Why Futsal will take centre stage in Senegal

What is Futsal?

The origin of the sport dates all the way back to the 1930s, in South America.

Juan Carlos Ceriani was working at the YMCA in Montevideo, Uruguay, when he developed a form of indoor football that could be played in small spaces, and in any weather conditions. And so futsal was born.

The game spread fast across South America. In Brazil, teams were established in the major cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, who then played against each other in a bid to make the sport more competitive. The first South American Championship was held in 1965, and was won by Paraguay. By 1989, Brazil had been crowned World Futsal Champions at the first staging of the event – and today, they are the reigning champions.

The sport might be seen as a miniature version of football but it has its own rules, playing surfaces and other important distinctions. Futsal is played indoors, usually on hard surfaces made from wood or rubber. A standard futsal pitch size used in international matches is 38 to 42m long, 20 to 25m wide. The size of the goal post is just 3m wide and 2m high. The ball used in futsal is much smaller than the one used in football, there isn’t a limited number of substitutions in a futsal game and there are no offsides.

The sport is super-fast and players retain a certain level of energy and smart thinking to navigate its high demands.