T h eU R E A L LT YBe F S o, you’re an absolute soccer die-hard. You’d give practically anything to play better. Imagine yourself coming off the pitch and while staggering back to the dressing room you find a magic lamp. You pick up the lamp and for a laugh you give it a rub. Then BOOM! A genie pops out and greets you with an offer to become a better player. Still dumfounded by your find, you blurt out: “I want to be better at dribbling; I want to think quicker, react faster, have more confidence, and play at the highest level!” The genie gives you strange a look and says: “Why waste your wishes? Why don’t you just play futsal instead?” Not wanting to sound ignorant, you quietly ask yourself ‘What is Futsal?’ In the simplest of terms, Futsal is the greatest sport on earth. Yes, you read that correctly, the greatest sport period. It is a thrilling, yet tasteful, infusion of soccer, basketball, and hockey. Envision soccer being played on a basketball court. Now, replace the hoops with small 3x2m nets. Add in a low-bounce size 4 ball, put 5 players on each team and use sidelines instead of arena boards and you’ll have an instant recipe for sheer brilliance. One thing you need to know right off the bat is that Futsal is the only officially recognized indoor soccer supported by
FIFA, CONCACAF, UEFA, the CSA and that is one of the prime reasons why it’s only a matter of time before you consume it as part of your total soccer diet. So what exactly is futsal and how did get to where it is today? Futsal originated back in 1930 in Uruguay (coincidentally the same year the first World Cup took place in the country) when a guy named Juan Carlos Ceriani put it together for the YMCAs after tiring of cancelled outdoor games and trainings because of bad weather. The sport gradually grew across South America, especially in Brazil where a very similar game called futebol de salao (hall soccer) was emerging, and is now widely played in every continent. FIFA eventually saw the potential for the game and put together their first ever 5-a-side World Championships in 1989 in Holland. Canada participated in this event and finished 12th out of 16 teams (1 win 2 losses) from every continent. Since then the sport has grown exponentially with over 100 football associations now boasting national futsal teams, 90 of which were involved in qualifying for the 2008 Futsal World Cup in Brazil.
Futsal 101 Parents constantly inquire about the rules of futsal so here is a healthy dose of what you need to know. Though the laws of futsal differ from those of soccer they are very easy to understand and directly help participants become better players. Of course, you know by now that futsal features 5 players per squad; 4 out players and a keeper. The types of pitches used along with their dimensions vary but typically the game is played on either hardwood (school gyms) or sport tile surfaces. The game should not be played on concrete or turf but in a country like Canada, facilities can often be hard to secure so introducing the sport to young kids on a carpeted surface is considered alright for training and educational purposes. A game lasts 40 minutes (2 x 20 minute halves) and at the professional level uses stop time. But in most North American leagues, most games generally run anywhere between 20-25 minutes with a running clock to ensure that hourly permits flow smoothly. Each
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team also has one timeout per half. It is also interesting to note that last month FIFA gave the green light to a pilot project for the Russian 1st division where games will last 50 minutes this season. There are boundary lines in futsal, not hockey boards. This makes the game much safer and also forces players to think and react quicker, use both feet, and to utilize skill to get out of tight situations instead of using an imaginary teammate (boards) like arena soccer does. When the ball goes out of play in futsal, players have 4 seconds to place it on the sideline and kick it back in, keeping the blazing tempo of the game right from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. Futsal does not use throwins. To keep the peace, there are 2 referees in futsal, one on each sideline, with an additional referee and a scorekeeper at a table at midfield. In youth leagues, the 3rd official usually acts as the scorekeeper. Officiating a futsal game involves the tracking of fouls as the game uses a system of accumulated fouls, like basketball. A team is allowed a maximum of 5 fouls per half. Any fouls after that result in an unopposed direct free kick against the opponent’s goalkeeper from a spot 10 metres out. This is one of futsal’s most brilliant rules as it directly rewards fair play while promoting finesse. In futsal, skill and intelligence are far more valuable attributes than size or strength. Officials also have to keep an eye on substitutions. Like hockey, futsal allows for unlimited on-the-fly substitutions. Players must enter/exit the pitch between two marked lines in front of their bench. Each team has a maximum roster of 12 so it is very common to see youth soccer clubs put forward two teams into futsal leagues as a result. The skills gained from futsal largely come from the ball that is used. A futsal ball is really a thing of genius. It’s slightly smaller than a regular soccer ball, typically a size 3 for the kids and size 4 for teenagers and adults. The key lays in its bounce, or rather lack thereof. The ball is filled with foam which significantly reduces its bounce by around 30% and although it definitely feels heavier than a soccer ball it actually weighs around the same. The reduced bounce keeps the ball at the feet of players and seemingly
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‘sticks’ to the foot. It also helps get rid of the ‘lazy pass’ as players not only use every part of the foot to make passes, but they also follow through the proper motions much more. Balls can be purchased at most soccer specific retailers from anywhere between $15-$50 and all the major soccer manufacturers produce them. Next time you visit your local soccer shop make a point to check one out and play around with it. Now, the ball isn’t the only reduced item in futsal. The pitch and nets are also smaller with the dimensions ranging between 25-42 m long and 15-25 m wide. For those of you who don’t happen to keep a metre stick handy, any double or triple-gym is great and for U10’s and below a single gym will suffice. The smaller pitch forces players to always move around and get open. Having less space to work with while constantly dealing with pressure creates more skillful and creative players. Because of the small pitch, every player is just as defensively responsible as they are offensively; there is no such thing as a striker in futsal. Using gymnasiums also showcases another benefit of the game: it’s cheaper. The cost of indoor soccer centres usually hovers around $100-$150 whereas a local school gym can often be had for $30/hr, and even less if you are a registered notfor-profit organization.
