Although invented in 1930 Uruguay; futsal is only now beginning to take the United States by storm as soccer players and coaches, look for new, fun ways to build technical skills and tactical awareness that directly translates to the outdoor game.

The only fomr of indoor soccer recognized by FIFA, futsal has professional leagues, a UEFA championship, and a FIFA world cup.  futsal is played around the world by many of yesterday's and today's stars.  Pele, ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Zinedane Zidane, Luis Figo, and Lionel Messi not only grew up playing futsal, but have on more than one occasion credited it an integral factor in the development of their skills.  Futsal has an established history in South America of being one of the core building blocks of soccer excellence.

 Futsal has been proven to develop the fundamentals of soccer move effectively than the traditional walled,

turf indoor soccer that most of us are familiar with here in America.  Superior for establishing a player's touch, quickness, and technique.  It has been proven that youth players develop better ball control, quicker reflexes, faster thinking, pinpoint passing and, more accurate finishing when playing futsal regularly.

While based on traditional 11v11 soccer, there are many differences that make futsal so special and such a unique learning tool.  An official futsal ball is specially designed to help the soccer player increase their control and touch.  Smaller than an official size 5 ball, a futsal ball has 30% less bounce to it.  This ensures that the ball moves not because of the player's actions.

A small sided game (four field players and a goal keeper), futsal is played on a hard surface roughly the size of a basketball court.  It is played with touchline boundaries and without walls to bang the ball against.  Unlike the the indoor game where a player relies on the wall for support, futsal forces players into the same decision making scenarios that they face in the outdoor game.  This split-second thinking improves automatically through futsal, teaching the player how to maintain possession and distribute the ball effectively.

Because of the way futsal is structured, it is a much more attacking driven game than the 11v11 outdoor game.  The average goals scored in a 40 minute futsal game is 7.5, compared to the 2.5 goals scored in a 90 minute soccer game.  Many attribute the increase in scoring to three main factors:

1) The smaller field size ensures quicker transitions and that all players can score, no matter their physical strength.

2) With only four field players on a team, attacking (as well as defensive) responsibility are spread throughout the team, instead of being handled by a few indivduals.

3) As more shots are taken during the course of a game, players often find that their number of attempts, goals, and thus confidence increases while playing futsal.

Futsal is a great skill developer, demanding quick reflexes, fast thinking and pinpoint passing.  An exciting game for children as well as adults.  futsal is very economical and safe, simple and fun to play. With futsal, players find that they play on a full sized field they react better under pressure, and make better decisions.  They find that playing in an enclosed area develops creativity.  futsal is one of the finest teachers of the quick moving, free flowing style of play that attracted many of us to the game in the first place.  Playing the beutiful game of soccer is developed through futsal.

As futsal rewards technical over physical, it is more common that not to see people of various ages playing a game together, without difficulty. With side tackles and excessive body contact forbidden, it's no surprise that the game is immensely popular with children, teenagers and adults.  Most importantly, futsal is popular because it is fun to play.  Most players learn and embrace the game simply because they are enjoying themselves.

 This, along with the ability to start a game with only 10 players; futsal is bound to lead to successful development, that is not only practical but game applicable.