The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is France, which won its second title at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Futsal is a variant of association football played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It features similarities to five-a-side football.
The FIFA Futsal World Cup is the international championship for futsal, the indoor version of association football organized by FIFA.
Alessandro Rosa Vieira, known as Falcão, is a Brazilian retired professional futsal player. He is known for his flashy and potent dribbling skills and a powerful and accurate left foot. He is also the world's all-time leading goalscorer in men's international matches. He has named Best Player in the World four times and won the FIFA Futsal World Cup Golden Shoe in 2004 and the Golden Ball in 2004 and 2008.
The Iran national futsal team represents Iran in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Futsal Commission of the Iranian Football Federation. The "Kings of Asian Futsal" are by far the strongest Asian team and one of the best teams in the world according to the Futsal World Ranking.
The Brazil national futsal team represents Brazil during international futsal competitions. It is under the direction of the Brazilian Futsal Confederation or Confederação Brasileira de Futebol de Salão. The team is considered to be the strongest in the world earning a record three straight championships in the FIFA Futsal World Cup. Brazil also holds a record twelve championship wins in the South American Futsal Championship also known as the Copa América de Futsal and five wins in the Taça América de Futsal. As of November 2016, Brazil is ranked first in the Futsal World Rankings. Brazil has played in all FIFA Futsal World Cups and has finished in the top three places seven times.
The Thailand national futsal team represents Thailand in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Thailand.
The Ukraine national futsal team represents Ukraine in international futsal competitions such as the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the European Championships and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine.
The Solomon Islands national futsal team, nicknamed Kurukuru, represents the Solomon Islands in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in Oceania, but fares poorly in competitions outside the region.
The AFC Futsal Club Championship is the current annual Asian futsal club competition hosted by the Asian Football Confederation.
The Vietnam national futsal team represents Vietnam in international men's futsal competitions and is controlled by the Vietnam Football Federation.
The World Futsal Association is the governing global body of futsal, and is headquartered in Asuncion, Paraguay. It was founded on 25 July 1971 as the International Futsal Federation (FIFUSA) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; on 1 December 2002, the organization was replaced, changed its name to Asociación Mundial de Futsal.
The 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the 7th FIFA Futsal World Cup, an international futsal tournament that took place from 1–18 November 2012 in Thailand. An extra four teams were competing at this World Cup. This was the first men's FIFA tournament held in the country, having hosted the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. This was also the first men's FIFA tournament in Southeast Asia since the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, held in Malaysia.
The list shown below shows the Iran national futsal team all-time international record against opposing nations.
The Women's Futsal World Tournament is an international competition for women's national futsal teams, similar in nature to the FIFA Futsal World Cup, although it is not sanctioned and organized by FIFA. The first edition took place in 2010 in Spain and was won by Brazil. The tournament has known no other winner besides Brazil, after victories in the following six editions.
The 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the 8th edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was held in Colombia from 10 September to 1 October 2016.
The Philippines women's national Futsal team represents the Philippines in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Philippine Futsal Committee of the Philippine Football Federation.
The 2016 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations qualification was a men's futsal competition which decided the participating teams of the 2016 Africa Futsal Cup of Nations.
The FAI Futsal Cup is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for futsal teams based in the Republic of Ireland. The winners qualify to represent the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Futsal Cup. The competition was introduced in 2007 and the inaugural winners were Shamrock Rovers. The 2007 tournament was referred to as the Eircom U21 Futsal League and the 2008 and 2009 tournaments were referred to as the Futsal League of Ireland or the FAI National Futsal League. Since 2010 it has generally been referred to as the FAI Futsal Cup.
The following are the scheduled events of association football for the year 2018 throughout the world.
