How To Play Futsal

If it is important to know how to play futsal, it is because of all the benefits it has for all the people who practice it. There are many sports that are good for working on team unity and a person’s strategic ability, and futsal is one of them.

Playing futsal is about playing a sport that makes us put in a lot of effort to achieve our goals. Working on our physical condition is also an important key for us to be able to enjoy this sport, since we will have to constantly change places and positions in order to keep up with the rhythm of the match.

It is important to know that this sport has been in the world since 1930. It was born in Uruguay where, later, it spread to many other countries, continuing its expansion until today. To learn how to play futsal, we will realize that it has very similar rules to other sports such as handball or water polo.

In Spain it is also known by the abbreviation of “futsal”, which follows a regulation and rules in all its national and international competitions. It is a sport that is growing every day in our country and that gets more followers, every minute that passes, than we think.

Sometimes how to play futsal is confused with how to play the most commonly played soccer in all the players in the world. Unlike 11v11 football, in this case we need our team to be made up of 12 people: 5 prepared to play on the pitch and 7 as substitutes.

The field on which we will play is prepared so that we do not slip at any time in the different movements that we make. Hence, the type of track, on which we play futsal, is always harder and with stricter dimensions than other courts that we can see out there.

In this case, they are courts 42 meters long by 25 meters wide, which are divided into different areas where the goals, shooting areas, etc. are placed. We must be clear about the rules of this game in order to make the most of it, for example, two 20-minute halves to complete a match.

What do you need to play futsal?

• A team with a minimum of 5 people.
• A spherical leather ball with a circumference of 62 to 64 centimeters.
• Some shoes prepared for this sport that must have a smooth sole to avoid slipping.
• A kit that allows us comfortable movement or if our team has its own kit, then that kit.
•  Portable goals, in the event that the field we are going to play does not have goals for futsal.
• A track or court with dimensions of 42 meters long x 25 meters wide.

Instructions for playing futsal

1. Every futsal match will begin with the placement of the players on the court and the ball at the penalty mark; players must be at least 5 meters from where the ball is placed to start the game.
2. Being clear about the communication of our team is an important key to know where we will position ourselves, mainly, to know the movements that we will make once the match begins and according to the training that we have carried out previously.
3. There is an unwritten rule of the “three seconds”: moving without the ball and not staying in the same place for more than three seconds wins the game.
4. Work on our ability to be able to touch the ball with great ease in narrow spaces since, knowing the measurements of the field on which this type of football is played, we have to be skillful in creating gaps and passes with our precise teammates in order to gain.
5. Practice and train to master dribbles and make our team superior to the rival, having a greater number of attacks on the opposing goal.
6. Strive and work to get a good understanding between all the people that make up the team so that we can move much more easily around the court, changing positions quickly, and thus increase our chances of winning the game.
7. Direct free kicks on goal are a perfect opportunity to win the match; therefore it is a perfect exercise for training.
   Try not to make too many fouls during the matches since after five fouls, unlike the number that can be made in traditional football, the player will receive a direct foul and must leave the match and his team will be left with one less.
8. Making continuous passes will make the game become a dynamic game and, in turn, get our rival confused and tired.
9. Working on our physical condition will enable us to keep up with our team’s rhythm for the 40 minutes of the game (two 20-minute halves) and, in turn, we will be able to cover the entire court without having to lose our rhythm or for our team to be affected. Without forgetting that we will have the 10 minute break.
10. We must bear in mind that the game can never be started if one of the two teams has less than three people and, we cannot forget, that it can be suspended if, due to fouls and/or expulsions, there are less than three players left in a team..
11. There is no offside, so we must be clear that taking advantage of all the holes and spaces on our pitch is where the secret lies so that our team can win the game.

Tips for playing futsal

• Train: either on your own or as a team; training both our physical condition and teamwork and communication is essential in this type of sport that takes place in such a small space.
• Know the space in which we play to take advantage of it in our favor and give as many touches as we can to reach the opposite goal and score as many goals as we can.
• Knowing our abilities will allow us to change position within the game without any problem and at a constant speed.
• We must know all the rules and regulations of futsal to avoid unnecessary penalties and fouls in the course of our match.
• Practicing the different positions that we can use with our opponents is beneficial; it will help us control our game, the progression of the ball and our body position.
• Always try to occupy the space that you see that one of your teammate’s leaves empty, so you will always occupy all the space on the court and you will have control of the ball and the game.
• Take advantage of the band as a “defense” more; make him player number 6.
• If, for example, you are the goalkeeper: you will be in charge of setting the pace of the game with your actions, so think carefully about everything you do, but use time well.
• Do not make complicated plays when trying to shoot at the goal, since that can complicate the advantages that we have against our rival.
• Try to make sure that my teammates always know where I am, because if I move and they don’t know where, they will never be able to pass the ball to me, take advantage of my strategic position on the pitch, and I won’t be able to have the opportunity to shoot on goal or defend the ball and/or or my position.