International Master (MA)

International Master (MA)

in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport 2001/2002

DEVELOPMENT OF FUTSAL IN THE WORLD

Tutor: Professor Alain Ferrand, Université de Lyon, France

Co-tutor: Mr. Victor Beceiro, FIFA Futsal Department

Presented by:

JohnT. Padilla Monterde

Nadim Nassif

ABSTRACT

Acknowledgements

This project has been possible thanks to the unconditional co-operation of people really concerned with the future of Futsal like our co-tutor Victor Beceiro from FIFA Futsal Department and Mico Martic, Futsal Player and Web Master of FutsalPlanet.

We would like to thanks the patience and academic guidance of our tutor, Pr.Alain Ferrand.

A special mention to the people who offered us a part of their time to help us in our work:

Denis Oswald IOC Member

Jean-Philippe Dubey CIES

Alvaro Filho Melo FIFA Futsal Committee

Peter Fousek UEFA Futsal Committee

Lorent Morel UEFA Futsal Department

Nico Spreij Coach of The Netherlands Futsal National Team

Joao Rocha Portuguese Futsal National Co-ordinator

Vincent Monnier FIFA

Pierre Lanfranchi CIES

Gianfranco Piantoni CIES

Ricardo Witacker East Timor Futsal Coach

Ettore Cerruti President of “Brescia Calcio a cinque”

Vic Hermans FIFA Futsal Instructor

Our special thanks to Sue Ingle and Roland Chavillon who, with their dedication and professionalism, took care of every detail facilitating the contacts necessary to the achievement of our project.

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2

I Introduction 6

II Thematic Area 7

·  Problem Area 7

·  Approach to the Problem 8

III Objectives of the Research 8

·  Main Objective

·  Specific Objective

IV Justifications in order to do the research project 9

·  Conceptual justification

·  Operative justification

·  Strategic justification

V Limits of the research 10

·  Thematic

·  Geographic

·  Time-lag

·  Research methods

CHAPTER ONE: Referential Frame

1.  History of Futsal 11

·  What is Futsal?

·  Where it has started?

·  First Continental Association 12

·  Creation of the FIFUSA 13

·  FIFA Intervention

·  Futsal development and promotion under FIFA 14

·  June 15th Agreement 15

·  Is Ceriani the only father of Futsal

CHAPTER TWO Theoretical Frame

Futsal Internal Analysis 18

2. Futsal Criteria 18

·  Accessibility of small- sided football

·  Amusement

·  Safety

·  Inexpensive sport

·  Football developer

·  New opportunities to players

·  Special “feeling”

·  Simplicity of the rules

·  Possibility to develop business activities

2.1 How much Futsal is really spread around the world? 25

·  Difficult transition from FIFUSA to FIFA

·  Other versions

2.2 Incomplete recognition inside the football family 26

·  Small number of teams participating

·  Lack of referees

·  Poor number of leagues

·  Impact on TV

·  Lack of identification

·  Summary of the popularity of Futsal

2.3 Is the promotion of Futsal co-ordinated and organised 29

·  Individual passionate initiative

·  Unclear Standard Statutes

·  FIFA’s effort for the game

·  Infrastructure

·  Budget

2.4 External context 32

·  Economic context

·  Socio-Cultural

·  Law, Government and Politics

CHAPTER THREE Methodological Frame

3  SWOT Analysis 45

3.1  One world, one Futsal entity: FIFA Analysis 47

3.2  FIFA Futsal Brand Identity One world, one Futsal entity: FIFA Analysis 59

CHAPTER FOUR Proposal Frame

4.1 Futsal recommendations 61

·  The vision

·  Main objectives

·  Expected advantages of the objectives

·  Targeted countries

·  Debate of issues with countries having a Futsal Championship

·  Debate with countries still having a championship following FIFUSA rules

·  To Summarise

·  Being part of the Olympics

·  Structure requirements

·  Building a network

4.2 Action Plan 68

·  One rule, one game

·  Solidarity Leagues

·  Legal model

·  Structural Proposal for Futsal Committee

·  A statutory recognition

·  Inside the Association structure

·  Proposal to establish Futsal national Committees or bodies inside the Standard Statutes

·  Internal plan

·  Beijing 2008

CHAPTER FIVE Conclusion

·  The circular system to develop Futsal

I Introduction

During the last year in the lectures of this Master degree, we have been facing different problems in the sporting world. Through the experience, we got a better view and understanding of the social cultural economical legal and political context of the sporting world. To resume in one project all the experience and knowledge achieved in the three modules, Humanities (England), Management (Italy) and Law (Switzerland), we have decided to assume the challenge to develop a promising game: Futsal.

