Futsal

International futsal match between Argentina and Brazil
Highest governing body	FIFA and AMF
First played	1930
Characteristics
Contact	Yes
Team members	Five per side
Type	Indoor
Equipment	Futsal ball
Venue	Futsal field
Presence
Olympic	Yes
Paralympic	Yes

Futsal (Portuguese pronunciation: [futˈsal]) is a variant of football (soccer) that is played on a smaller field and mainly played indoors. It can be considered a version of five-a-side football.^[1] Its name comes from the Portuguese Futebol de salão , which can be translated as "room football". It was developed in Brazil in the 1930s and 1940s.
In Brazil futsal is played by more people than football but does not attract as many spectators as the outdoor sport. Several futsal players have moved on to careers as successful professional football players.^[2]
Futsal is a game 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.^[3] The surface, ball and rules create an emphasis on improvisation, creativity and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces.