Four Reasons To Play Futsal During Winter

The indoor soccer season is right around the corner and with that comes the decision as to where to play during winter. With a slew of leagues offering everything from 7v7 to full-sized 11v11, the options are certainly there. But with every indoor league more or less being cookie-cutter and costing quite a lot of money to play in, you should consider looking at an alternative. That alternative is futsal. Here are four reasons why futsal is much better for your kids’ development than turf indoor.

1) FUTSAL IS ECONOMICAL: With prices charged for indoor turf leagues often ranging from $2,500 for small-sided youth through a bank-breaking $3,500 for 11v11, it has become very expensive to play indoor soccer. And that doesn’t even include the referee fees at every game. FIFA rules, futsal leagues typically range between $1,100-$1,600, with some, including referee and district fees. Some actually give big discounts for clubs that divide their teams in two. As a result of high costs associated with turf, it’s now the norm for teams playing in domes to train in gyms simply because they don’t have money to pay for practices on turf. So with gym prices costing a fraction of turf time costs, why wouldn’t you play futsal on courts and save your money?

2) FUTSAL IS SUPERIOR FOR TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT: Imagine you’re typing a document without the use of one of the five vowels. It would be futile, as the whole thing would turn out bad. Well the philosophy behind futsal is similar as it forces players to become more skilful, as the focus is on the total team mentality and its emphasis on demanding offensive and defensive responsibility from every player, as opposed to strictly set positions. Consequently, if one key breaks down, the whole keyboard suffers. Futsal is 5-a-side (including the keeper), and it is played on a smaller court with a low-bounce ball that keeps the ball where it should be: at the player’s feet. Futsal players receive far more touches than in other indoor formats (which is the whole point right?), think and react much quicker, and are constantly moving into position, which enhances their 1v1 skills. Like in hockey, there are also unlimited, on-the-fly substitutions in futsal, which keeps the pace of the game fast. Just ask any coach or parent who put their kid in futsal what they thought. Chances are it will be overwhelmingly positive.

3) FUTSAL IS FIFA’S OFFICIAL INDOOR GAME: You will not see a 7v7 or 9v9 indoor soccer championship at CONCACAF and FIFA competitions. Futsal is the only fully FIFA-supported version of indoor soccer that has mandated its members, including the Canadian Soccer Association, to grow the sport. There is a Canadian National Futsal Team and there is also the FIFA Futsal World Cup. Futsal will be an Olympic gold medal sport. Wouldn’t it be something special if one of your kids put on the Canadian jersey to compete for an Olympic medal? You can’t get there with traditional indoor.

4) FUTSAL IS SAFER: Futsal uses an accumulated foul system like in basketball. Every team has five fouls per half, and when a team hits six or more, the opposing team gets an unopposed free kick on the goalkeeper, essentially a penalty shot. The game rewards technical skill and fair play, while penalizing physically aggressive players. Also, there are no slides in youth futsal, which forces players to get into better position to mark defenders and protects players from ankle and leg injuries. Lastly, with no boards used in futsal, unlike in arena soccer, the risk of head and spinal injuries is drastically reduced.