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 ).
27-596: The Major Indoor Soccer League ( MISL ), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League , was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992. The MISL was founded by businessmen Ed Tepper and Earl Foreman in October 1977. The league fielded six teams for its inaugural 1978–79 season. Before folding after 14 seasons of competition, at
54-418: 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
81-563: A football field would look like on the back of a 9x12 manila envelope. That inspiration gave birth to the concept now known as arena football (also indoor football ) and the AFL was born six years later. Foster credits the MISL for the inspiration. *Three North American Soccer League (NASL) teams temporarily joined the MISL for the 1982–83 season, as the NASL did not play indoors for that season. As
108-609: 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 was originally coined in Europe, has been adopted by the WMF as a standard international name for the sport. Indoor soccer
135-568: 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
162-600: 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
189-883: 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, 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
216-630: The Continental Indoor Soccer League . The concept was initially so popular that in 1981, it helped pave the way for the creation of another indoor sports league, the Arena Football League , and subsequently the entire sport of indoor "gridiron" football. During the MISL All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, National Football League promotions director Jim Foster sketched a design of what
243-606: 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
270-601: The Indoor Soccer World Championship. The only edition of this tournament took place in Mexico in 1997. No other world championship 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
297-482: The MISL granted a conditional franchise to NBA Denver Nuggets owner Sidney Shlenker , to commence play in the 1988–89 season. When the tentative "Denver Desperados" attracted deposits on 400 season tickets, rather than the required 5,000 within four months, the franchise was revoked in November 1987. * Single-game championship, game score rather than series results. (9,500 minutes minimum) The Pass Master award
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#1732780363393324-629: The MISL had some success. The league averaged a respectable 7,644 fans per game over its 14 regular seasons, and averaged 9,049 fans per game over its 14 playoff runs. The league changed its name to the Major Soccer League (MSL) in 1990, and then folded in 1992. Four of the league's seven franchises continued to operate: Cleveland Crunch and Wichita Wings joined the National Professional Soccer League ; Dallas Sidekicks and San Diego Sockers helped found
351-515: The NASL was folding in 1985, four of its former teams (Chicago, Minnesota, New York and San Diego) joined the MISL in late 1984. The "Denver Avalanche" had declared bankruptcy and ceased operations after the 1981–82 season, but the franchise still existed and was purchased out of bankruptcy and moved to Tacoma after a dormant season. The MISL, however, considered the Stars a new franchise and, thus, team records did not transfer to Tacoma. In June 1987,
378-589: The championship series live on May 25. 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 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 ,
405-510: The conclusion of the 1991–92 season, a total of 24 franchises – under 31 team names (seven teams changed city/name) – had played in the MISL. Over its life, MISL teams were based in 27 different cities – with two different teams, at different times, playing in Cleveland, Ohio ; East Rutherford, New Jersey ; St. Louis, Missouri ; and Uniondale, New York . The Houston Summit (1978–80)/ Baltimore Blast (1980–92) franchise
432-400: The first and last seasons. The San Diego Sockers was the most successful franchise, winning eight of the MISL's 14 overall championships during the team's nine seasons in the league. The New York Arrows won the MISL's first four championships, then folded after the league's sixth season. The most successful player in the MISL is arguably Steve Zungul , a Yugoslav American striker who
459-439: 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 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
486-478: The spring would see the end of the league's two-year deal with the USA Network , CBS would broadcast a playoff game live from Cleveland on May 7 that drew an estimated four million viewers. One game during the 1983–84 season was televised on CBS (Game 3 of the championship series on June 2) as well. 1984–85 would be the final year the MISL would have games aired on network television, CBS broadcast Game 4 of
513-600: 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 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
540-547: The title. It is intended to make Star Sixes a recurring event; a second edition took place in 2019, with England winning 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
567-554: 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 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
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#1732780363393594-601: Was MISL Most Valuable Player six times, was the Scoring Champion six times, the Pass Master (most assists) four times, played on eight championship-winning teams (and one runner-up), and won Championship Series Most Valuable Player four times. Zungul is the MISL's all-time leader in goals (652, nearly 200 ahead of the second highest scorer), assists (471, nearly 100 ahead of second) and points (1,123, nearly 300 ahead of second). Despite ongoing financial hardships,
621-814: 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 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
648-742: Was given out to the player with the most assists during the regular season. This award was given to 'the most outstanding player in his first year of competition in the Major Indoor Soccer League' in order to differentiate it from the Rookie of the Year award. This award was given to the player 'in the Championship Series whose impact to his team's success was measured by hustle, determination and leadership.' The MISL made inroads on national television in 1982–83 . While
675-517: 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
702-684: Was overseen by FIFA, the first Futsal World Champion was held in São Paulo, Brazil. This competition took place in 1982 and 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
729-565: Was the only one to compete for the entire 14 seasons of the MISL's existence. The next longest-lived franchise, and the longest in a single city, was the Wichita Wings team, which played for 13 seasons and missed only the inaugural 1978–79 season. The third longest-lived franchise was the Detroit Lightning (1979–80)/ San Francisco Fog (1980–81)/ Kansas City Comets (1981–91) franchise, which played for 12 seasons, missing only
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