Playing Futsal on an Outdoor Court

Though first created as an indoor alternative to regular soccer, futsal has become a phenomenon all its own. In fact, both FIFA and the UEFA say it's the world's fastest-growing indoor sport, with an estimated 12 million players. In an ironic twist given the sport's origins, many people now ask about playing futsal soccer outdoors. So is it possible to enjoy a fast-paced match under the sun? Bownet® is here to answer that question and others.

What Is Futsal?

This small-sided soccer variation was created by Juan Carlos Ceriani, a teacher in Uruguay. His home country had just hosted and won the inaugural FIFA World Cup, and youngsters were itching to play soccer. When pitches weren't available in the capital city of Montevideo, kids would visit the local YMCA Club and use the gym for informal games. After seeing these games, Ceriani decided to create official rules, which were published in 1933. From there, futsal has grown to an international sport with multiple sanctioning bodies and a World Cup of its own. Although it is a form of indoor soccer, futsal rules differ from official indoor soccer/arena soccer. Most notably for this article, futsal is played on a hard court while indoor soccer is played on a turf pitch. Futsal also has five players per side instead of six, has shorter halves and doesn't have walls surrounding the court. The futsal ball sizes are smaller, too. Additionally, futsal is FIFA-sanctioned while arena soccer is not.

Playing Futsal Outdoors

Despite being FIFA-sanctioned as an indoor sport, futsal can be played outside as long as it's in a controlled environment and you have a hard, flat surface to play on. Playing on grass or turf with the official low-bounce ball would slow the game down - defeating the purpose since it's meant to be faster-paced than traditional soccer. The standard international futsal court is 40 meters long by 20 meters wide (131.2 feet by 65.6 feet), which is the same size as a handball court. You can play pick-up games and scrimmages on a smaller court size, too - many have converted outdoor basketball courts and tennis courtsfor futsal. A few companies now sell custom outdoor futsal courts which can be set up in a yard and are safer than playing on pavement or concrete.

Try Futsal Today

Indoors or outdoors, futsal is a great sport for young athletes. Since the game moves faster and has fewer players, you touch the ball much more often. This helps you develop ball control, athletic intelligence, creativity and other skills. Many of the all-time greatest soccer players, including Pelé, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, can credit their ball skills and quick decision-making to playing futsal as kids. If you're interested in futsal, Bownet will help you #PlayAnywherePlayNow with our industry-leading equipment. Order regulation-size portable futsal goals and futsal balls plus field cones and other gear used by high-level players. We make it easy to set up a game anywhere people want to play.