Futsal, the FIFA-endorsed variant of indoor soccer, has deeply influenced soccer stars like Neymar, Marta, Messi, Ronaldinho, and Iniesta during their formative years.
Revered as a catalyst for honing decision-making prowess, ball mastery, and rapid gameplay, Futsal employs 4 field players alongside a goalkeeper. In a departure from traditional soccer, Futsal features no offside rule.
Goalkeepers are constrained to handling the ball within their own half for a mere 4 seconds, but once they venture beyond the midpoint, they transform into a "flying keeper" or fifth attacker, granted unlimited touches and time control over the ball. Notably, the game allows seamless substitutions on-the-fly, maintaining its dynamic pace.
Advantages of Futsal Training
Advantages of Futsal Training:
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Enhanced Defensive and Offensive Skills: Develop 1v1 and small group defensive and offensive strategies, boosting both technical and tactical agility.
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Complete Ball Control: Instill confidence in handling the ball across diverse field situations in outdoor soccer.
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Accelerated Decision-Making: Cultivate pre-reception decision-making abilities, accelerating gameplay speed and overall field vision. (Supported by a Set Sport Corp. Case Study)
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Intensive Cognitive Growth: Repetitive cognitive engagement fuels conscious and subconscious advancement, a process exemplified by the case study.
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Increased Ball Engagement: Compared to 20-40 touches in a 90-minute outdoor match (position-dependent), players experience 80-100 touches in a 40-minute Futsal match.
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Quality Repetitions and Decision Making: Foster high-quality repetitions and on/off-ball decision-making prowess.
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Creative Expression and Technique: Place significant emphasis on fostering creativity both on and off the ball, coupled with impeccable technique.
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Parallel Tactics to Outdoor Soccer: Leverage the same fundamental tactics and game knowledge that apply to outdoor soccer, thus ensuring seamless transition and skill transfer.
What are the benefits?
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Transition (Learn how to defend and attack 1v1 and in small groups), which increases technical and tactical speed.
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Makes players comfortable on the ball in all situations on the field in outdoor soccer.
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Enables players to make early decisions before receiving the ball so faster speed of play and vision (Repetitive, cognitive application allows players to develop faster on a conscious and subconscious level – Case Study by Set Sports Corp. A player will touch the ball 80-100 times in a 40-minute match as opposed to 20-40 (based on position) in a 90-minute outdoor match.
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Gives Quality Reps and Decision-making on/off the ball.
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Strong emphasis on creativity (On and Off the ball) and technique
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Futsal rewards the same basic tactics and knowledge of the game as outdoor soccer.
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TACTICAL BENEFITS
TECHNICAL BENEFITS
Movement and interchanging positions
Possession vs Counter attack mode
Set pieces organization (defense and Ofensive)
Transition moments
Answer the equation with the ball
first touch: ball control in tight spaces to combine or go 1v1
Shooting techniques (improve accuracy)
Passing technique (proper weight and accuracy)
Speed of play and vision
defensive applications - double team, when to press, drop, communication defense, mankind vs zone defending
MARCIA TAFAREL NAMED FIRST HEAD COACH OF U.S. WOMEN’S FUTSAL NATIONAL TEAM
FIRST ID CAMP SET FOR MARCH 23-26 IN WALNUT CREEK, CALIF., AS PROGRAM JOINS U.S. SOCCER’S EXTENDED NATIONAL TEAM DEPARTMENT; SASCHA FILIPPI NAMED ASSISTANT COACH; LAUNCH COINCIDES WITH FIFA’S PLANS TO STAGE FIRST FUTSAL WOMEN’S WORLD CUP.
CHICAGO (March 7, 2023) – Marcia Tafarel has been named as the inaugural head coach of the U.S. Women’s Futsal National Team, a program launching as part of U.S. Soccer’s Extended National Teams department this month. The team will stage its first international identification camp in Walnut Creek, Calif., from March 23-26, becoming the Federation’s ninth Extended National Team.
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U.S. Soccer announced plans to begin organizing the team at its 2022 Annual General Meeting and in December, FIFA announced it had approved the addition of a FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup to its slate of international competitions. No timetable has been confirmed for the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup. UEFA has staged a European Women’s Futsal Championship since 2019.
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Tafarel joins U.S. Soccer with an extensive international playing and coaching background in both soccer and Futsal. She was a long-time member of the Brazil Women’s National Team, where she was a part of two Women’s World Cups (1991, 1995), and the 1996 Olympic Games. Tafarel has been coaching Futsal in the United States since 2004 and holds a U.S. Soccer “B” Coaching License.
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“I’m extremely excited to guide the launch of the U.S. Women’s Futsal National Team with U.S. Soccer,” said Tafarel. “I’ve played and coached the sport my entire life, so to have a chance to build a team and eventually face international competition in the years ahead is a wonderful opportunity. We will be looking for players from all corners of the country to establish our player pool in the coming year.”
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U.S. Soccer will stage a number of Identification Camps this year to build the team’s player pool, with an eye on its first international competition taking place sometime in 2024.
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Along with Tafarel, U.S. Soccer also appointed Sascha Filippi as the team’s assistant coach. Filippi has an array of international Futsal club coaching experience in France, Catalonia, and the United States, where he has been coaching since 2015.
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“I’m extremely passionate about the sport of women’s Futsal,” said Filippi, currently a coach with the Alexandria Soccer Association in Virginia, “I’m looking forward to being part of the technical staff that gets to build this program from the beginning.”
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Tafarel and Filippi will work together to identify players, schedule camps, and eventually guide the team at international competitions in the years ahead.
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Futsal is an indoor version of the sport of soccer, with teams fielding five players each on a court that measures 40 by 20 meters. It is sanctioned by FIFA and is a contraction of the Spanish words "fútbol sala."
For more information on the sport or to inquire about athlete eligibility, please contact U.S. Soccer's Extended National Teams Department via email at extendednt@ussoccer.org.