Basic Beach Soccer Rules

Beach soccer is the hottest adaptation of the world’s most popular sport and it only requires a set of goal posts and a ball. It’s a fun way to promote and teach the sport to kids. Here are the basic rules for the barefoot version of the game.

Field and Equipment Regulations
Beach soccer is played on a sandy beach, free of debris or materials that may cause injury. The rectangular field measures 115 feet long by 90 feet wide. Touchlines and endlines are marked with colored tape that measures 3.5 inches wide. The centerline is marked by red flags on each side. The penalty area is designated with two yellow flagpoles. Goals are portable, but during play, they must be anchored to the ground.
The beach soccer ball should be made of leather or a similar material and needs to be weatherproof. It also must retain its shape. In FIFA sanctioned competitions, the ball should have an official FIFA logo.

By the Numbers
Five players take the field for each team. One of the players is the goalkeeper. Only five substitutions may take place during a match. Subs must hold up a sign indicating which player they are replacing. All substitutions must take place in the substitution zone, which is clearly marked on the field.
The match consists of three 12-minute play periods. Play may go longer if penalty or free kicks need to be taken. The designated timekeeper determines the end of each play period. A three-minute period is observed between each time period. If the match is tied at the end of regulation, a 3-minute-long extra period will be played. If the game is still tied at the end of the extra period, alternate penalty kicks are taken. The team that scores the most goals with an equal number of kicks is the winner.

Let the Beach Soccer Game Begin
Play begins with a kick off. No goal can be scored from the kick off. If the ball goes out of bounds, a drop ball resumes play. To score a goal, the ball must pass over the goal line. It can’t be thrown or assisted by the goal keeper. The team with the most goals at the end of regulation play is declared the winner. If a team only has three players, due to expulsions, they are declared the loser of the match, regardless of the score. If a foul occurs, a direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team. Players may not form a wall. A goal may be scored from a penalty kick. A ball inbound takes place when play needs to be restarted. Goals can’t be scored directly from a ball inbound. The goalie may begin the ball inbound.
Another way to restart play is the goal clearance. Goals cannot be scored directly from this move. The ball is in play once it leaves the goalie’s hands. A third way to restart play is by the corner kick. Goals may be scored from this move, but only against the opposing team. The pass-back rule is in effect in beach soccer. This rule means the goalie can’t touch the ball with his hands or arms when the ball is returned to him from a teammate, twice consecutively, without the ball being touched by the opposition. This includes an inbound pass or a header. The referee signals the first pass to the goalie.
Beach soccer is a fun, fast-paced version of the game. Although the objective of the game is the same, rules differ due to the field and its size.

