The game is the only game youth players in many countries, including Brazil, play until they are 13 or 14 years of age. The game offers the speed of fast break basketball, requires and teaches players to play under almost constant pressure, requires and helps teach players to master advanced possession techniques not required in indoor soccer with walls, and requires mastering and learning more advanced game concepts required to play faster and at a higher level. Statistically compared to other forms of indoor soccer, the Futsal® game offers 210% more touches in the same amount of time, with an injury rate that is a fraction of the rate reported for the game with dasher boards.

 The only indoor soccer game sanctioned by FIFA, (Federation Internationale de Football Association) and USSF (United States Soccer Federation) is Futbol Sala (the International 5-a-side Indoor Game) which is most commonly referred to as Futsal. In the United States, Futsal is governed by the USFF (United States Futsal Federation, which is a part of USSF).

Futsal uses a special low bounce ball which forces players to develop skills instead of using the balls bounce to propel it. Great soccer players including Pele, Zico, Socrates, Romario, Bebeto, Ronaldo and Sissi grew up playing Futsal on the many Futsal courts found throughout Brazil. They credit Futsal with skill development, sharpening reflexes and improved decision making under pressure. With a 4 second restart rule, small playing area and unlimited substitutions the game offers fast non-stop action and significantly increases a players speed of play without teaching a reliance on walls or dasher boards.

http://www.fifa.com.

Futsal significantly improves the development of the skills required for the 11 a side game while the indoor game with walls and dasher boards does not. Futsal also improves a players speed of play and their ability to make decisions.

http://www.fifa.com/fifa/pub/magazine/fm10-96.2.html

 FIFA’s Laws of the Game for Futsal
The official web site for the Laws of the Game of Futsal: http://www.fifa.com/fifa/handbook/futsal/index.futsal.html