in a draw, so away goals, extra time and kicks from the penalty mark are the three methods for determining the winner after a match has been drawn. Away goals mean that if the team's score is level after playing one home and one away game, the team which has scored more away goals wins. Extra time consists of two periods of five minutes. If no winner is produced after these methods, three kicks from the penalty mark are taken, and the team that has scored the most wins. If it is not decided after three kicks from the penalty mark, it continues to go on with one extra kick from the penalty mark to each team at a time until one of them has scored more goals than the other. Unlike extra time, the goals scored in a shoot-out do not count towards the goals scored throughout the match.[28]

At the beginning of the match, a coin toss is used to decide who will start the match. A kick-off is used to signal the start of play and is used at the start of the second half and any periods of extra time. It is also used after a goal has been scored, with the other team starting the play.[29] After a temporary stoppage for any reason not mentioned in the Laws of the Game, the referee will drop the ball where the play was stopped, provided that, before the stoppage, the ball was in play and had not crossed either the touch lines or goal lines.[30]

If the ball goes over the goal line or touchline, hits the ceiling, or the play is stopped by the referee, the ball is out of play. If it hits the ceiling of an indoor arena, play is restarted with a kick-in to the opponents of the team that last touched the ball, under the place where it hit the ceiling.[22]

Unlike association football, there is no offside in futsal. Under the Futsal Laws of the Game, Law 11 references offside as it does in association football, but only says that there is no offside in futsal.[31]

Players are cautioned with a yellow card and sent off with a red card.

A direct free kick can be awarded to the opposing team if a player succeeds or attempts to kick or trip an opponent, jumps, charges or pushes an opponent, or strikes or attempts to strike an opponent. Holding, touching or spitting at an opponent are offenses that are worthy of a direct free kick, as are sliding in to play the ball while an opponent is playing it or carrying, striking or throwing the ball (except the goalkeeper).

These are all accumulated fouls. After five accumulated fouls in a half, the sixth accumulated foul and beyond result in a direct kick from the penalty mark where members of both teams may not make a wall prior to the kick.

The direct free kick is taken where the infringement occurred, unless it is awarded to the defending team in their penalty area, in which case the free kick may be taken from anywhere inside the penalty area.[32] A penalty kick is awarded if a player commits one of the fouls that are worthy of a direct free kick inside their own penalty area. The position of the ball does not matter as long as it is in play but for a penalty kick, the ball must be on the outer line, perpendicular to the center of the net.[33]

An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper clears the ball but then touches it with their hands before anyone else, if the goalkeeper controls the ball with hands when it has been kicked to them by a teammate, or if they touch or control the ball with hands or feet in their own half for more than four seconds.[33]

An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player plays in a dangerous manner, deliberately obstructs an opponent, prevents the goalkeeper from throwing the ball with hands or anything else for which play is stopped to caution or dismiss a player. The indirect free kick is taken from the place where the infringement occurred.[33]

Yellow and red cards are used in futsal. The yellow card is to caution players over their actions. If they get two, they are given a red card, which means they are sent off the field. A yellow card is shown if a player shows unsporting behavior, dissent, persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game, delaying the restart of play, failing to respect the distance of the player from the ball when play is being restarted, infringement of substitution procedure or entering, re-entering and leaving the field without the referee's permission.[34] A player is shown the red card and sent off if they engage in serious foul play, violent conduct, spitting at another person, or denying the opposing team a goal by handling the ball (except the goalkeeper inside their penalty area). Also punishable with a red card is denying an opponent moving towards the player's goal a goal scoring opportunity by committing an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick and using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures.[34] A player who has been sent off must leave the vicinity of the field.

A substitute player is permitted to come on two minutes after a teammate has been sent off, unless a goal is scored before the end of the two minutes. If a team with more players scores against a team with fewer players, another player can be added to the team with an inferior number of players. If the teams are equal when the goal is scored or if the team with fewer players scores, both teams remain with the same number of players.

There is currently no official futsal ranking.
As of 29 July 2022, the top 25 teams according to one Elo-based ranking system are:[35]

#	Team	Points
1	Brazil	1,796
2	Spain	1,754
3	Portugal	1,744
4	Argentina	1,739
5	Russia	1,687
6	Iran	1,584
7	Kazakhstan	1,557
8	Paraguay	1,474
9	Morocco	1,450
10	Italy	1,438
11	Ukraine	1,427
12	Colombia	1,419
13	Azerbaijan	1,378
14	Japan	1,358
15	Croatia	1,349
16	Serbia	1,334
17	Czech Republic	1,331
18	Finland	1,327
19	France	1,307
20	Thailand	1,293
21	Slovenia	1,291
22	Venezuela	1,273
23	Slovakia	1,266
24	Georgia	1,256
25	Poland	1,254

[36] Calculate function

${\displaystyle P=P_{\text{Old}}+n(r-r_{e})}$

where:

• P_Old: team's point before the match
• n : the importance coefficient
  • 60 for World Cup finals;
  • 50 for continental championship finals and major intercontinental tournaments;
  • 40 for World Cup and continental qualifiers and major tournaments;
  • 30 for all other tournaments;
  • 20 for friendly matches.
• r: Result of the match
  • 1 for a winning.
  • 0.5 for a drawing.
  • 0 for a losing.
• r_e : the expected result of the match:

${\displaystyle r_{e}={\frac {1}{10^{-dR/400}+1}}}$

where dR is the difference between two teams' ratings before the game.

