History of Futsal
The origin of Futsal can be traced back to
Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1930 when Juan Carlos Ceriani
devised a five-a-side version of soccer for youth
competiton in YMCAs. The game is played on
basketball-sized courts, both indoors and out without
the use of sidewalls.
The term FUTSAL is the international term used for the
game. It is derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word
for "soccer", FUTbol or FUTebol, and the French or
Spanish word for "indoor", SALon or SALa.
The game is frequently referred to as Five-A-Side. Once
Ceriani got the ball rolling, Futsal gained rapid
popularity throughout South America, particularly in
Brazil. The skill developed in this game is visible in
the world-famous style the Brazilians display outdoors
on the full-sized field. Pele, Zico, Socrates, Bebeto
and other Brazilian superstars developed their skill
playing Futsal. While Brazil continues to be the Futsal
hub of the world, the game is now played, under the
auspices of FIFA, all over the world, from Europe to
North and Central America and the Caribbean, South
America, Africa, and Asia and Oceania.
The first international competition took place in 1965,
when Paraguay won the first South American Cup. Six more
South American Cups were held through 1979, with Brazil
winning all of them. Brazil continued its dominance with
a victory in the first Pan American Cup in 1980 and won
it again the next time it was played in 1984. A U.S.
team took part in the 1984 cup, but finished out of the
running.
The U.S. Futsal Federation was incorporated in January,
1983. Osvaldo Garcia was the first president The game
originally was referred to as Minisoccer and then became
known by its official international name, Futsal. The
current federation president is Alexander J.C. Para.
The first Futsal World Championship conducted under the
auspices of FIFUSA (before its members integrated into
FIFA in 1989) was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1982,
with Brazil finishing in first place. The Brazilians
repeated as champions at the second World Championship
in 1985 in Spain, but lost in the third World
Championship in 1988 in Australia to Paraguay. FIFA took
over direct sponsorship of the event in 1989 in Holland
and 1992 in Hong Kong. Brazil won both times. The U.S.
Futsal (Indoor Team), finished third in 1989 and second
in 1992. The highest showing by any team from the United
States in a FIFA tournament until the U.S. Womens team
won the gold medal in China for outdoor soccer. The
Third FIFA World Futsal Championship was held November
24 through December 11, 1996, in Spain. The Fourth FIFA
Futsal World Championship will be held in Guatemala
between November 18 to December 4th, 2000.
The first international Futsal match in the United
States was held in December, 1985, at Sonoma State
University in Rohnert Park, Calif. The U.S. select team,
defeated Australia, 9-5.
U.S. Futsal has conducted a National Championship each
year since 1985. Futsal is establishing itself at the
youth level in the U.S. The Boys and Girls Clubs of
America took a strong interest after the Columbia Park
Club in San Francisco asked the Federation to give a
demonstration. The national organization adopted the
sport, and it is now played at about 1,100 Boys and
Girls Clubs throughout the U.S. The American Youth
Soccer Organization (AYSO) also plays the sport in a
close working relationship with U.S. Futsal since 1988.
The U.S. Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) and U.S.
Futsal signed an agreement in August of 1995, to promote
futsal in all National State Association under the
auspices of U.S. Futsal.
Taken from futsal.com
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