What is Futsal?

Futsal is a variant of association football played on a smaller field and mainly indoors. It can be considered a version of five-a-side football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted. Unlike some other forms of indoor football, the game is played on a hard court surface delimited by lines; walls or boards are not used. Futsal is also played with a smaller ball with less bounce than a regular football due to the surface of the field. The surface, ball and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.

Futsal started in 1930 when Juan Carlos Ceriani, a teacher in Montevideo, Uruguay, created a version of indoor football for recreation in YMCAs. This new sport was originally developed for playing on basketball courts and a rule book was published in September 1933. His goal was to create a team game that could be played indoor or outdoor but that was similar to football, which became quite popular there after Uruguay won the 1930 World Cup and gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics.

Ceriani, writing the rule book, took as example the principles of football (the possibility to touch the ball with every part of the body except for the hands), but he took rules from other sports too: from basketball the number of team players (five) and the game duration (40 actual minutes); from water polo the rules about the goalkeeper; from team handball for the field and net’s sizes. The result is a lively, evolved, dynamic, active and supportive sport.

Futsal Development with Inspire

The small court and the 5V5 demands players think and move faster, with far more touches of the ball than in football. As Futsal can be such a quick game, with lots of transitions, players will always be tested technically and tactically, with natural rotation between positions on the court. Futsal is as much about speed of thought as speed of foot!

We want all of our players to have the individual skill to dribble past opponents and the confidence to show their skills. We like players to have the ability to pass the ball around the opposition and feel comfortable on the ball. Our sessions ensure players get lots of opportunity to practice their ball mastery and all-round technical skills.

Our sessions are heavily based around game situations and have a good rhythm to them where our players are tested physically.

Our youth teams compete in tournaments and the National Futsal 5s. We are always looking for fixtures, whether with other Futsal clubs / academies or football teams looking to play Futsal.

We create a fun, safe and challenging environment where players engage with one another and are encouraged to express themselves.

Why Inspire Futsal Academy?

We have fantastic qualified coaches who deliver fun, creative sessions.
We create a warm environment where players have fun and learn.
The environment is important to us and we want players to feel excited about coming to train with us.
Our network includes most of the local professional football clubs and several of our players have already progressed to academies, with many returning to us to play Futsal when they can.
We are constantly looking for more challenges and opportunities for our players to display their talents.
We have sessions for players who are just starting out. We believe that every aspiring football player can improve themselves through playing Futsal.

If you are interested interested in training with us please email

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