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Huge Soccer Specific Trade Show Coming To Toronto
January in Southern Ontario is known for its cold temperatures but a huge soccer specific trade show set to invade Toronto is going to make you feel like it’s the middle of July. The Toronto International Soccer Show is launching at the gorgeous Direct Energy Centre. Right next to BMO field, home of our beloved Toronto FC and will take place over the January 22-24, 2010 weekend. Hosted by Toronto FC, GOLTV Canada, Pizza Pizza and Soccershows.org, this event will be the largest and first full-scale trade expo devoted to the sport we all love! Covering almost 60,000 square feet, the show will feature a monstrous retail marketplace representing the top stores in the province vending the latest boots, jerseys, and other soccer goodies. There will also be an educational and training pitch highlighting the best players, coaching, and referee clinics. In addition, clubs and academies will showcase all sorts of brilliant places where kids can play soccer and work on specialized training. After learning all the best tips from the pros and snagging the coolest gear, the 20,000+ expected attendees are sure to be blown away when they come across the first international Futsal tournament (FIFA’s only approved indoor soccer) to take place in Canada. To ensure the highest talent level will be seen, specific tournament floors are being imported for both pitches! This show looks to bring together all the components that make the game in North America tick. There will be something for everyone in the family to see and do! Mark it down on your calendar and in the meantime check out www.soccershows.org regularly for updates. Also ask about advance ticket sales available through your local club.
THE MISSING LINK When futsal players make the transition to soccer they feel like they have tons of space to work with and are naturally much more confident with the ball than those who did not play futsal. It is logical that a player who touches the ball more will become a better player. Here is an interesting stat to chew on: In FIFA’s report on futsal in 2005, they found that in a 40 minute futsal match, an outfield player will, on average, touch the ball once every 29 seconds, or, 80 touches per game. In soccer, the average was between 30-40 touches per game. You get twice the touches in less than half the time with futsal. The game sells itself. Have you ever wondered why the Brazilians are so brilliant at soccer? It isn’t because of genetics. Sure, passion, poverty, and history are integral reasons for their success, but the prime weapon in their arsenal is futsal. Kids in the land of samba don’t play soccer until they are in their early teens; they play 5-a-side, indoors and out. Practically every famous Brazilian player you can think of started off playing some variation of futsal and, of course, the results have paid huge dividends. Are you impressed by Pele or Zico? Perhaps you grew up in the 90’s watching Bebeto and Romario. Maybe you’re a fan of the current slate of stars like Ronaldinho, Robinho, Juninho, and Kaka? Well the fact is they all played futsal. Here is an excerpt from a great book called The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle, that speaks volumes about futsal’s significance to Brazil. ‘Futsal grew to command the passions of Brazilian kids in the same way that pickup basketball commands the passion of inner-city North American kids. Brazil dominates the sport's organized version, winning 35 of 38 international competitions, according to Vicente Figueiredo, author of History of Futebol de Salao. But that number only suggests the time, effort, and energy that Brazil pours into this strange homemade game. As Alex Bellos, author of Futebol: Soccer, the Brazilian Way, wrote, futsal “is regarded as the incubator of the Brazilian soul." The incubation is reflected in players' biographies. From Pele onward virtually every great Brazilian player played futsal as a kid, first in the neighborhood and later at Brazil's soccer academies, where from ages seven to around twelve they devoted three days a week to futsal. A top Brazilian player spends thousands of hours at the game. The InsideSOCCER
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great Juninho, for instance, said he never kicked a full-size ball on grass until he was fourteen. Until he was twelve, Robinho spent half his training time playing futsal.’ Remember the 2002 World Cup winning goal that Ronaldo toe-punted? He credited that to his days of playing futsal. When asked about the goal after the match, he said, "It's not easy to shoot the ball with the point of the toe, but it was just instinctive, and I owe it to playing a lot of futsal when I was a boy." Superstars from other nations also grew up with futsal: Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, and Lionel Messi are just a few examples of magnificent players that widely attribute their time in futsal as a major reason for their exceptional talents. If it’s good enough for all those icons, it’s definitely good enough for Canadians. While competing last year at the prestigious Grand Prix of Futsal in Brazil, Canadian national futsal goalkeeper Roy Blanche was repeatedly asked “Why aren’t you world champions in futsal? You have winter for so long, it is perfect for you.’” They make a valid point. Futsal is a perfect game for a winterized nation like Canada. Leagues and players in Russia and the Ukraine are considered among the best in the world and futsal is really starting to take off in Scandinavia.
