Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football , or fast football ) is a five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball , derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor soccer, as it is most often known in the United States and Canada , was originally developed in these two countries as a way to play soccer during the winter months, when snow would make outdoor play difficult. In those countries, gymnasiums are adapted for indoor soccer play. In other countries the game is played in either indoor or outdoor arenas surrounded by walls, and is referred to by different names (such as "fast football" ( futbol rapido ) in Mexico , Futebol Society or showbol in Brazil , and "indoor football" ( futbol indoor ) in Spain ).
35-648: The Las Vegas Dustdevils were an indoor soccer team based in Las Vegas Valley , Nevada, that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). The team won the league championship in 1994, but folded after their second season. On December 1, 1992, the Dustdevils became a charter member of the newly established Continental Indoor Soccer League. The team ownership, Nevada Pro Sports, planned to play their home games at
70-418: A controlled environment where they could indulge in their passion year-round. Rules vary between governing bodies, but some of the nearly universal rule deviations from association football include: Beyond these common threads, the sport is structured according to the idiosyncrasies of individual leagues. Most of these rules are adopted from other arena sports like ice hockey . Below is a listing of some of
105-508: A knockout fixture ended tied. Group matches lasted for 20 minutes, while knockout fixtures lasted for 30 minutes, with short half-time breaks. Before the launch, Steven Gerrard , Michael Owen , Robert Pires , Michael Ballack , Deco , Carles Puyol , Roberto Carlos and Jay-Jay Okocha were announced as player participants while Australia, Brazil, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal and Spain were announced as nation participants. The 2017 edition
140-568: Is also played in several European countries. In the United Kingdom, Masters Football is the most well-known competition. Tournaments among Masters teams (consisting of veteran former players from professional 11-a-side teams from each country) are regularly played. In Spain, some over-30 ex-professionals represent their clubs in the Liga Fertiberia which plays a five-a-side variant. The European indoor soccer federation, known as
175-679: Is more popular in Canada, field lacrosse in the United States ). Indoor soccer is especially popular in Northern Canada due to the often unplayable outdoor conditions and its appearance in the Arctic Winter Games . The United States Indoor Soccer Association was founded in 1998. USIndoor soccer oversees all indoor soccer sports as well as "arena soccer" and "Futsal" in the United States. Major Arena Soccer League
210-573: Is most popular in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with several amateur, collegiate and professional leagues functioning. While internationally less popular than futsal, indoor soccer is also played at the league level in many countries outside North America. The World Minifootball Federation (WMF) is the governing body of indoor soccer at the international level, having replaced the International Fast Football Federation (FIFRA). The term minifootball , which
245-600: Is not to be confused with the term used in Russia and some other former Soviet countries, where the term mini-football is used to describe futsal . Indoor soccer's journey within Australia can be traced back to its emergence as a response to challenges posed by weather conditions and limited outdoor space. As the sport gained traction, purpose-built indoor facilities started to dot the Australian landscape, offering players
280-596: Is played on wooden or ceramic surfaces, indoor soccer is played on synthetic turf (or, in the case of the British Masters Football variety, synthetic carpet). Indoor soccer courts are either delimited by walls or lines, and there are no player throw-ins . FIFA , the international body that oversees international association football competitions, does not sanction the synthetic turf version of indoor soccer, having developed its own code of indoor football (which they refer to as futsal ). Indoor soccer
315-704: Is the top indoor soccer league in North America. Indoor soccer or futbol rapido has also become a popular sport in Mexico, being included as part of the Universiada (University National Games) and the CONADEIP (Private School Tournament), in which university school teams from all over Mexico compete. In Mexico, "indoor" soccer fields are frequently built outdoors (though indoor courts are also used in some tournaments). In 2012 an eight-team indoor soccer league
350-606: The European Minifootball Federation (EMF), organizes the European Minifootball Championship (miniEURO) every year, and in recent years countries have established national minifootball associations. EMF organize variations of six-a-side football and this could come in different shapes and sizes from a large custom-built facility with multiple pitches or even an 11-a-side pitch temporarily split into smaller pitches. This
385-539: The MGM Grand Garden Arena , but the facility was not completed until late 1993, causing the Dustdevils to sit out the league’s first season. In 1994, Las Vegas, coached by Guy Newman , finished with a 17–11 regular season record. Once in the playoffs, the team ran to the league title, defeating the Dallas Sidekicks two games to one in the championship series. In 1995, the Dustdevils moved to
