Introduction: Official Futsal Rules
Studying sports rules is usually boring and something that not everyone enjoys. However, here at Physical Education Tips, we have prepared a precious material about the rules of Futsal; a summary of the official rules of Futsal 2017 elaborated with high quality, so that you can get to know everything about the rules of our good old Indoor Soccer.
The Futsal Field
What is the size of the Futsal field? The Futsal field is a rectangle with the following dimensions:
- FIFA international competitions: 38 to 42 meters long and 20 to 25 meters wide.
- Adult and U-20 National competitions (Brazil): minimum 38 meters long and minimum 18 meters wide.
- Women’s National competitions in the following age groups: adult, U-20, U-17 and U-15 as well as Men’s National competitions U-17 and U-15 the minimum length is 36 meters and the minimum width is 18 meters
The Penalty area of the Futsal Field
The penalty area/goalkeeper area in Futsal is one of the main rules of this indoor sport; it is placed in a 6 meters radius away from the goal line, centered on the goalposts. The penalty mark shall be located 6 meters away from the goal line when it reaches the middle of the goalposts.
There is also a second penalty mark 10 meters away from the goal line when it reaches the middle of the goalposts for Direct Free Kick, when a team exceeds the limit of 5 fouls per time of play.
Marking a Corner Kick in the Futsal Field
In the four corners of the Futsal field, a quarter of a 25cm arc will be marked for corner/corner kick.
The Crossbars or Goalposts of the Futsal field
What are Futsal goalposts’ dimensions? The size of goalposts is one of the basic rules of Futsal. The distance between the bars is of 3 meters wide, and the crossbar will be located 2 meters away from the ground.
Substitution Zone in Futsal
In Futsal, there is an area where the substitutions will take place, which is located in front of each bench / technical area and is 5 meters wide.
The Futsal Ball
In the categories Adults, U-20, U-17 e U-15, Men and Women’s, the Futsal ball will have a circumference of 62 to 64 centimeters and a weight of 400 to 440 grams.
How many players form a Futsal team?
A Futsal team consists of 5 players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. In official competitions, the maximum number of substitute players is 9. Substitutions in Futsal are unlimited. Substitutions may occur with the ball in play or out of play, provided in the SUBSTITUTION ZONE.
Futsal Equipments
The equipment of a Futsal player comprises the following items: shirt with long or short sleeves, shorts, socks, shin guards and footwear. The shirts shall be numbered on the front and back, from 01 to 99. Goalkeepers must wear colors that are distinguishable from the other players and the match officials.
The Futsal Referee
In Futsal, there is the first referee and the second referee/assistant, who work in the field, and the third referee/scorer as well as the timekeeper who work off the field, at the table.
Duration of the Futsal match
A Futsal match is timed and divided in two equal periods. For Adults, U-20 and U-17 matches, there will be two 20-minute time periods, whereas for U-15 matches, there will be two 15-minute periods. The break between playing times should be a maximum of 15 minutes The interval between the two halves cannot exceed 15 minutes.
Time out and extra time in Futsal
Time out requests are also part of the basic rules of Futsal; each Futsal team is entitled to one time out per period. The extra time shall consist of two periods of 3 or 5 minutes.
Kick off in Futsal
The kick off in Futsal is decided by draw. The team who wins the draw chooses which side of the field of play they want to have, their opponent take the kick-off. A goal cannot be scored directly from the kick off in Futsal.
Lack of Offside rule in Futsal
There is no offside rule in Futsal.
Futsal Misconduct Rules
Direct free kick
These are the fouls committed by any player related to physical contact with the opponent or intentional hand touching the ball.
Penalty kick in Futsal
It consists of the direct free kick for fouls inside their own penalty area.
Indirect free kick in Futsal
An indirect free kick consists of fouls that do not involve direct physical contact committed by the goalkeeper or a player. Ex.: When the goalkeeper touches the ball with hands when it has been kicked to them by a teammate.
Rules for the Futsal Goalkeeper
In Futsal the goalkeeper is not allowed to possess the ball, with feet or hands for over 4 seconds in his defense area. In the attack area the goalkeeper is allowed to freely possess the ball for as long as desired, just like any other player.
It is only allowed one pass-back to the goalkeeper, and he cannot receive the ball by using his hands, after a pass-back he can only handle the ball in their defense area if it touches an opponent.
Disciplinary sanctions in Futsal
In Futsal, the yellow card communicates a caution and the red card communicates a sending-off.
Procedures after a red card / sending-off
- If the team has a player sent off, they will remain with one less player for 2 minutes or until the opposing team scores.
- If both teams have players sent off and remain with the same number of players in court, the teams will only be reset after 2 minutes.
- If both teams have players sent off, but one of the teams is numerically inferior because they have had more players sent off, the team in numerical inferiority can have the return of a player after suffering a goal. Ex.: Team A had two players sent off, team B had 1 player sent off; if team A, who is in numerical inferiority, concedes a goal in less than 2 minutes after the sending off, team A could have a player returned.
Futsal Kick-in
The kick-in in Futsal is taken with feet, the ball must be placed on the touchline or outside but not more than 25cm away from the court; the player who takes the kick-in cannot have their feet inside the field of play. The kick-in must be taken within 4 seconds. It is not allowed to score directly from a kick-in.
Goal Clearance
Goal clearance in Futsal must be exclusively taken by the goalkeeper, by using their hands, and it must leave the penalty area within 4 seconds.
The Corner Kick in Futsal
The corner kick in Futsal must be taken with feet within 4 seconds and the ball must be placed in the corner area.