Futsal in Canada Though futsal is experiencing rapid growth worldwide, it’s a bit sad that the game has not been embraced here in Canada as much as it should be. Currently, there are no national coaching or referee programs, player identification camps, or friendly matches of any kind. Unfortunately, there are no signals indicating that will change this upcoming year. With that being said, there are numerous people from coast to coast that support the development of futsal across Canada and continue to move it forward. It is predominantly played throughout BC, Ontario, and Quebec. The BCSA and OSA have run provincial championships since 2006. In January, the BCSA hosted their annual U14 and U16 championships at the sensational Richmond Olympic Oval, the venue that will host the speed skating events at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Games. After the games, the oval will permanently become a multi-sport facility and futsal will become a long-term tenant. Prince George is the front runner to host the 2010 edition.
Ontario is currently the game’s epicenter and is widely regarded as one of North America’s top 3 regions. Sanctioned leagues exist in Toronto, York Region, Mississauga, and a thriving 2000+ member league in Ottawa. There are other nonsanctioned leagues operating in Waterloo, London, and Owen Sound and there are talks that Sudbury may have a league this season in addition to a possible interdistrict pilot project for U8 and U10’s in the central/eastern Ontario region. To compliment their referee programs, the OSA Futsal Coaching Certification courses are set to launch this October. “We’ve needed a futsal coaching program for years and now we’re on the verge of finally giving it to the soccer community. Any club that puts their team into futsal is going to see real quickly how much this game helps maximize their talent. It’s a science; you play futsal, you get better and this program is going to teach coaches how to incorporate the game into their development programs and elevate the quality of their players,” says Blanche, an OSA Futsal Coaching Instructor. One group that will surely be hosting some of those courses will be the OCFL (Ottawa Carleton Futsal League) who are celebrating their historic 20th anniversary this year and are slated to host the 2010 OSA Futsal Cup for U14, U16, men’s and women’s divisions over the Valen-
tine’s Day weekend. In what will surely be a historic moment in Canadian futsal will be the running of the 1st ever Toronto Invitational Futsal Tournament that takes place from January 22-24th, 2010. It will mark the first time ever that international futsal clubs at the U16 and U18 divisions will come here to compete. Two official blue Sport Court futsal surfaces are being imported from Utah specifically for it and talks are ongoing to secure the only two FIFA certified referees from the USA to give it a true touch of class and professionalism. In addition to the girls and boys age groups, an elite international men’s championship will also take place with invitations having gone out to teams from Europe, South America, and Asia. The champions will take home a cool $3000 cash prize. What makes the tournament even more special is that it will be taking place right in the middle of the Toronto International Soccer Show at the Direct Energy Centre, next door to BMO Field, home of Toronto FC. Thousands of players, coaches, parents, referees and administrators will be in attendance to engage in everything soccer and will finally get a taste of top class futsal and the hope is that it ignites further interest in the game. Out in oil country, The Alberta Colleges Athletic League offers competitive futsal for both men’s and women’s diviInsideSOCCER
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sions and is the only college system in the country to offer it to their members. Keyano College, of Fort McMurray, walked away with gold in both divisions last season and it is expected that all 12 member colleges will produce futsal teams for this upcoming season. This will undoubtedly be good for the eventual introduction of the game into the CCAA and CIS athletic programs. So, you’ve read the article and have probably Google’d information on futsal however the real beauty of the game is by watching it on video, or better, in person. Start by going to YouTube and just typing in futsal. If you are interested in playing, coaching, reffing, or starting a league in your region, the absolute best resource for everything in Canadian futsal is over at www.futsalcanada.ca and if you browse around you will find tons of videos, photos, stories, technical development tips and league information. Futsal is inevitably going to become a huge part of the Canadian soccer landscape so get started now and gain a head’s up on everybody else. Maybe one day you or your child will represent Canada at a future FIFA Futsal World Cup.