As of 11 March 2020, according to a ranking based partly on the ELO system, the top 10 teams are:[37]

#	Team	Points
1	Brazil	6,068
2	Spain	5,909
3	Portugal	5,817
4	Russia	5,700
5	Italy	5,599
6	Colombia	5,552
7	Argentina	5,529
8	Iran	5,526
9	Ukraine	5,508
10	Japan	5,443

• Futsal at the Pan American Games
• Futsal at the Lusophony Games

Men's

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Winners	Score	Runners-Up		3rd Place	Score	4th Place
1984 Details	São Paulo		Brazil	5–4	Paraguay		Spain	7–6	Italy
1990 Details	Parma		Italy	5–4 (pen)	Spain		Soviet Union	5–4	Belgium
1992 Details	Málaga		Spain	8–1	Belgium		Italy	2–1	Brazil
1994 Details	Nicosia		Russia	6–5	Spain		Italy	6–2	Belgium
1996 Details	Jyväskylä		Brazil	6–5 (aet)	Russia		Ukraine	9–5	Portugal
1998 Details	Braga		Ukraine	3–2 (aet)	Russia		Brazil	5–1	Portugal
2000 Details	João Pessoa		Brazil	6–2	Italy		Russia	3–2	Portugal
2002 Details	Nyíregyháza		Russia	4–1	Italy		Ukraine	5–3	Hungary
2004 Details	Palma De Mallorca		Ukraine	3–1	Brazil		Russia	3–2	Spain
2006 Details	Poznań		Russia	4–1	Brazil		Ukraine	5–1	Netherlands
2008 Details	Koper		Portugal	5–1	Ukraine		Serbia	8–1	Slovenia
2010 Details	Novi Sad		Brazil	3–2	Russia		Serbia	6–4 (pen)	Ukraine
2012 Details	Braga		Ukraine	1–0	Russia		Portugal	2–0	Thailand
2014 Details	Antequera/Málaga		Russia	8–5	Brazil		Belarus	7–6 (pen)	Iran
2016 Details	Goiânia		Brazil	2–1	Russia		Czech Republic	11-3	France
2018 Details	Almaty		Russia	4–2	Kazakhstan		Ukraine	3–0	Portugal
2022 Details	Shanghai

Women's

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Winners	Score	Runners-Up		3rd Place	Score	4th Place
2008	Vitória, Espírito Santo		Brazil	11–4	Portugal		China	3–1	Costa Rica
2010	Novi Sad		Brazil	n/a	Portugal		Russia	n/a	France
2012	Braga		Brazil	n/a	Spain		Portugal	n/a	Russia
2014	Antequera/Málaga		Brazil	2–1	Russia		Russia	1–0	Portugal
2016	Goiânia		Brazil	3–1	Russia		Portugal	6–0	Canada
2018	Almaty		Russia	2–0	Ukraine		France	4–4	Portugal
2022	Shanghai

^n/a A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

CFA Futsal International Tournaments - Changshu Story

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Winners	Score	Runners-Up		3rd Place	Score	4th Place
2014 Details	China		Thailand	n/a	China		Mexico	n/a	Myanmar
2015 Details	China		Iran	n/a	China		Myanmar	n/a	Mexico
2016 Details	China		Ukraine	n/a	Vietnam		China	n/a	Mexico
2017 Details	China		Croatia	n/a	Netherlands		Vietnam	n/a	China
2018 Details	China		Russia	n/a	Vietnam		China	n/a	New Zealand

^n/a A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

Hangzhou International Futsal Tournament Story

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Winners	Score	Runners-Up		3rd Place	Score	4th Place
2009 Details	China		Netherlands	n/a	Japan		Iran	n/a	China
2010 Details	China		Brazil	n/a	Japan		China	n/a	Iran
2011 Details	China		Brazil	n/a	Japan		Iran	n/a	Romania
2012 Details	China		Romania	n/a	Iran		China	n/a	Japan
2013 Details	China		Iran	n/a	Russia		Netherlands	n/a	China
2014 Details	China		Iran	n/a	China		Vietnam	n/a	Myanmar

^n/a A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

Year	Host		Final				Third Place Match
			Winners	Score	Runners-Up		3rd Place	Score	4th Place
1997 Details	Singapore		Spain	4–3 (a.e.t.)	Brazil		Netherlands	4–2	Italy
1999 Details	Singapore		Brazil	3–2	Italy		Spain	4–3	Netherlands
2001 Details	Singapore		Spain	3–3 (a.e.t.) 7–6 (p)	Brazil		Italy	n/a	Netherlands
2003 Details	Malaysia		Argentina	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Brazil		Iran	n/a	Uruguay
2008 Details	Malaysia		Brazil	4–0	Argentina		Australia	n/a	Thailand

^n/a A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

• Intercontinental Futsal Cup
• UEFA Futsal Champions League
• Copa Libertadores de Futsal
• AFC Futsal Club Championship
• AFF Futsal Club Championship
• CONCACAF Futsal Club Championship

• Pan American Games
• Lusophony Games