the futsal market | Italy

1.1 Definition and presentation

Futsal is a sport derived from football that is traditionally played on a small indoor field and involves two teams of five players. Although there may be a difference between futsal discipline and futsal activity, futsal, under this name, refers to indoor football complexes - for a fee.

Futsal was created in Uruguay after the 1930s World Cup and is a recent phenomenon in Europe. The futsal was originally called foot-bola-sala or futebol de salão literally salon football and comes from the contraction between the Spanish or Portuguese word for "football" and the French or Spanish term for "interior". Its introduction in the European continent was late, in Italy the futsal is believed to have arrived around the 80s.

Five player football in Italy experienced exponential growth between 2008 and 2016, almost doubling the number of members. An evolution that seems to continue positively at the expense of traditional football, but the futsal will continue to face organizational changes (e.g. facility structures of clubs), difficulties of visibility and some skepticism about the very essence of the sport.