Mark Cuban's Pro Futsal League

[Hagios]

I'm a few weeks late on this, but Mark Cuban and a bunch of other NBA owners are teaming up with some powerhouse soccer clubs like FC Barcelona to start a professional futsal league in the US. (For those who are not soccer fans but occasionally lurk other forums, Futsal is 5 player a side indoor soccer. It is a fast paced technical game with a lot of scoring - soccer with basketball's attitude). I think it's a bold idea because futsal could potentially become bigger than soccer in the US. It fixes a lot of the problems that soccer has.

• The scoring problem. Futsal is much higher scoring than soccer, probably a bit higher scoring than hockey.
• The arena problem. Futsal can be played in a basketball court. Which means that there are tons of arenas that are perfectly sized for Futsal, right now. Many civic centers and D-League arenas seat 5000 fans. I think that's why the NBA owners in particular are interested because Futsal could significantly increase their stadium revenue. As the game grows they could move futsal to their NBA arena.
• The best athletes problem I've always been annoyed by this criticism of soccer because soccer is an exception to the "bigger, stronger, faster" principle that governs the three major team sports. In fact, soccer players are probably getting smaller as futsal has been growing in popularity. The technical "first touch in small spaces" skills are becoming much more important than dominating in the air out of set pieces. Thus you are starting to see more skilled but less physically gifted players.
  
  I think one of the reasons that US Soccer has been progressing slower than we'd hoped is because coaches are still winning by playing the long ball and relying on the most physical athletes to win the 50/50 balls, at the expense of more technical athletes who's skills require more nurturing. Having a significant development pipeline that structurally minimizes the long ball game would keep us from constantly shooting ourselves in the foot in terms of player development.
  
  Finally, imagine how good a guy like Isaiah Thomas would be at Futsal. He's the perfect size for the game.

 

[Spacemans Bong]

Will Cuban get Tatu out of retirement?

 

[Titans Bastard]

The "soccer is too low-scoring for Americans; indoor soccer is the answer!" was a philosophy that was in vogue in the 1980s after the old NASL went bust and there wasn't much hope for an outdoor league in sight. I hope they do well, but futsal ain't overtaking soccer in popularity.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

There's been a professional indoor soccer league in the US forever, right? This league has more big names behind it, and presumably better marketing, but I don't think there's a chance this even approaches the popularity of MLS. My guess is that it's about as popular as the And1 Mixtape Tour thing is relative the NBA.

 

[IdiotKicker]

I do think Futsal is great for developing the creative skills that a lot of US players lack. I'd be interested to see how it looks visually and how it is watching, as I've never really done that except for periods before my own games where you're watching the tail end of the previous one. I don't think it's a slam dunk, but I think it could be a really interesting thing watch develop.

 

[Hagios]

There's been a professional indoor soccer league in the US forever, right? This league has more big names behind it, and presumably better marketing, but I don't think there's a chance this even approaches the popularity of MLS. My guess is that it's about as popular as the And1 Mixtape Tour thing is relative the NBA.

Futsal is not indoor soccer. Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo, Xavi, all the great soccer players grew up playing futsal and love the game. Futsal probably has higher global participation rates than soccer does. History and path-dependency are very important, but indoor soccer's failure means basically nothing.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

I get futsal: my son has played it for years. But this has the feel of that trampoline basketball league one of the cable networks featured a few years back.

 

[luckiestman]

I think book The Talent Code there is an interesting discussion of futsal

http://thetalentcode.com/2009/03/30/brazilian-soccer/

 

[Blacken]

I get futsal: my son has played it for years. But this has the feel of that trampoline basketball league one of the cable networks featured a few years back.

Slamball was literally the greatest thing of all time you shut your mouth.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Futsal is not indoor soccer. Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo, Xavi, all the great soccer players grew up playing futsal and love the game. Futsal probably has higher global participation rates than soccer does. History and path-dependency are very important, but indoor soccer's failure means basically nothing.

I'm familiar with the difference. I play in a futsal league.

But I disagree that it means nothing. It's the closest proxy we have to a niche soccer league in the US.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

I like (Don't love) Futsal, but I'm not holding my breath that it's the next big anything. Thankfully, it is not indoor soccer. As Hagios noted, I'm all for anything that gets young players involved in playing a version of the game that isn't strictly kick and run. I know that is still how a lot of youth soccer in America is geared to and those coaches have little motivation to transition away from that.

Spain just won the Euros again last week.

 

[Kliq]

Every serious soccer player I played with in high school and college plays/played Futsal in the offseason. I like Futsal, but I don't think it becoming more popular will have an effect on the US's ability to to produce good soccer players because it is already very popular with soccer players.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Every serious soccer player I played with in high school and college plays/played Futsal in the offseason. I like Futsal, but I don't think it becoming more popular will have an effect on the US's ability to to produce good soccer players because it is already very popular with soccer players.

I disagree in that high school and college players are not the target audience to develop these skills. Ideally, it would be kids as young as elementary school who get exposed to it when they are just learning the game. It won't be a cure-all, but it does address a clear deficiency in American player development.

 

[SocrManiac]

Futsal isn't going to change the mind of anybody that doesn't like soccer. It seems more like a way for arena owners (like Cuban) to sell more court time.

I haven't played it in a couple of years- I'm too old to be in the net and smash my knees and elbows on the court. Most of the guys I was playing with were "using" it to develop quickness in the offseason. It isn't going to develop the spacial awareness or tactics that translate to the outdoor game any more than other flavors of indoor, however.

 

[Kliq]

I disagree in that high school and college players are not the target audience to develop these skills. Ideally, it would be kids as young as elementary school who get exposed to it when they are just learning the game. It won't be a cure-all, but it does address a clear deficiency in American player development.

Sure, I think if you are looking to grow the game in that regard a pro league wouldn't do as much as putting more futsal courts in public areas. In the city I live in, they play Futsal all the time at a playground, which is in a heavily Latin neighborhood. You can put courts in playgrounds and more kids will play it during recess.

 

[Hagios]

Most of the guys I was playing with were "using" it to develop quickness in the offseason. It isn't going to develop the spacial awareness or tactics that translate to the outdoor game any more than other flavors of indoor, however.

That's a perceptive comment. I think futsal does a great job developing the first touch, to be strong on the ball, and to make good tactical choices with less time on the ball. But it doesn't develop the traits you listed above. To play really great soccer, like Germany, you need more than ball skills. You need a whole team of Tom Brady's or Wayne Gretzky's who have that tremendous field vision and awareness. Identifying and developing those athletes is very difficult because neither Brady nor Gretzky are particular gifted physically.