Indoor soccer

Last updated
Indoor soccer
Dallas Sidekicks vs Texas Strikers B - 23 February 2013.jpg
2013 match between the Dallas Sidekicks and Texas Strikers at Allen Event Center
Highest governing body World Minifootball Federation
NicknamesIndoor football
Characteristics
Contact Yes
Team members5–7 per side (including goalkeeper)
Type team sport, ball sport
Equipment Football
VenueIndoor soccer field
Presence
Olympic No

Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, or fast football) is a five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor soccer, as it is most often known in the United States and Canada, was originally developed in these two countries as a way to play soccer during the winter months, when snow would make outdoor play difficult. In those countries, gymnasiums are adapted for indoor soccer play. In other countries the game is played in either indoor or outdoor arenas surrounded by walls, and is referred to by different names (such as "fast football" (futbol rapido) in Mexico, Futebol Society or showbol in Brazil, [1] and "indoor football" (futbol indoor) in Spain).

Contents

Indoor soccer has different regulations from other versions of association football designed for indoor play, such as futsal and five-a-side football. Unlike futsal, which is played on wooden or ceramic surfaces, indoor soccer is played on synthetic turf (or, in the case of the British Masters Football variety, synthetic carpet). [2] Indoor soccer courts are either delimited by walls or lines, and there are no player throw-ins.

FIFA, the international body that oversees international association football competitions, does not sanction the synthetic turf version of indoor soccer, having developed its own code of indoor football (which they refer to as futsal).

Indoor soccer is most popular in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with several amateur, collegiate and professional leagues functioning. While internationally less popular than futsal, indoor soccer is also played at the league level in many countries outside North America. The World Minifootball Federation (WMF) is the governing body of indoor soccer at the international level, having replaced the International Fast Football Federation (FIFRA).

The term minifootball, which was originally coined in Europe, has been adopted by the WMF as a standard international name for the sport.

Around the world

International competitions

Indoor soccer is played throughout the world. Currently, the international federation dedicated to promoting the sport is the World Minifootball Federation (WMF) based in Switzerland. The WMF replaced the International Fast Football Federation (FIFRA), which had been based in Mexico and later, the United States. There are also regional federations who govern the sport including: African Minifootball Federation (AMF), Asian Minifootball Confederation (AMC), Confederación Panamericana de Minifútbol (CPM), European Minifootball Federation (EMF), Oceania Minifootball Federation (OMF).

An indoor soccer arena with boards Starfire Sports Complex - indoor soccer 01.jpg
An indoor soccer arena with boards

Before Futsal was overseen by FIFA, the first Futsal World Champion was held in São Paulo, Brazil. [3] This competition took place in 1982 and was conducted by the FIFUSA (before FIFA). Brazil came in first in the first Futsal World Tournament (1982) and the second Futsal World Tournament (1985). [3] FIFA overtook this championship in 1989 and renamed the competition the FIFA Futsal World Championship.

During its existence, FIFRA organized several indoor soccer tournaments for national teams, including the Indoor Soccer World Championship. The only edition of this tournament took place in Mexico in 1997. [4] No other world championship was played until 2015, when the first WMF World Cup was held in the United States. As of 2019 three WMF World Cups have been organized, with Mexico being the current world champion. [5] [6] [7] A World Cup for Under-21 players was held in Prague in 2018, with the Czech team taking the title. [8] A World Cup for women is planned for 2021 in Kyiv, Ukraine. [9]

Star Sixes, an indoor six-a-side football tournament for national teams from around the world, was held in the O2 Arena in London in 2017. Held outside the auspices of the WMF, this tournament featured players which formerly played in the association football national teams of their home countries. A total of twelve teams participated, with France winning the title. [10] It is intended to make Star Sixes a recurring event; [11] [12] [13] a second edition took place in 2019, with England winning the title. [14]

United States and Canada

Indoor soccer is a common sport in the United States and especially Canada and you can read differences like Indoor Soccer Vs Futsal in detail, with both amateur and professional leagues, due to the short season for outdoor soccer in Canada and the Northern United States, and the ubiquity of arenas built for ice hockey and basketball which can easily be converted to indoor soccer (similar reasons as to why indoor lacrosse is more popular in Canada, field lacrosse in the United States[ dubious ]). Indoor soccer is especially popular in Northern Canada due to the often unplayable outdoor conditions and its appearance in the Arctic Winter Games. [15]

The United States Indoor Soccer Association was founded in 1998. USIndoor soccer oversees all indoor soccer sports as well as "arena soccer" and "Futsal" in the United States. [16]

Major Arena Soccer League is the top indoor soccer league in North America.

Mexico

Indoor soccer or futbol rapido has also become a popular sport in Mexico, being included as part of the Universiada (University National Games) and the CONADEIP (Private School Tournament), in which university school teams from all over Mexico compete. In Mexico, "indoor" soccer fields are frequently built outdoors (though indoor courts are also used in some tournaments). In 2012 an eight-team indoor soccer league was launched, which consists of former professional association football players from Liga MX. [17]

South America

Indoor soccer is known in Brazil as showbol, with several current regional leagues. Formal national leagues have also been formed in Bolivia, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru. However, the most common variations of indoor soccer played in Brazil are futsal but also futebol society  [ pt ]. [18]

Europe

Indoor soccer is also played in several European countries. In the United Kingdom, Masters Football is the most well-known competition. Tournaments among Masters teams (consisting of veteran former players from professional 11-a-side teams from each country) are regularly played. In Spain, some over-30 ex-professionals represent their clubs in the Liga Fertiberia which plays a five-a-side variant.

