Futsal was developed in Brazil and Uruguay around the same time, in 1934 in Uruguay and in the 1940s in Brazil.[1] In Brazil the sport was developed by YMCA of São Paulo due to the lack of available football fields. Basketball courts and hockey posts were used to practice the sport.[2]
In the 1950s, the first state futsal federations were founded, starting with the Federação Metropolitana de Futebol de Salão (Metropolitan Futsal Federation), of Rio de Janeiro state, founded on July 28, 1954, and currently known as Federação de Futebol de Salão do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Futsal Federation),[2] followed by the state federations of Minas Gerais, also founded in 1954, São Paulo, in 1955, Ceará, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Bahia in 1956, and several others in the subsequent years.[1]
Futsal is played by most children in Brazil at some point. It combines the fast play and individual talent that is typical of Brazilian football. Many professional football players from Brazil started playing futsal. Perhaps the most notable of these were Falcão and Ronaldinho.
The team was on a 167-game winning streak and was recently ended by Spain at the Grand Prix.
Domestic competitions
There are two national competitions, which are the Liga Futsal, and the Taça Brasil de Futsal. Liga Futsal started in 1996,[4] while Taça Brasil de Futsal is the oldest national futsal competition in Brazil, and started in 1968.[5] Also, each state federation organizes its own state championship.