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History of Futsal

The origins of futsal can be traced back to Uruguay in 1930, where, amid the euphoria that greeted the country's victory at the inaugural FIFA World Cup™ on home soil, there was a football being kicked on every street corner in the capital Montevideo.
Juan Carlos Ceriani, an Argentinian physical education instructor living there at the time observed many youngsters practising football on basketball courts owing to the shortage of football pitches. It was there and then that the idea for a five-a-side variation came about.
Borrowing from the rules of water polo, handball and basketball, Ceriani drew up the original rules of game, which were quickly be adopted across South America. In 1965 the Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol de Salon (South American Futsal Confederation) was formed, consisting of Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina and Brazil, the latter having quickly developed into a hotbed for the sport.
Futsal crossed the Atlantic to Europe along with the many Spanish and Portuguese immigrants returning from South America at that time. The continued growth in the sport then led to the foundation of FIFUSA, the Federacion Internacional de Futbol de Salon (International Futsal Federation), comprising of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay.
In late 1985, before the sport had the kind of appeal it has today, Joseph S. Blatter, then FIFA General Secretary, and Joao Havelange, FIFA's then President, decided jointly to incorporate futsal into the global football family.
To this end, Blatter entrusted his assistant, the Chilean-Spaniard Miguel Galan Torres, and Havelange's advisor, the Brazilian Jose Bonetti, with the task of bringing their goal to fruition. At their first meeting, the two men came to realise that there was neither uniformity in the rules of the game, nor in the pitches or balls being used.
In January 1986, Galan Torres and Bonetti began work in earnest. Using football's Laws of the Game as a template, they made the necessary modifications for the five-a-side version. Among other decisions taken was one to have the pitch and goal size identical to those of handball. The also incorporated several suggestions from FIFUSA and even borrowed from the sport of ice hockey. Finally, after a long period of preparation, the provisional Laws were completed.
To see how the rules would stand up in practice, it was necessary to road-test them, and in this regard the contribution of Pablo Porta Bussons, the then President of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) and a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, was vital. It was Porta Bussons who lobbied within the RFEF for the need for a trial championship. After received approval, Porta convinced his colleague, the Hungarian Gyorgy Szepezi, that the Hungarian Football Association should organise the first test tournament. The event, which featured Belgium, the Netherlands, the USA, Spain, Peru, Brazil, Italy and which was won by the host nation, turned out to be a success and proved that the Laws worked in practice.
Shortly afterwards, at a meeting in the old RFEF offices in Madrid attended by representatives from various countries, the Laws were modified further to take into account observations from Hungary. It was then that the RFEF put themselves forward to host the second trial tournament. Their request was approved and the event was held in La Coruna, El Ferrol and Santiago de Compostela in February 1987. The attending nations were Belgium, Brazil, the Netherlands, the USA, Portugal, Hungary and Italy, with the hosts defeating Belgium in the final.
In September 1987, Galan and Bonetti proposed holding a third test tournament, this time in South America, where the sport had begun. Brazil hosted the competition, inviting Chile, Peru, Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the USA and Paraguay. The host city was Brasilia and it was Paraguay who were eventually crowned champions. The Laws had more than met expectations, and so it only remained for them to be officially approved by FIFA's Executive Committee.
In the wake of Brazil 1987, Galan met with Blatter and reported that his work had been completed and that the final step needed to establish futsal as a fully fledged discipline was to give it its own World Cup. Blatter responded by throwing his weight behind the organisation of the inaugural FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Galan began the search for a host nation. The head of futsal in the Netherlands, Tom van der Hulst, vouched for his association's ability to organise it, and the Dutch FA's formal bid was approved by FIFA's Executive Committee. The tournament took place in January 1989 in the host cities of Amsterdam, s'Hertogenbosch, Arnhem Leeuwarden, Utrecht and Rotterdam, where the final was held. Brazil became the first world champions by defeating the host nation 2-1.
The Seleção also won the next two editions, in Hong Kong in 1992 and Spain in 1996. However, it would be the Spaniards who deservedly relieved the Brazilians of their crown at Guatemala 2000, before successfully defending it four years later in Chinese Taipei. The FIFA Futsal World Cup is know the fourth longest-running FIFA tournament.
Today, futsal is a firmly established part of the footballing firmament and, with over two million registered players (men and women) worldwide, has been one of the fastest growing sports in recent times. With the game's potential popularity truly limitless, it is sure to help football achieve its social goals right across the globe.

