Futsal began in the South American countries of Uruguay and Brazil where, in the 1930’s, two versions of Small Sided Football were being played in the cities of Montevideo and Sao Paulo respectively. In Brazil, the large crowded cities and a shortage of playing pitches forced a football mad populace to play small sided football. A version began to develop on the streets of Sao Paulo, leading to the publishing of the first rules of the game in 1936 from the country that would soon become the masters of the game. Skills and techniques honed in Futsal soon began to become apparent in the performance of Brazil’s National Team - Pele, Rivelino, and Zico all played the game at some time in their development.

The adoption of the game by FIFA has led to its spread throughout the world;
• Holland 60,000 registered Futsal players.
• Brazil 190,000 registered Futsal players.
• Japan 300,000 registered Futsal players.
• Portugal has over 15,000 registered Futsal players
• Italy 2,200 registered Clubs.
• 32 European countries in 2004 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds.
• Professional leagues in Brazil, Iran, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Spain & Russia.
• National leagues in 50+ countries
• Terrestrial TV coverage. Very popular in Spain, Italy, Brazil, Croatia, Romania, Ukraine and Russia