We will try to do a deep analysis taking in consideration where Futsal comes from, where it is now and where it is going. Actually, the development of small sports has been made only by passionate who brought their enthusiasm to their game.

Giving a professional and scientific approach, we hope that, going through this work, we will be able, at the end, to identify the new phenomenon that represents Futsal and the establishment of a concrete policy for a global benefit of the millions of people playing it.

The interest of several countries, perceived during the first FIFA Futsal Seminar (Guatemala, November 16th and 17th ,2000) in which most of them had suggested changes[1], has moved our convictions to try to get the best result possible. Being written almost 2 years later, this project will try to make another step and raise some of those conclusions and make an actual evaluation of the way the sport has walked since then.

Starting with the definition of the word Futsal, going through its history and evolution and drawing a clear picture of the present situation, we will try to understand the problems and trends of this sport to finally propose concrete policies and conducts for the future.

To have an idea of the issues, until today the number of players practising Futsal around the world has not been officially determined, which is a source of problems when it comes to express in real figures the popularity of our sport.

II Thematic Area

This part will be directed to determine the actual situation of Futsal and will try to reach new structures, resources and strategies to enlarge the number of countries practising the sport.

This project is designed as a managerial, administrative and organizational proposal to develop Futsal in the world.

Problem Area

These are the basic questions we will try to answer in our Problem area.

-  How appeared Futsal in the sport context?

-  Where it is popular?

-  Why it is important to develop it?

In the last decade, Sport has known a lot of technical, economical, social and legal evolutions that have increased the responsibility of its leading institutions.

Futsal, a sport with a huge potential has been newly added to the responsibilities of FIFA. Despite knowing an important development since its first FIFA World Cup in Holland in 1989, it still have problems and limitations that hobble its proper evolution.

Approach to the problem

The explanation made above lead us to make a main approach to the Problem area:

-Is there a possibility in the near future to develop Futsal in the world ?

-What is the actual situation and what can be done about it?

Even if it has a lot of potentialities, Futsal has not been unified in its basic rules which in sport, is an indicator of lack of evolution. For the past 50 years, it has been subject to independent initiatives with the constant risk of having tons of different competitions (Different rules, organisers and quality of fields) which did not allow it to reach an adequate media exposure.

III Objectives of the research

Main Objective

·  A clear diagnosis of the present situation of Futsal

Specific Objectives

·  Unification of Futsal rules, One world…one game

·  Proposition of an internal status model to all national football federations

·  Leading points for the implementation of Futsal in the Olympic games

IV Justifications in order to do the research project

According to the knowledge of the research methods that we have achieved during or previous and present studies, we will present a scientific and descriptive project that can be appointed in three important points:

Conceptual justification

-Futsal as a factual sport, recognised by the ruling entity of football (FIFA)

- The sport that everyone knows as small-sided soccer or 5-a-side.

Operative justification

This study has been realised during our Law module in the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. But we must stress on the fact that during one year the gathering of information, concepts and contacts has given us the chance to have a greater view of the topic touched in this investigation. Being in the last 4 months in a country which reunites two of the most important organisation in the football world organisation (FIFA an UEFA) has been an advantage for a quick information feedback.

Strategic justification

The possibility to develop and conclude the research project without moving from Switzerland was useful and reduced excessive expenses and efforts.

V Limits of the research

Thematic

·  We will focus our research in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats of Futsal.

·  The interviews and direct contact will give us the information to reach the conclusions.

·  We applied the inductive method, starting from the particular (Futsal) to reach the general final concept.

Geographic

·  World targeted project.

Time-lag

·  Started in November 2001 with the gathering of information and ended in July 2002, with the editing of the final recommendations and conclusions.

