In the name of Allah The most Gracious and The Most Merciful.
Assalamualaikum w.b.t
This entry is about Futsal. I choose to post regarding this sport because futsal is one of my favourite sport that I've been playing since primary until now. Let us look what is futsal all about.
What is Futsal?
Futsal is a format of five-a-side football that is played
extensively throughout the world. The term ‘Futsal’ is an abbreviation of the
Portuguese ‘futebol de salão’ or the Spanish ‘futbol sala’, both of which
translated literally mean ‘indoor football’.It is played on a pitch
approximately the size of a basketball or netball court with a ball which is
smaller and heavier than the outdoor football and has a reduced bounce.
The ball forces a player to use their skill rather than the
ball’s bounce to propel it. As a small sided game, players are constantly
placed in situations where they must receive or play whilst under pressure or
in confined spaces.
Origin of the sport
Futsal is the abbreviation of the phrase Futebol de Salao
(Portuguese) or Futbol Sala (Spanish). It means soccer in a large room. The
name Futsal was adopted officially in 1989 as part of the FIFA’s marketing
strategy to promote the game throughout the world and develop the sport.
Different forms of indoor soccer have been recorded as early
as 1831 in Canada when people playing soccer were forced to play inside due to
either rain or cold. The origin of modern Futsal has two versions. One version
claims that the first rules book was written in 1933 by a coach from Uruguay
named Juan Carlos Ceriari. The second version says that the sport was first
played socially by a group of friends from Sao Paulo at the end of 1930 and the
first rules book was published in 1936 in a physical education magazine from
Brazil (Fonseca, 1997). Apart from the controversy of the origin of the sport,
it is known that the sport was developed in Brazil and then spread to the 7
continents.
Evolution of the rules
The Futsal rules have been modified several times. The number
of players have changed from 7 to 5, the goal size form 4m x 2m to 3m x 2m and
the weight of the ball reached almost 1 kg before coming to 390 to 430 grams.
Players were not allowed to score from inside the penalty area. This rule was
changed in 1990 when the offside rule was abolished as well.
In 1971 the Federacao International de Salao (FIFUSA) was
created. FIFA has unsuccessfully tried to take over the sport, thus creating “5
a side soccer” to fight FIFUSA. Finally in 1989 most of the countries agreed to
combine the sports and it was given the name Futsal to represent all indoor
soccer and five-a-side foolball games. Since then, there has been acceleration
on the modifications of the rules due to FIFA’s policy to make the rules
universal. In 1994 the throw in was replaced by the kick in, the penalty area
changed from 4 to 6 metres and the keepers were allowed to play outside the
“D”. FIFA aimed to make the sport exciting for players and supporters and they
were extremely successful in their task.
Futsal and Soccer/Football
As the Futsal ball has low bounce qualities it spends much
more time on the floor which is excellent for development of skills and ball
control. The smaller area in which the game is played demands quick decision
making, movements off the ball and intensity.
Because of these characteristics, soccer coaches are starting
to run Futsal sessions for juniors and even professional soccer teams. Famouse
professional soccer players like Ronaldo, Juninho, Maradona, Rivelino and even
the great Pele have already declared they played Futsal in their childhood.
Compared to soccer, Futsal demands more versatile players.
The positions in Futsal are goalkeeper, pivot (the main defender), right flank,
left flank and target (the main attacker). Despite the main role of each
position, players have to perform different roles in a game because of the
quick transition between attack and defense.
Futsal in as sport in its own right and if we compare it with
other sports we will realize that its practice is really safe because slide
tackling is not allowed. As these is limited player in the air, which causes
jumping and bounding, there is less stress on the knees and ankles.
Futsal in the world
Nowadays Futsal is a sport played in more than 60 countries
with professional leagues being played in many countries including Brazil,
Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, USA and Russia. FIFA has organized seven world cups:
Netherlands/1989, Hong Kong/1992, Spain/1996, Guatemala/2000, Chinese
Taipei/2004, Brazil/2008 and Thailand/2012.
FIFA has been injecting a lot of effort to develop Futsal
around the world. As Futsal is such a dynamic sport, the directors of this
powerful organization preview a huge popularity for the sport. They are
dedicating special attention to legitimize it as an Olympic Sport.
Futsal in Australia
In Australia, indoor soccer was introduced by Mrs. Dawn
Gilligan in 1971, during a particularly wet winter when outdoor grounds were
closed for long periods of time. The Revesby YMCA in Sydney was the first place
where it was played and from there it spread to the others YMCA’s.
In 1977 the Australian Indoor Soccer Association was created.
In 1979 they affliated with FIFUSA and started to play with the official rules
of futbol sala, one of the original forms of Futsal.
The peak of indoor soccer in Australia occurred in the 80s
with a televised National League and the 1988 FIFUSA World Cup in Melbourne.
When in 1989 FIFA took over the sport and baptized it as Futsal, the Australian
Indoor Soccer Association changed its name to Australian Futsal Association.
Australia was one of the few countries in the world that
had participated in all of the world cups until 2008 (where they did not
qualify after moving from OFC to AFC) and it is estimated to have 18,000
registered players and 120,000 social participants in Futsal competitions all
over the country.