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#1732798750418420-543: The Thomas & Mack Center . Despite having a losing record, they made the playoffs, but lost in the quarterfinals. The team withdrew from the league and disbanded following the loss. They averaged just under 3,000 fans at their home games. League Championship Championship MVP Indoor soccer Indoor soccer has different regulations from other versions of association football designed for indoor play, such as futsal and five-a-side football . Unlike futsal, which
455-491: The United States. There are also regional federations who govern the sport including: African Minifootball Federation (AMF), Asian Minifootball Confederation (AMC), Confederación Panamericana de Minifútbol (CPM), European Minifootball Federation (EMF), Oceania Minifootball Federation (OMF). Before Futsal was overseen by FIFA, the first Futsal World Champion was held in São Paulo, Brazil. This competition took place in 1982 and
490-461: The additions of Jackie McNamara , Mark Burchill and Neil McCann . Celestine Babayaro joined Nigeria's squad on 5 May. Five more players were announced in May, while Betsafe became the naming rights holders. On 26 May, Daniel Amokachi , Julius Aghahowa and Garba Lawal joined Nigeria. José Bosingwa joined Portugal on 7 June. Rivaldo was one of three players added for Brazil on 9 June, he
525-718: The end of October. Jay-Jay Okocha agreed to return on 1 November. Tony Capaldi and Colin Murdock joined Northern Ireland on 2 November, while Scotland announced three signings on 5 November. Vítor Baía and Ronald de Boer joined the ROTW later that day. Republic of Ireland's John Aldridge signed on 7 November, along with Wes Brown (England) and Pierre van Hooijdonk (Rest of the World) days later. Joe Cole joined England on 15 November, days after he announced his retirement from professional football. Scotland's Lee McCulloch
560-534: The following week. Italy added six on 29 June, including Paolo Di Canio , but also lost two as Christian Abbiati and Simone Perrotta (injured) left the competition. Also on 29 June, three players joined Nigeria. On 30 June, Portugal completed their squad while China's entire team was announced. Youri Djorkaeff also joined France. Twelve new faces joined on 6 July, including two replacements; Richard Hughes replaced Neil McCann (who pulled out following his appointment as Dundee manager) while Erubey Cabuto took
595-560: The more common ones: Star Sixes Star Sixes is a competitive six-a-side indoor football competition where former international association football players are chosen to represent a senior national team for which they played. The inaugural event took place in July 2017 in London , at The O2 Arena . Further regionalised events were set for late-2017 in Asia . A 2019 edition
630-412: The place of the injured Jorge Campos . The squad lists were completed on 11 July with France, Germany and Spain adding players; Germany added three including Timo Hildebrand who replaces Lehmann; this means Germany have eleven players, it is presumed that one of their players will withdraw - that player was later confirmed as David Odonkor . German-born former Northern Irish international Maik Taylor
665-442: The quarter-finals, before facing off for a place in the semi-final and subsequent final. Six group matches (two from each group) took place on day one, before the same amount on days two and three. The quarter-finals were held on day three with the semi-finals, third place play-off and final following on the last day of competition. There was no extra time or penalties in the group stage but a penalty shoot-out could have been played if
700-405: The rest of the tournament's players were revealed two days prior. Andy Legg and Simon Church were revealed on the opening day, replacing Giggs and Craig Bellamy; whose withdrawal coincided with his temporary departure as academy coach of Cardiff City after claims of bullying. Warren Feeney replaced Capaldi, Stephen Hunt replaced Reid and Niall Quinn replaced Aldridge. Dominic Matteo
735-589: The side in place of Dominic Matteo. Simon Donnelly, Keith Gillespie and Paddy McCourt were revealed as players in October 2018. Stiliyan Petrov and Jason McAteer were two of seven new faces announced on 18 October, on the same day as FansBet were announced as title sponsors. David James and Emile Heskey's return for England was confirmed on 25 October, with Wayne Bridge joining a day later. Maik Taylor, Stephen Craigan , Steven Reid , Gaizka Mendieta and Luke Young were added to their respective teams towards
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#1732798750418770-520: The title. Indoor soccer is a common sport in the United States and especially Canada and you can read differences like Indoor Soccer Vs Futsal in detail, with both amateur and professional leagues, due to the short season for outdoor soccer in Canada and the Northern United States , and the ubiquity of arenas built for ice hockey and basketball which can easily be converted to indoor soccer (similar reasons as to why indoor lacrosse
805-560: The world, was held in the O2 Arena in London in 2017. Held outside the auspices of the WMF, this tournament featured players which formerly played in the association football national teams of their home countries. A total of twelve teams participated, with France winning the title. It is intended to make Star Sixes a recurring event; a second edition took place in 2019, with England winning
