FUTSAL: THE NUMBERS GAME

60 million

people play futsal worldwide, according to FIFA.

80

is the average number of rolling substitutions in an elite adult match.

40

minutes is the duration of a game (20-minute halves).

37

players per side would be the equivalent population density in 11-a-side football, when compared to the 5 v 5 on a 40m x 20m futsal court.

14

players are in an adult futsal squad.

9

FIFA Futsal World Cups have been held since the first in 1989. Brazil has won five, Spain two, and Argentina and Portugal one apiece. England has never qualified.

6

is the average number of goals in elite international futsal.

5

players are in each team (one goalkeeper and four on court).

4

seconds is the limit for goalkeepers in possession (in their own half), as well as any player taking a setpiece once the ball is on the court.

0.5

Futsal players are half a second quicker at executing passes than football players, according to a UEFA-funded study. Futsal players showed ‘higher technical intensity’, with 23% more passes a minute, as well as greater accuracy.