By: Ava-Caroline Schmidt
Southern’s variety of intramural sports continues to expand as futsal returns to the Iles
P.E center this semester, joining softball and tennis as students take to the courts for another
season of competition.
According to U.S. Futsal, “The origin of Futsal (Five-a-Side Soccer) can be traced back
to Montevideo, Uruguay, in the 1930s when Juan Carlos Cerianai devised a five–a-side version
of soccer for youth competitions at YMCAs. The game is played on basketball-sized courts, both
indoors and out without the use of sidewalls.”
While some might confuse futsal with indoor soccer; there are distinctions. Although
both sports are played inside, indoor soccer – also called arena soccer in North America – usually
has six players per team on the court. Plus, indoor soccer is played on a turf with walls and uses a
standard soccer ball.
For futsal, there are five players per team on the court—one goalie and four outfield
players. Futsal is played on the court, using no walls, and the balls used are smaller, heavier and
don’t have as much bounce on them to adjust to the indoor plays.
There is a significance in the length between the different types of soccer as well.
According to the NCAA rule book for men’s and women’s soccer, the field should have a length
of 115 to 120 yards with a width of about 70 to 80 yards. The ideal size is 120 by 75 yards.
The length of the average college basketball court is about 94 feet in length and 50 feet in
width, according to Cover Sports. Therefore, the playing length drops from 360 feet on a soccer
field to 94 feet on a basketball court, cutting nearly 74 percent of the distance players must
cover.
Alonso Guzman, a sophomore biology major, answered the question of whether he
thought futsal was easier than field soccer.
“Yes, because outside is more physical and more running. Here you just kick the ball and
shoot.”
His teammate, Josh Valladares, a sophomore nursing major, added that playing inside on
a court was less difficult than playing outside due to how smooth it is compared to outside where
it’s rough and bumpy.
Guzman and Valladares’ team returned from last school year and made a statement by
beating their opponent, “Krakow” 13–1 in their first match of the season. Both players agreed
that chemistry is one of the components that helps build a team, because feeding off each other
and knowing how to play together makes a difference.
While some students have been playing futsal for a season or two, that is not the case for
Caitlyn Keller, a senior nursing major, Lela Teron, a senior nursing major, and Ava Neimeyer, a
senior business administration major. All of these ladies have played together on a soccer team
before, but this was their first time trying futsal.
“We’ve all never really played futsal before, so that was a fun thing,” Neimeyer said. She
also pointed out that futsal goalies play a lot more than field soccer goalies.
The girls said they were sad because they are seniors and yet this was their first time
trying futsal. They encourage those who have not tried it yet to get involved with a group and try
it out for themselves.
With futsal season now at full speed, returning players and newcomers are getting a
chance to try the faster paced, very controlled version of soccer in a smaller space with air
conditioning.