840-466: Was also named captain for Brazil. Fabrizio Ravanelli joined Italy on 15 June. Dietmar Hamann joined Germany on 16 June, prior to Nuno Gomes , Raul Meireles , Kevin Kurányi , Mads Junker , Mikkel Beckmann , Chris Sørensen , Hjalte Nørregaard and Per Krøldrup all signing up on 23 June. Juninho , Djalminha , Danny Murphy , Paul Merson , Carlos Marchena and Lee Hendrie joined during
875-549: Was announced as the competition's back-up goalkeeper. Ferdinand withdrew from the competition on 13 July following the death of his mother. He was replaced by Luke Young . Maik Taylor was a reserve goalkeeper for all nations. Colin Hendry was a replacement for Scotland. Group A Group B Group C Knockout stage Quarter-finals Semi-finals Third place play-off Final 9 goals 6 goals 5 goals 4 goals The competition's second edition
910-807: Was announced in October 2018, with the SSE Hydro in Glasgow , Scotland hosting. It will feature past participants England and Scotland, along with Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Wales and a Rest of the World XI. The schedule was revealed on 23 October, with the Rest of the World facing Northern Ireland in the opening fixture. Michael Owen and Robert Pires were the first players announced. Barry Ferguson returned to play for hosts Scotland, captaining
945-537: Was announced on 16 November. Star Sixes revealed Martin Jørgensen and Ryan Giggs as players at the end of November, with Craig Bellamy , Darren Bent and Charlie Miller subsequently being announced. Dean Shiels was added to Northern Ireland's squad in December, along with David Dunn (England) and Owen Coyle (Rep. of Ireland). Ryan Giggs withdrew due to injury on 30 December. Before Giggs' departure,
980-446: Was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports News HQ . Gerrard, Pires, Ballack, Okocha, Deco, Matteo and Puyol were captains of their respective teams. Don Hutchison , Olivier Dacourt , Míchel Salgado , Martin Jørgensen , Stig Tøfting , William Gallas and Eric Abidal were later announced. Five players were added to Scotland's squad on 10 March, including Paul Dickov and Barry Ferguson . Marcel Desailly
1015-722: Was conducted by the FIFUSA (before FIFA). Brazil came in first in the first Futsal World Tournament (1982) and the second Futsal World Tournament (1985). FIFA overtook this championship in 1989 and renamed the competition the FIFA Futsal World Championship. During its existence, FIFRA organized several indoor soccer tournaments for national teams, including the Indoor Soccer World Championship. The only edition of this tournament took place in Mexico in 1997. No other world championship
1050-408: Was confirmed in October 2018. For the inaugural edition, all teams participating had a squad of ten players, with six being on the field of play including a captain. Squads were chosen by the team captain and the tournament organisers. There were three groups of four. In the groups, each team played each other team once and the top two from each group, plus two best third-placed teams, progressed to
1085-517: Was launched, which consists of former professional association football players from Liga MX . Indoor soccer is known in Brazil as showbol , with several current regional leagues. Formal national leagues have also been formed in Bolivia, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru. However, the most common variations of indoor soccer played in Brazil are futsal but also futebol society . Indoor soccer
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1120-402: Was officially launched at The O2 Arena on 24 January 2017, during which more players were announced, namely Jens Lehmann , David James , Emile Heskey , Rio Ferdinand , Dominic Matteo and Gaizka Mendieta . Australia and Netherlands were replaced with Denmark and Scotland, but no reason was given. The group stage draw, conducted by captains Ballack and Pires, took place on 24 March, it
1155-553: Was one of three players added to France's squad on 15 March. Juliano Belletti was added for Brazil five days later. Spain added four players on 24 March, and the full Mexico squad was announced on 28 March. Gilberto Silva (Brazil) and Christian Abbiati (Italy) were announced on 31 March. Maniche , Vítor Baía and Fernando Couto joined Portugal's squad on 12 April. Germany added three players days later. John Sivebæk and Daniel Jensen were added to Denmark's squad on 19 April. Scotland completed their squad on 21 April with
1190-699: Was originally coined in Europe, has been adopted by the WMF as a standard international name for the sport. Indoor soccer is played throughout the world. Currently, the international federation dedicated to promoting the sport is the World Minifootball Federation (WMF) based in Switzerland. The WMF replaced the International Fast Football Federation (FIFRA), which had been based in Mexico and later,
1225-595: Was played until 2015, when the first WMF World Cup was held in the United States. As of 2019 three WMF World Cups have been organized, with Mexico being the current world champion. A World Cup for Under-21 players was held in Prague in 2018, with the Czech team taking the title. A World Cup for women is planned for 2021 in Kyiv , Ukraine . Star Sixes , an indoor six-a-side football tournament for national teams from around
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