The European indoor soccer federation, known as the European Minifootball Federation (EMF), [19] organizes the European Minifootball Championship (miniEURO) every year, and in recent years countries have established national minifootball associations. EMF organize variations of six-a-side football and this could come in different shapes and sizes from a large custom-built facility with multiple pitches or even an 11-a-side pitch temporarily split into smaller pitches. This is not to be confused with the term used in Russia and some other former Soviet countries, where the term mini-football is used to describe futsal.

Australia

Indoor soccer's journey within Australia can be traced back to its emergence as a response to challenges posed by weather conditions and limited outdoor space. As the sport gained traction, purpose-built indoor facilities started to dot the Australian landscape, offering players a controlled environment where they could indulge in their passion year-round.

Rules

Diagram of a possible North American indoor soccer field Indoorsoccer.jpg
Diagram of a possible North American indoor soccer field

Rules vary between governing bodies, but some of the nearly universal rule deviations from association football include:

Beyond these common threads, the sport is structured according to the idiosyncrasies of individual leagues. Most of these rules are adopted from other arena sports like ice hockey. Below is a listing of some of the more common ones:

Leagues

Europe

North America

South America

Australia

Former

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field hockey</span> Team sport played with sticks and a spherical ball

Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalkeeper. Teams must move a hockey ball around a field by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting circle and then into the goal. The match is won by the team that scores the most goals. Matches are played on grass, watered turf, artificial turf, or indoor boarded surface. Street hockey is a form of impromptu field hockey typically played by children in Canada, via erecting a net in the street and using the road surface to play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Futsal</span> Team sport, variant of association football

Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt like a basketball court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008)</span> Defunct soccer league in the United States (2001–2008)

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) was the top professional indoor soccer league in the United States. The league was a member of both the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA. The MISL had replaced the NPSL which folded in 2001. According to MISL.net, the league ceased operations as of May 31, 2008. "We are considering structural changes that will bring us greater efficiencies, while also allowing long term growth and expansion of the League", said John Hantz, former Chairman of the MISL, and Owner/Operator of the Detroit Ignition. All the teams from MISL went to the new indoor leagues: NISL, MASL and the XSL. The NISL and XSL used the same playing rules as the MISL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indoor hockey</span> Team sport

Indoor hockey is an indoor variant of field hockey. It is similar to the outdoor game in that two teams compete to move a hard ball into the goal of the opposing side using hockey sticks. Indoor hockey is played on a smaller area and between smaller teams than field hockey and the sidelines are replaced by solid barriers from which the ball rebounds and remains in play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five-a-side football</span> Variant of association football

Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players. Other differences from association football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are played indoors, or outdoors on artificial grass pitches that may be enclosed within a barrier or "cage" to prevent the ball from leaving the playing area and keep the game constantly flowing.

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Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fouls and misconduct (association football)</span> Unfair act by a player in association football

In the sport of association football, fouls and misconduct are acts committed by players which are deemed by the referee to be unfair and are subsequently penalised. An offence may be a foul, misconduct or both depending on the nature of the offence and the circumstances in which it occurs. Fouls and misconduct are addressed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. A foul is an unfair act by a player, deemed by the referee to contravene the game's laws, that interferes with the active play of the match. Fouls are punished by the award of a free kick to the opposing team. A list of specific offences that can be fouls are detailed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game ; these mostly concern unnecessarily aggressive physical play and the offence of handling the ball. An infringement is classified as a foul when it meets all the following conditions:

  1. It is committed by a player ;
  2. It occurs on the field of play;
  3. It occurs while the ball is in play;
  4. It is committed against an opponent.
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Seven-a-side football is one of the minifootball variations of football, which is played among seven players in each team. In the game consists of one goalkeeper and six outfield players. The pitch of seven-a-side football is bigger than that of five-a-side football, ranging from 50-65 yards in length and 25-50 yards in width respectively.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMF World Cup</span> International indoor Football competition

The WMF World Cup is an international indoor soccer competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of World Minifootball Federation (WMF).

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The United States National Arena Soccer Team is the indoor soccer team that represents the United States at international competitions. It is affiliated with Confederación Panamericana de Minifutbol (CPM) and the World Minifootball Federation (WMF). The first international arena match played by the U.S. National Arena Soccer Team was in July 2008 in Montreal, Canada where Mexico defeated the United States 6–4. The first international arena soccer match in the United States was held in July 2009 at NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas. The United States won the inaugural WMF World Cup in 2015 after going undefeated in group play defeating Germany and Romania in the knockout rounds en route to the final and prevailing over Mexico 5–3 in the final. Goalkeeper Danny Waltman was named tournament MVP. The team also participated in the 2017 WMF World Cup, held in Tunisia.

References

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  2. "MastersFootball™ UK – fast and furious". MastersFootball. 2017-10-05. Archived from the original on 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
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  4. "Mundial De Futbol Rápido". Futbolweb.mx.tripod.com. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
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  7. "USA Win Inaugural WMF World Cup". Indoor Soccer News. 29 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
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  9. "Welcome - World Minifootball Federation". Minifootball.com. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  10. "France Win the Inaugural Betsafe Star Sixes | Star Sixes". starsixes.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-20.
  11. "From five-a-side to futsal and Star Sixes: how football's small forms went big | Football". The Guardian. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  12. "Star Sixes". The List. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  13. "More World Cup Winners Head to Star Sixes as Final Five are Unveiled | Star Sixes". Archived from the original on 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  14. Torres, Winston. "Top Differences – Indoor Soccer Vs Futsal 2022-2023". Footyware. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  15. "Indoor Soccer 101". Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  16. "Soccer • USIndoor Sports Association". USIndoor Sports Association. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  17. "Presentan la Liga de Futbol Indoor México". 14 September 2012.
  18. "O Que é Futebol Society?". Futebol Planet | Tudo Sobre Futebol (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
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