Futsal Fever takes over Nottingham

Video: Can futsal help nurture a new generation of exciting football talent?

Pele, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo… these footballing icons all started the same way – playing Futsal in Brazil and honing their skills to prepare for a career in the beautiful game.

Futsal has been used as a platform to stardom by many footballers in South America since the sport originated in Uruguay in 1930.

Now Nottingham is doing its best to get in on the 5-a-side indoor action and help nurture a new generation of exciting young talent.

The best thing about playing futsal is there’s no such thing as a boring game

Ben Thomas, 20, is the goalkeeper for Nottingham Trent University’s Futsal first team, who started playing the sport after being rejected by academies for being too short.

But futsal has offered him a way to keep playing the sport he loves, or at least a version of it.

He said: “I got invited to play by the university, I was initially a football player but the manager picked me up after one of the matches to help build his futsal side, which was missing a goalie.

“The best thing about playing futsal is there’s no such thing as a boring game, whether you play top of the league or bottom you’re always in with a challenge due to the size of the pitches, no position or player goes unnoticed in a game of futsal.

How does the sport differ from regular 5-a-side football?

  • No use of rebound walls in futsal. Ball is returned to play with a ‘kick-in’
  • Wider and longer pitch
  • No height restriction on the pitch
  • Smaller ball with less bounce
  • Square goals as opposed to rectangular ones
  • 5 foul limit

There is a common misconception by futsal-muggles that you need to have a wealth of technical skill to play the sport. That is not the case, according to Ben.

“Sometimes just playing the ball with the right movement and awareness means you can be very effective.

“The subs are quite frequent so as long as the work rate is at the max for the time you’re on whether that’s two minutes or 20, you can still be an important player,” added Ben.

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Image: NTU futsal team in action against Derby 

Did you know?
Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi bought Futsal superstar Falcao for his very own side.

Nottinghamshire FA are adamant that they can help bring through local futsal talent into professional football but said it would need expanding to make this possible.

Callum Convery, football development officer for Notts FA said: “It’s a fast-growing sport. We’re looking to get behind it and offer the opportunities to grass roots.

“There is already a structure in place for the elite end so at the moment we are trying to work with volunteers and increase the offer of futsal across the city.

“There are a couple of leagues at the moment (in the north and south of the city) and the professional clubs all have their own education programmes through futsal.”

If you think futsal might be for you, the Nottinghamshire FA will be happy to point you in the right direction. Remember, you never know who might turn up to a game.