Futsal vs indoor soccer: what's the difference?
By the Poteau Team · updated
IN SHORT
Futsal is an official sport: a hard court in a gym, a smaller ball that barely bounces, a referee, a league. In the US, indoor soccer usually means a refereed league with a season. This article is about the French format: turf inside walls, no referee, and a slot you pay for by the player.
The difference in one table
Futsal | Indoor 5v5 | |
|---|---|---|
Surface | Hard court, gym floor | Turf, indoor field |
Sidelines | Lines, and kick-ins | Walls or netting, in play |
Ball | Size 4, low bounce | Regular soccer ball |
Length | 2 x 20 min, clock stops | 60 or 90 minutes |
Referee | Yes | No |
To play | A club and a license | A spot in a game |
Both are 5v5, keepers included. Almost everything else is different.
What people actually book
On Poteau, in France, a game is a slot. Four in 10 run 90 minutes, and a bit over 3 in 10 run an hour. You take the field, not two halves with a clock.
And it gets decided late. Two in three player-run games go up less than 24 hours before kickoff. Half of them, less than 14 hours before. A futsal league has its schedule set for the whole season.
The surface and the ball
In futsal the floor is hard and the field is marked with lines. When the ball goes out, you restart with a kick from the line, and you have four seconds to play it.
Indoors on turf, most fields are boxed in by walls or netting. The ball bounces back and play goes on. No throw-ins, no corners. The rest is in the 5v5 rules.
A futsal ball is smaller, and heavy for its size. The bounce is damped: dropped from 2 meters, it comes back up 50 to 65 cm. It stays on the floor, and that forces short passes and clean first touches.
Fouls don't count the same way
In futsal a referee calls it, and team fouls add up. From the sixth team foul in a half on, every foul gives a free kick from 10 meters, with no wall.
On turf, nobody blows a whistle. The player who got fouled calls it, and play restarts with a kick. It works because everyone comes back next week.
The shoes aren't the same
On a gym floor: a flat sole, marked “IN”. On turf: small rubber studs, marked “TF”.
Screw-in metal studs are banned almost everywhere. If you don't know yet where you'll be playing, “TF” gets you in more often. The details are in the guide to 5v5 and indoor shoes.
What it costs, and what you sign up for
A 5v5 spot in France runs about €10, whenever you want, with nothing to sign. In 98% of cases you pay the venue on site. Prices seen on Poteau. Booking direct, a venue can do it differently.
A futsal club is a license, a season, training and weekend games. Prices field by field are in what 5v5 costs in France.
So which one do you play
You want to play Thursday night, sign nothing, and be home by 10: that's indoor 5v5.
You want a league, a referee and a real schedule: that's a futsal club. Look up a futsal league or club in your city.
If you go the 5v5 route and the level worries you, every game set up by a player shows its expected level. Nearly 1 in 5 welcomes levels 1 to 4.
The Poteau Team