History of Futsal - Mini-Football

        "Futsal" started in 1930 when Juan Carlos Ceriani, a teacher in Montevideo, Uruguay, created a version of indoor football for recreation in Young Men's Cristian Associations (YMCA). This new sport was originally developed for playing on basketball courts, and a rule book was published in September 1933.

His goal was to create a team game that could be played indoor or outdoor but that was similar to football, which became quite popular there after Uruguay won the 1930 World Cup and gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics.

Ceriani, writing the rule book, took as example the principles of football (the possibility to touch the ball with every part of the body except for the hands), but he took rules from other sports too: from basketball the number of team players (five) and the game duration (40 actual minutes); from water polo the rules about the goalkeeper; from team handball for the field and goal sizes.

The YMCA spread the game immediately throughout South America. It was easily played by everyone, everywhere, and in any weather condition, even in winter, without any difficulty, helping players to stay in shape all year round. These reasons convinced João Lotufo, a Brazilian, to bring this game to his country and adapt it to the needs of physical education. Initially , the rules were not uniform.

Introduction To Futsal - Mini-Football

Futsal or known as a "mini-football" and it is a variant of association football played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It can be considered a version of five-a-side football. To put it simplier, futsal is a modified form of soccer played with five players per side on a smaller, typically indoor, field. Futsal is an astonishing, fast-paced small sided football game that is widely played across the globe and is officially acknowledge by both UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) and FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association means International Federation of Association Football). 

The nature of the game places a large strength of power on technical skill and ability in situations of high pressure and is subsequently an excellent breeding ground for football competencies that can be translated into the 11-a-side format of the game.  Hence, Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. 

Furthermore, futsal is a sport that is a derivative - copied of football and played with five-man teams on a basketball style court with no walls and a smaller, low-bouncing ball. Great football superstars figure such as Pele, Juninho, Ronaldinho , Robinho and Neymar grew up playing the game and credit futsal with developing their skills.  

Moreover, for decades until now, futsal has been a popular and much-loved sporting discipline, especially in South America and southern Europe. And while the indoor version of football is rapidly growing in popularity elsewhere now, thanks to FIFA's patronage and the support of many leading personalities, it is in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Spain and Portugal that futsal has proved a breeding ground for some of the greats of the game.  

More than that, again, it can be considered a version of five-a-side football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a hard court surface delimited by lines; walls or boards are not used.

 

Competitions

FUTSAL COMPETITION

National team competitions  & Men's national competitions

Region	AMF-affiliated	FIFA-affiliated	Other competitions
World	AMF Futsal World Cup	FIFA Futsal World Cup	Futsal Confederations Cup Futsal Mundialito Grand Prix de Futsal
Asia		AFC Futsal Championship	Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Southeast Asian Games AFF Futsal Championship EAFF Futsal Championship WAFF Futsal Championship
Africa		Africa Futsal Cup of Nations	North African Futsal Tournament
North America, Central America and Caribbean		CONCACAF Futsal Championship	Central American Games
South America		Copa América – FIFA Futsal	Odesur Games Bolivarian Games
Oceania		Oceanian Futsal Championship
Europe	UEFS Futsal Men's Championship	UEFA Futsal Championship

Misconduct

MISCONDUCT

Misconduct is penalised with a caution or a sending-off.  Free kick will happen when, a player succeed to tackle, kick , push charges  an opponent. Holding or touching an opponent will also given a direct free kick as fouls. When the outbreak of law happens in futsal the free kick will given unless, it is awarded to the defending team in their penalty area. That means free kick maybe can taken from anywhere inside the penalty area. Free kick can occur outside the penalty box where penalty kick happened when an opponent tackle or make foul in the penalty box which the ball must be on the outer line , perpendicular to the centre of the net.

An indirect free kick wont be given to the opposing team when the goalkeeper clear the ball but touches it before any of the players. More over the indirect free kick will also given when the goalkeeper handles the ball kicked by own teammates during their half for more than 4 seconds. The free kick wont given to the players at all when they plays in a dangerous way  for example , blocking a  player purposely, preventing the goalkeeper from throwing the ball.

The yellow card is used to communicate that a player or substitute has been cautioned. The red card is used to communicate that a player or substitute has been sent off. The referees have the authority to take disciplinary sanctions from the moment they enter the premises where the pitch is located before the start of the match until they leave them. Actions that can lead to yellow card is for example , non-sporting behaviour, offence by word or action, breaking of the Futsal Laws of the Game, delaying the restart of play ,failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or kick-in (defending players),entering or re-entering the pitch without the referees' permission or breaking of the substitution procedures. A player will be given red card when ,serious foul play, violent conduct, spitting at an opponent or any other person,  using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures.

