5 Facts About Futsal!
Events
Did you know the biggest football clubs like to train youngsters with futsal? And that the sport has no offside? Check out some awesome facts about 'mini soccer' here!
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The sport acts as training wheels for the big clubs
Top European foodball clubs like Ajax, Chelsea, Man United, etc. have their youth players play futsal because the smaller space induces creativity and showboating skills. The less space also makes the game a fast paced one which means that the concentration and alertness of a player are tested in this format.
Game of Legends
Several footballing legends like Kaka, Pele, Ronaldo, Messi, Xavi, etc. grew up playing futsal and credit their skills to it. Futsal is a very popular format in South American countries and it’s likely that most professional South American footballers have grown up playing in this format. Brazilian legend Ronaldhino, of course, is one of futsal's finest exponents.
First International Winners were Paraguay
The first international futsal tournament was held in 1965 in Uruguay (bonus fact: The first FIFA World Cup was held there too!), and was won by Paraguay. The FIFA Futsal World Cup was conceived in 1989 and has been dominated by Brazil winning 5 of the 8 tournaments. Spain (2) and Argentina (1) are the other winners of this title. Check out Argentina's victory int the latest edition, below.
Best in the World
Brazil currently rank number 1 in international Futsal rankings. However, European countries are now dominating this game type with 5 countries- Spain, Russia, Italy, Portugal and Ukraine in the top 10 ranked teams.
No Offside
Unlike regular football, there is no offside rule in futsal which means that the striker can get really close to the goal to score. However, this advantage is negated by a really small goalpost.
Check out some awesome skills displayed by players from Premier Futsal below.
