INTRODUCTION

Futsal is a sport similar to soccer but with different rules, played on a smooth surface between
two teams of five players. The sport was invented in 1930 by the Uruguayan Juan Carlos
Ceriani, a physical education teacher in Uruguay, who initially called it Indoor Soccer. The sport
quickly gained popularity due to the excitement of the first World Cup in 1930 organized and
won by Uruguay, and it rapidly spread throughout South America and the rest of the
continents.

The objective of the game is to score by putting the ball into the opposing team's goal. Each
time it's achieved, a goal is scored. Except for the goalkeeper, no player can touch or strike the
ball with their hand or arm. The team that scores the most goals wins the match.

BASIC RULES

❖ What is needed to play?

The court is a rectangular area with standard dimensions of approximately 40 x 20 meters. The
longitudinal lines are called sideline boundaries, while those defining the width are called end
lines.

➢ Rectangular field: 40 meters long by 20 meters wide, divided into two halves by a
centerline.

➢ Center circle: Located at the center of the field and has a radius of 3 meters.

➢ Penalty area: Area delimited by a continuous line drawn 6 meters away from the goal.

➢ Penalty spot: Circle painted 6 meters away from the center of each goal from which
penalty kicks are taken.

➢ Second penalty mark: Line painted 10 meters away from which a second penalty kick is
taken.
The ball has a circumference between 62 and 64 cm and a weight between 400 and 440 grams.
Dropped from a height of 2 meters, it should perform no fewer than 3 bounces and no more
than 4. It cannot be changed during the match without the referee's authorization.

Goal frames must be smaller than standard, measuring 2 meters high, 3 meters wide, and 1
meter deep.

❖ Number of Players

The match is played between two teams consisting of a maximum of 5 players each, one of
whom plays as the goalkeeper.

➢ The maximum number of players listed per roster is twelve.

➢ The maximum number of substitutes is seven.

➢ An unlimited number of substitutions is allowed. Substitutions are rolling, without

needing to stop the game, including the goalkeeper's substitution.
❖ Duration of a Match

➢ Playing periods: The duration of a match is 40 (forty) minutes, timed, in two equal
halves of 20 minutes each.

➢ Halftime interval: The interval between the two halves shall not exceed 15 minutes.

➢ Extra time: The duration of any period shall be extended to allow for the execution of a
penalty kick, a 10-meter kick, or a free kick without a wall, once regular time has
expired.

➢ Timeout: Teams are entitled to request one minute of timeout in each of the periods.
The timeout will be granted only when the requesting team is in possession of the ball.

❖ Related to the way of playing

➢ Striking surface with the foot:

▪ Inside: Short passes, clearances, and shots for maximum safety.

▪ Outside: Dribbling, short passes, and ball deflections.

▪ Instep: Passes and shots from long distances.

▪ Toe: Kicking or clearing in forced situations.

▪ Sole and heel: Exceptional control.

➢ The goalkeeper is the only one allowed to touch the ball with their hands while inside
their goal area. Outside of it, they may intervene as any other player.

➢ Since the sideline boundaries are part of the playing field, the ball is only out when it
completely crosses them.

➢ Throw-in:

▪ A throw-in is a way to restart the game. A goal cannot be scored directly from a
throw-in.

▪ A throw-in is awarded when the ball completely crosses the sideline boundaries,
either on the ground or in the air. It is returned to play by a kick from the exact
spot where the ball went out, in any direction, by a player from the opposing team
to the one who last touched it.

➢ Corner kick:

▪ A corner kick is a way to restart the game. When the ball completely crosses the
base line, excluding the part between the goalposts and the crossbar, and under
the conditions in which a goal is legally scored, either on the ground or in the air
after being touched or shot last by a defending player, a corner kick is awarded.

▪ A goal resulting from a corner kick will not count unless the ball has been touched
by a player, excluding the goalkeeper.
 ➢ Goal kick:

▪ A goal kick is a way to restart the game. A goal kick is awarded if the ball has
completely crossed the base line, excluding the part between the crossbar and the
goalposts, either on the ground or in the air, after last being touched by an
opposing player, and no goal has been scored.

▪ Procedure:

• The ball shall be thrown by hand from any point within the penalty area by the
defending team's goalkeeper.

• Opponents must remain outside the goal area until the ball is in play.

• The goalkeeper may receive the ball from a teammate who regains or controls
it while in possession of an opponent.

• The ball is in play when it has been thrown directly outside the penalty area.
Thus, the goal kick will be considered correct.

❖ Types of Fouls

There are several types of fouls: technical fouls, personal fouls, and disciplinary fouls.

➢ Technical Fouls:

▪ These are punished with a free kick unless the "advantage law" applies. If there is
danger or intentionality, it carries an implicit yellow or blue card.

▪ They consist of pushing, obstructing, hitting, grabbing, tripping, playing

dangerously against the opponent, wasting time, or stopping the ball with the
hand.

▪ If committed within the penalty area, they are punished with a penalty kick (a free
kick from 6 meters without a wall and with the goalkeeper on the goal line).

➢ Personal Fouls:

▪ Personal fouls are penalized with possession of the ball for the opposing team,
which will put it back into play with a throw-in from the nearest point to where the
foul occurred. These include:

• Holding the ball for more than 5 seconds.

• Preventing the movement of the ball by blocking it with the body.

• A player who takes a throw-in touching the ball again before another player
does.

• In a double penalty (a free kick without a wall from a distance of 12 meters

and with the goalkeeper on the goal line), the ball is touched by another player
before reaching the goal, the ball does not enter the penalty area, or it is not
shot towards the goal.
➢ Disciplinary Fouls:

▪ These are infractions considered as disciplinary fouls by players or coaches,

repeatedly breaking the rules, protesting, arguing, or showing inappropriate
behavior, etc.

▪ A player can be cautioned or shown a card:

• Yellow card: Indicates a warning for repeatedly committing rule violations.

Accumulating yellow cards will result in expulsion from the field of play.

• Red card: Indicates expulsion from the field of play. The expelled player
cannot be replaced by any teammate.

➢ Cumulative Fouls:

▪ These are the sum of fouls (technical, personal, and disciplinary) committed by a
team. From the sixth cumulative foul committed beyond 12 meters, a double
penalty will be taken. If they occur at a closer distance, it will be a free kick without
a wall from where it occurred.