World Ranking

World Ranking:

Based on the man’s world rankings as of 28th February 2017, Brazil lead the world rankings with a total of 1916 points. Spain are second with a total of 1889 points followed by Russia in third place with 1763 points. Argentina, fierce rivals of Brazil, are fourth in the world rankings with a total of 1706 points while Italy are fifth with 1619 points. Iran are the highest placed Asian team in the world ranking at sixth with a total of 1608 points. Portugal, birth country of the reigning World Player of The Year are seventh. 38 points behind Iran. Meanwhile, Ukraine are eighth with a further 83 points behind Portugal. Kazakhstan are ninth with a total of 1451 points while Azerbaijan round up the top 10 with a total of 1435 points.

    Croatia are next in eleventh with a total of 1413 points while Paraguay are twelfth with 1388 points. Slovenia are next with a further 12 points behind. Colombia are in fourteenth with 1362 points while Thailand are just 2 points behind them. Japan are slightly behind Thailand with a total of 1359 points. Serbia are placed at seventeenth with a total of 1344 points followed by Costa Rica with a total of 1289 points. Egypt, the land of Pharaohs, are placed at nineteenth with 1276 points. Belarus and Czech Republic are tied at twentieth with a total of 1256 points. Romania are next with a total of 1244 points while Panama are a further 2 points behind. Australia are in twenty fourth with a total of 1223 points. Netherlands round up the world ranking with a total of 1217 points.

    In the woman’s world ranking, Brazil are the queens with a total of 2326 points as of 7th May 2017. Spain are second with a total of 2248 points while Portugal are third with a total of 2172 points. Russia, hosts for the 2018 World Cup, are fourth with 2019 points while neighbours Ukraine are a further 5 points behind. Japan are the highest ranked Asian woman’s team in sixth with a total of 1963 points. Guatemala meanwhile are 29 points behind Japan. Netherlands are in eighth with a total of 1911 points while Australia come in ninth with 1888 points. Argentina complete the rankings in tenth and final place with a total of 1876 points.

Duration and Tie-Breaking Methods & The Start and Restart of Play

DURATION AND TIE-BREAKING METHODS

A futsal match consists of two 20 minutes halves. 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. Halftime cannot exceed more than 15 minutes.

A coin toss determines which team start the match. A kick-in start the second half, penalty periods, and restarts the action after a goal is scored or the ball goes out of play. A drop by the referee restarts the game when stopped for any reason not covered by the laws of the game.

In competition or any tournament futsal, the match cannot end in a tie during the game. A team’s away goals (for teams playing one home and one away match) count as double. Extra time consists of two periods of five minutes. If no winner is produced after these methods, 3 kicks from the penalty mark are taken, and the team that has scored the most wins.

If it is not decided after 3 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.

THE START AND RESTART OF PLAY

At the beginning of the match, a coin toss is used to decide who will start the match. The choice of ends is decided by the toss of a coin. The team winning the toss decides which goal it wishes to attack in the first half of the game.

A kick-off is used to signal the start of play and is also 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. 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, prior to the stoppage, the ball was in play and had not crossed either the touch lines or goal lines.

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.

Field of Futsal

Futsal pitch dimensions

Pitch Markings

The pitch is rectangular and marked with lines. The lines act as boundaries and therefore have to be clearly distinguishable from the colour of the pitch.The two longer lines are what we call touch lines, and the two shorter lines are called goal lines. The pitch is divided into two halves by a halfway line, which joins the midpoints of the two touch lines.The centre mark is a circle with a 3m radius marked around it. It is positioned in the middle of the halfway line.A marking must be drawn on the pitch, 5m from the corner arc and at right angles to the goal line. This is to make sure that defending players retreat this distance when a corner kick is being taken. The width of this mark is 8cm.Two additional marks, each at a distance of 5m to the left and the right of the second penalty mark, must be made on the pitch to indicate the minimum distance to be retreated when a kick is being taken from the second penalty mark. The width of this mark is 8cm.

The penalty area

Two imaginary lines of 6m in length are drawn from the outside of each goalpost and at right angles to the goal line; at the end of these lines a quarter circle is drawn in the direction of the nearest touch line, each with a radius of 6m from the outside of the goalpost. The upper part of each quarter circle is joined by a line 3.16m in length running parallel to the goal line between the goalposts. The area bounded by these lines and the goal line is the penalty area.Within each penalty area, a penalty mark is made 6m from the midpoint between the goalposts and equidistant to them.

