Soccer is one of the world’s most popular sports, but there have been several variations of the game that have been growing in prominence steadily over the last couple of decades.
Both Futsal and Beach Soccer take general rules of the beloved game but add some slight differences. These differences attract different sorts of players to play the game.
What are the biggest differences between soccer, beach soccer and Futsal, and how popular are they around the world?
What Is Futsal?
Futsal originated in South America shortly before the start of the 1930 World Cup. It was first played in Uruguay. The FIFA World Cup in 1930 played a major role in the expansion of the game's popularity. Uruguay won the tournament that year. Futsal was created by Juan Carlos Ceriani. He envisioned a sport for both indoors and outdoors. The sport is most popular in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. These states formed the inaugural governing body for the sport. The game is a bit different from soccer. It is mostly played indoors and with a ball that doesn’t bounce. It is a five-a-side game, with extra emphasis put on players passing and moving, and showing their skill. The sport's popularity is evident when looking at its popularity with Soccer betting markets. The phenomenon is no longer bound to South America.
Popularity of Futsal Around The World
South America is the home of Futsal, but the sport has also enjoyed success around the world. There are governing bodies in all continents. The Association Mundial de Futsal is the overriding world body. The top-ranked side in both the men’s and women’s rankings is Brazil. The rankings do show how internationally accepted the sport is. Countries from Asia such as Japan and Iran feature in men's and women's rankings. A few African countries like Morocco and Egypt are regular players at the top table in the men’s game.
The most prestigious Futsal competition is the World Cup that takes place every four years. It was first held for the men in 1982, before the first women’s World Cup in 2008. South American teams have dominated both. Paraguay and Colombia have both won three men’s World Cups. The women’s side has seen Catalonia, Brazil and Colombia each victorious on one occasion. In the most recent World Cup, South Africa became just the second African nation semi-finals. They eventually finished fourth but gave great hope for African Futsal.
What Is Beach Soccer?
Futsal isn’t the only other variation of soccer. Beach Soccer has also recently gone from its grass roots to become one of the world’s most popular sports. As the name suggests, the game is played on the beach. It has been played since the 1950s. It was invented in Rio de Janeiro Brazil where it is still popular with beach goers. It was the inclusion of international stars that helped it gain a worldwide audience. Eric Cantona, Romario and Zico all played at various points to open the door for the sport to be embraced in over 150 countries.
There are many differences between beach soccer and traditional soccer. The playing field is much smaller and the games last for three periods of 12 minutes. The ball is also lighter than in traditional soccer. This is to ease movement on the sandy terrain.
Popularity of Beach Soccer Globally
Beach soccer has become one of the most popular variations of soccer around the world. All the confederations have their own international events. In Asia, the AFC Beach Soccer Championship is a prestigious event. In Africa, the CAF Beach Soccer Championship is the highest prize. For all countries, the top prize remains the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
The Beach Soccer World Cup tournament occured for the first time in 1995. This was before FIFA took over as the governing body in 2005. The success of the competition led to the tournament being held every two years starting in 2009. It was also held outside of Brazil for the first time in 2008. Beach Soccer's success is easily seen in the most recent World Cup. Three different continents were represented in the final four. Senegal finished fourth behind Switzerland. Surprisingly, Japan reached the Futsal World Cup final being beaten by Russia.
Will The Success Of Both Games Continue?
It is hard to imagine anything other than the success of Futsal and Beach Soccer in the years to come. Both are enjoying popularity and success, with nations from all over the world. The success of Asian and African countries also ensures that the competition in Futsal and Beach Soccer will continue to grow over the coming years.