Research methods

For the achievement of the proposed objectives we will use the following Research methods:

·  Interviews with the principal actors of Football and Futsal (FIFA,UEFA, individuals).

·  Observational data and analysis.

·  Data recollection and analysis.

·  Bibliographique investigation.

·  Internet sources.

1. History of Futsal

What is Futsal?

To understand the history of Futsal, it is important to know why nowadays this game is called this way. The term FUTSAL is derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word for “soccer”, FUTbol or FUTebol, and the Spanish or Portuguese word for “indoor”, SALon or SALâo. Futsal means indoor soccer[2].

Where it has started?

Like in Basketball, it is a YMCA (Young Men Christian Association) physical Education teacher that set up the first official rules of Futsal. His name was Juan Carlos Ceriani. It is generally said that Futsal is born after the first Football World Cup in Montevideo in 1930. Indeed, the first FIFA (“Federation Internationale de Football Association”- International Football Federation.) major event aroused so much infatuation that every Uruguayan kid wanted to kick the ball with his feet. The idea of Professor Ceriani, physical education teacher at the YMCA in Montevideo, was about common sense: Every school has a space big enough to fit a 25*15 size basketball pitch that could offer a much more accessible and easy to organise football game. Actually, if Futsal means indoor football, it doesn’t mean that it is only indoor football. Futsal is referred to every kind of soccer that could be played in an outdoor or indoor pitch which dimensions are generally those of a Basketball court and that opposes 5 players, 4 on the field in addition to the goalkeeper.

Actually, Futsal as defined by Ceriani regroups several team sports:

-From football, it has brought the fact that it is only played with the feet and every part of the body except the hands.

-From Basketball and Handball, it has taken:

. The pitch, which should have the minimum size of a Basketball court and the maximum of a Handball one.

. The Goal and the penalty area are the one of Handball.

. The length of the game and the counted number of fouls are also the main rules taken from Basketball.

The special feature of Futsal is the unique properties of the ball, which is smaller and has a lower rebound. Ceriani’ s idea was to develop close individual ball skills as the court is small and players will be forced into limited space and option scenarios. Furthermore, he thought that the small number of players will permit them to receive more touches, to be placed in demanding decision making, limited space situation that they would face on a greatly reduced scale playing 11-a-side outdoor soccer only. It is not surprising, in the second half of the second century, that the success of the confederation of Brazilian Football can be attributed to the prominent use of Futsal in the development of its junior players. Superstars like Pele, Zico, Socrates and later on Bebeto, Ronaldo, Denilson and Roberto Carlos developed their phenomenal skills playing Futsal in their youth[3].

So, as we were saying, Juan Carlos Ceriani edited the first rules of the game in 1930. In the 3 years following, he diffused them to the other countries of South America where it rapidly gained a considerable popularity.

First continental association

A lot of tournaments were being held all over the continent but Futsal got a further step when in 1960, 5 years after the plane was officially accessible to all the South American countries making connection between them much faster and easier, that the different associations organised between themselves and constituted the South American Confederation of Futsal (CSFS – Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol Sala) , which was a totally separated segment from CONMEBOL (“CONfederacion sudaMEricana de futBOL” – South American Football Confederation) that did not show any interest in this discipline. CSFS organised the first continental competition in 1965, and six others until 1979.

Creation of the FIFUSA

In July 25th 1971, based on the will to internationalise the game and on FIFA indifference, FIFUSA (“Federacion Internacional de FUtbol SAla”- International federation of Indoor football), which had from 1971 to 1973 Mr Joao Havelange as honorary president before he becomes FIFA president, was constituted. Even if it was called international federation, at its creation FIFUSA was only composed of South American countries. The international name was made in the hope of having later a global game. In fact, Italy, Spain, Czechoslovakia and Portugal, the first non-Latin American countries to take part in the 5 a-side game were affiliated to FIFUSA just before its first world cup in Sao Paolo, Brazil in 1982. 10 teams participated in this event[4].

The second world cup was organised in Spain in 1985 with 12 National teams of 4 continents participating. The final took place in the palace sports of Madrid counting 14000 spectators.