Goals

It consists of two upright posts equidistant from the corners and joined at the top by a horizontal crossbar. The goalposts and crossbar must be made of wood, metal or other approved material. They must be square, rectangular, round or oval in shape and must not be dangerous to players.The distance between the posts is 3m and the distance from the lower edge of the crossbar to the ground is 2m.Both goalposts and the crossbar have the same width and depth, 8 cm. The nets must be made of hemp, jute or nylon or other approved material and are attached to the back of the goalposts and the crossbar with a suitable means of support.

Equipment For Futsal

There are five players on the field on each group, one of whom is the goalkeeper. The most extreme number of substitutes permitted is nine (FIFA change 2012), with boundless substitutions amid 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. If a group has less than three players in the group, the match is relinquished and considered a misfortune for the group with the absence of players.

The pack is comprised of a pullover or shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, shin protectors made out of elastic or plastic, and shoes with elastic soles. The goalkeeper is permitted to wear long pants and an alternate shaded pack to separate themself from alternate players on the group and the official.

Goalkeeper is additionally permitted to wear elbow cushions in light of the fact that the surface is about as hard as a tennis court or ball court. Adornments isn't permitted, nor are different things that could be hazardous to the player wearing the thing or to other dynamic participants.

The match is controlled by the arbitrator, who upholds the Laws of the Game, and the principal official is the special case who can legitimately relinquish the match in light of impedance from outside the field. This ref is likewise helped by a moment ref who normally watches over the objective lines or helps the essential official with approaches fouls or plays.

The choices made by the arbitrators are last and must be changed if the refs think it is vital and play has not restarted.There is additionally a third official and a timekeeper who are given gear to keep a record of fouls in the match. In case of damage to the second official, the third arbitrator will supplant the second referee.

Rules of futsal

RULES

There are two currently bodies which is AMF and FIFA for futsal. AMF and FIFA are responsible for maintaining and regulating the official rules of their respective versions of futsal. FIFA publishes its futsal rules as the 'Laws of the Game', in which each of the 17 'laws' is a thematically related collection of individual regulations. The laws define all aspects of the game, including what may be changed to suit local competitions and leagues.

There are many rules of futsal games. For example, the minimum length of the field is 25m x 16 m and the maximum length of the field is 42m x 25m. The size of the ball is 4 and the circumference of the ball must between 62cm to 64cm. The weight of the ball is between 400gram to 440 gram.

There are two periods of 20 minutes with time stopping at every dead ball. But, between the two periods, the is a break of 15 minutes. Each team may use one time-out per half, which last one minute. But, some lower leagues and tournaments use 24 minutes periods with running time. A yellow card is shown for unsporting behavior, dissent, time wasting, encroachment, persistent infringement, and illegal subbing. A red card is shown for serious foul play, violent conduct, spitting, illegally denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, abusive language, and receiving a second yellow. Red carded players are ejected from the game and their team must play short for two minutes or until the other team scores a goal.

When we talk about the number of players, there are five players for each team in the field, one of them as a goalkeeper. The maximum number of 12 players that can be used each match. 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.

For 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. 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.

Governing Bodies

There are several administrative bodies governing the organization of futsal in this world. The administrative bodies involved are the World Indoor Soccer Association (AMF) and the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA).Both of these bodies are responsible for administering and managing matters related to this futsal. 

The World Indoor Soccer Association (AMF) is an organization that manages the administration of futsal in Central America. It manages troops from Central America. It also conducts and organizes prestigious contests in the futsal world. Various futsal competitions have been organized in the Central American continent and this has improved the quality of the futsal team from the Central American continent. Among the Central American forces involved are Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia and so on. The Brazilian team is one of the great powers that dominates the world of futsal. Brazil has been a world champion for several times. This has proven that AMF's activities and contests have made the Central American contingent team one of the largest powers in the world. 

The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) is the association governing and managing the football and futsal teams that exist in this world. FIFA plays an important role in organizing competitions and managing everything related to football and futsal. The FIFA Association has been the leader of the association governing all soccer and futsal associations in every country in the world. FIFA is responsible for 211 national organizations around the world. Each member must be one of the six continents managed by FIFA, the African continent, Asia, Europe, South America, Oceania, and North & Central America and the Caribbean. 

In conclusion, these two organizations carry out tasks to manage every organization involved with the best and systematic handling. This management system has improved quality in each team and organized competition.