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History of Women Football

Women's soccer, although having a huge popularity in the last decades of the 20th century and today, was always shadowed by the men's soccer, but the ladies are determined to change this and come to equal standards with the boys.
The way things are moving currently, it's not impossible that this will someday happen as it's already close to happening in other sports such as handball, volleyball and tennis.
But before going into details on what's currently happening in women's soccer and what's going to happen in the near future, let's take a look inside the history of women's soccer and find out where and when it was born as well as meeting some of the legendary ladies.
The first written document related to the history of soccer can be found in a 300 BC Chinese war manual, used by men to familiarize themselves with their ancient version of the sport, which included kicking a ball (made out of pig bladders or stuffed leather) through a hole in a cloth tied up between two poles.
Although there's no proof that women played this sport as well, there is a clear reference to this that is often used as the start-point of the history of women's soccer.
The reference is depicted in a Han Dynasty fresco believed to be created around 200 CE, which clearly shows two female figures playing with what is believed to be a leather ball.
Reports of women playing soccer during the Middle Ages are not as common as those referring to men; however there are a few famous examples in the history of women's soccer: French women of the 12th century are believed to having played kicking games relating to soccer side by side with their husbands and Scottish women even had an annual competition going around in Mid-Lothian, Scotland.
One of the biggest problems in the history of women's soccer was that the sport was often violent, especially when played without a clear set of rules. Even today, with all the rulings and fair-play agreements going around, soccer is still not a sport for the weak.
This often made it difficult for women to play, as men would "protect" them by not allowing them to get involved.
It changed in 1863, when the English Football Association standardized a set of rules that prohibited violence on the pitch, making it easier for women to get into soccer.
With the dust settling after the Football Association's decision, women's soccer became more and more popular and at some point, it was closing in to reaching the same level as men's soccer in England.
One women's soccer match drew a crowd of 53,000, which sparked the hurt egos of the men-driven Football Association, banning women's soccer from their pitches (and since most of the pitches in England were under the FA's watch at that time, this basically meant Hasta la vista to women's soccer).
Shortly after, the Scottish Football Association did the same. It was only in 1971 that the ban was lifted and women could play on the same pitches as men.
Today, most women's soccer teams tend to professionalize and the development is compared to what happened in late 19th century with English men soccer teams.
Many rushed to state that women's soccer is 1 century behind men's soccer; however the recently organized women's soccer World Cups showed a lot of skilled players and drew important crowds.

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History of Beach Soccer

Over the past decade, beach soccer has journeyed from the beaches of Brazil to the hearts of millions of fans all over the globe. The participation of internationally renowned players such as the Brazilian Junior Negao, Portugal's Alan and Madjer and the Spanish star Amarelle has helped to expand television coverage to large audiences in over 170 countries worldwide, making beach soccer one of the fastest growing professional sports in the world and converting it into a major showcase for international commercial opportunity.
Beach soccer had been played recreationally all over the world for many years and in many different formats. However, it wasn't until 1992 that the Laws of the Game were envisioned and a pilot event staged in Los Angeles. The following summer, the first professional beach soccer competition was organized at Miami Beach, with the teams from the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Italy taking part in what would turn out to be an historic event.
In April 1994 the first event to be covered by network television transmissions was held on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro and the city hosted the inaugural Beach Soccer World Championship one year later. The competition was won by the host nation, making Brazil the first ever World Champions of Beach Soccer. The success of the tournament saw international interest begin to match developments on the pitch and growing demand for the sport around the world gave rise to the Pro Beach Soccer Tour in 1996.
The first Pro Beach Soccer Tour included a total of 60 games in two years across South America, Europe, Asia and the USA, attracting major names both on and off the pitch. Interest generated by the tour in Europe led to the creation of the European Pro Beach Soccer League in 1998, providing a solid infrastructure that would increase the professionalism of the spectacle on all levels. The EPBSL, now known as the Euro BS League, united promoters from across the continent and satisfied the demands of the media, sponsors and fans. Only four years on from its creation, the successful first step in the building of a legitimate Worldwide Competition Structure for the sport of Pro Beach Soccer had been taken.
The euro BS league flourished, with a nail-biting 2000 season decided in the closing match of the final tournament when Spain beat Portugal in an intense encounter.
The next four years would see this growth consolidated by further progress both on and off the pitch, with the Euro BS League emerging as the strongest Pro Beach Soccer competition in the world. By 2004, some 17 nations had entered teams, and by 2005 this had risen to 20, leading to more than seventy countries looking to stage events.
Just over two years ago, beach soccer became a part of the FIFA family, and in May, the first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was staged on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. To everyone's surprise, France defeated Portugal in the final, while hot favourites Brazil fell in the semis.
However, the following year, at the first edition of the tournament to feature 16 nations, the Auriverde avenged the previous year's loss. In the final of the competition, they were never in any real trouble against Uruguay as they proceeded to claim their first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Eric Cantona's Blues, meanwhile, triumphed in the third-place play-off, again at the expense of Portugal.
Brazil retained their crown in 2007, beating surprise finalists 8-2 in the final.
 

