Sport of the Month: Futsal

Futsal is an indoor version of football. Its name comes from the Portuguese 'futebol de salão' and the Spanish 'fútbol sala/de salón', which means indoor football.

There are five players on each team – one of whom is the goalkeeper. It’s a really exciting and fun game and with autumn coming up, it's a great way to stay fit and dry!

Its also a cheap sport to get into as once you've got a football you're ready to go, it also sounds a lot more exotic than normal footbal which means you'll have something to impress your friends with!

Some professional players start out with futsal to build fundamental skills. Brazilian players Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Juninho and many more started out playing Futsal before getting involved in playing traditional Football.

Here the basic rules of Futsal:

• Five players on court, with rolling substitutions
• Touchlines and bye-lines are used
• All players can enter the penalty area
• No height restriction on ball
• Squarer goals (3m x 2m)
• Regulation Futsal Ball - Size 4, with a low bounce