Roll of honour at the 12 Beach Soccer World Championships
2007
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners: Brazil
Runners-Up: Mexico
Third: Uruguay
Player of the tournament: Buru (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Buru (BRA) - 10 goals
Goals: 261 (average 8.2)

2006
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners: Brazil
Runners-Up: Uruguay
Third: France
Player of the tournament: Madjer (POR)
Top goalscorer: Madjer (POR) - 21 goals
Goals: 286 (average 8.9)

2005
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners: France
Runners-Up: Portugal
Third: Brazil
Player of the tournament: Madjer (POR)
Top goalscorer: Madjer (POR) - 12 goals
Goals: 164 (average 8.2)

2004
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners: Brazil
Runners-up: Spain
Third: Portugal
Player of the tournament: Jorginho (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Madjer (POR) - 12 goals
Best goalkeeper: Roberto (ESP)
Goals : 155 (average: 7.8)

2003
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners: Brazil
Runners-up: Spain
Third: Portugal
Player of the tournament: Amarelle (ESP)
Top goalscorer: Nenem (BRA) - 15 goals
Best goalkeeper: Robertinho (BRA)
Goals: 150 (average: 9.4)

2002
Vitoria (Espirito Santos) and Guaruja (Sao Paulo) (BRA)
Winners : Brazil
Runners-up: Portugal
Third: Uruguay
Player of the tournament: Nenem (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Nenem (BRA) , Madjer (POR) and Nico (URU) - 9 goals
Best goalkeeper: Nomcharoen (THA)
Goals: 145 (average: 9.1)

2001
Costa do Sauipe, Bahia (BRA)
Winners : Portugal
Runners-up: France
Third: Argentina
Player of the tournament: Hernani (POR)
Top goalscorer: Alan (POR) - 10 goals
Best goalkeeper: Olmeta (FRA)
Goals: 144 (average: 7.2)

2000
Marina da Gloria, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners : Brazil
Runners-up: Peru
Third: Spain
Player of the tournament: Junior (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Junior (BRA) - 13 goals
Best goalkeeper: Kato (JPN)
Goals: 172 (average: 8.6)

1999
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners : Brazil
Runners-up: Portugal
Third: Uruguay
Player of the tournament: Jorginho (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Junior (BRA) and Matosas (URU) - 10 goals
Best goalkeeper: Pedro Crespo (POR)
Goals: 186 (average: 9.3)

1998
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners : Brazil
Runners-up: France
Third: Uruguay
Player of the tournament: Junior (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Junior (BRA) - 14 goals
Best goalkeeper: Paulo Sergio (BRA)
Goals: 219 (average: 9.1)

1997
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners : Brazil
Runners-up: Uruguay
Third: USA
Player of the tournament: Junior (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Junior (BRA) and Venâncio Ramos (URU) - 11 goals
Best goalkeeper: Paulo Sergio (BRA)
Goals: 144 (average: 9.0)

1996
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners : Brazil
Runners-up: Uruguay
Third: Italy
Player of the tournament: Edinho (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Altobelli (ITA) - 14 goals
Best goalkeeper: Paulo Sergio (BRA)
Goals: 131 (average: 8.2)

1995
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
Winners : Brazil
Runners-up: USA
Third: England
Player of the tournament: Zico (BRA) and Junior (BRA)
Top goalscorer: Zico (BRA) and Altobelli (ITA) - 12 goals
Best goalkeeper: Paulo Sergio (BRA)
Goals: 149 (average: 9.3)

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History of CONMEBOL

CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol)
CONMEBOL is the South American Football Confederation (officially known as the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol) which covers the majority of the continent of South America. It is the oldest of FIFA’s confederations, originally forming in 1916, almost a century ago. The federation’s formation was begun by Héctor Rivadavia Gómez who had a grand plan for a federation for South American football. His idea was put to a committee including Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay and was greeted unanimously with approval. The date marked 100 years of Argnentinian independence and now also the formation of what would go on to become known as CONMEBOL.
Despite being the grandfather of the federations, CONMEBOL has the least member associations with just 10; Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. But even with just 10 members, CONMEBOL is not a small federation geographically, including 2 of the 10 largest nations in the world (Brazil 5th and Argentina 8th).
Whilst UEFA rules the roost club-wise, CONMEBOL are the record holders for international football. They are the only federation to have won the FIFA World Cup outside their own continent, having won it at least once in every continent it’s been held. This is primarily down to Brazil (5 World Cup wins), but Argentina and Uruguay both have got 2 World Cup wins each under their belts. This record is on the line at World Cup 2010 as it is the first one to take place in the continent of Africa.
The headquarters are in Luque, near Asunción, the capital of Paraguay and the current president, Nicolás Léoz, has headed the organisation since 1986. Léoz made his name as a businessman and history teacher as well as presiding over a number of football and basketball organisations, before becoming part of CONMEBOL.

Competitions
Nations :
The national sides of CONMEBOL compete in the Copa América, the oldest international football competition in existence. The 10 members are joined by 2 invited teams, to date these have been USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Japan and Honduras. The competition is primarily dominated by Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, winning 36 of the 42 tournaments between them.
The competition began in 1916, organised by Argentina as part of the celebrations of 100 years of Argentinian independence, and it was during this competition that the original meetings to create CONMEBOL took place. Just 4 nations took part in the first edition (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay), with Uruguay winning the round robin tournament, and both Chile and Brazil failed to win a single game.
Between then and 1967 the competition was slightly sporadic, with 29 editions taking place and a round robin format being used. As the tournament grew, more nations began to take part, making it necessary to have qualification rounds. The tournament then took a hiatus till 1975 when it returned as a ‘group stage then knockout’ format and took place every 4 years until 1987 when it became every 2 years. In 2001 it went to every 3 years and then in 2007 it changed yet again to a 4 year gap.
The ‘invited teams’ system began in 1993 to make it into a 12 team tournament. To date, no invited team has won the competition, though Mexico have twice reached the final. Brazil have won 4 of the last 5 tournaments, doubling their tally of titles.

Clubs :
At club level, CONMEBOL’s top competition is the Copa Libertadores, which is an annual cup that sees the best teams in CONMEBOL’s leagues (plus Mexican teams are invited) compete in a group-stage-and-then-knockout-rounds style competition.
The competition began in 1960 and has taken place every year since without exception. Qualification to the competition is via winning the respective domestic league and also teams down to 5th placed in the strongest leagues such as Argentina and Brazil.
The first tournament featured just 7 teams, national champions from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, but now it has grown to feature 38 teams, which includes 3 teams invited from Mexico. To date, the competition has not been won by any of the invited teams and is mainly dominated by teams from Argentina and Brazil.
For 10 years it was sponsored by motor company Toyota and is now sponsored by the global bank Santander.
A secondary competition began in 2002 which also takes place annually; the Copa Sudamericana. This tournament includes teams from CONMEBOL and recently also from CONCACAF.
In 1992, CONMEBOL began to run the secondary cup competition, alongside the Copa Libertadores, calling it the Copa CONMEBOL. This cup ran for 8 seasons and was only won by Brazilian and Argentinian teams. Overlapping this in the last year were 2 competitions; the Copa Merconorte and the Copa Mercosur.
The Copa Merconorte featured teams from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, as well as United States, Costa Rica and Mexico. The 4 instances were thoroughly dominated by Colombian teams, with all 4 won by them and 3 of the 4 losing finalists also being Colombian.
The Copa Mercosur featured teams from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile and was dominated by Brazilian teams with 3 Brazilian winners and 4 Brazilian runners-up.
The current incarnation as Copa Sudamericana then came into existence and since the first edition in 2002 it has seen more Argentinian finalists than any other nation but has also seen teams from Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia in the final during it’s 7 editions. The design of the competition means that there is a team from either Argentina or Brazil in every game of the second round, which has encouraged much criticism and attacks of it being manufactured purely to reap TV revenues. Further discredits to the competition have come from so many teams fielding weakened teams for this competition.
Women’s football
CONMEBOL run a competition for the women’s national sides called Sudamericano Femenino, taking place a little sporadically but roughly every 3-4 years. It began in 1991 and a Brazillian dominance is evident, having won 4 of the 5 titles and being runners up in the other one. The current format is 2 groups of 5 from which the top 2 in each qualify for a final group of 4. All single fixture ties, held at neutral venues in the host nation.

CONMEBOL Member Nations :
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela

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