A new medal, a new dawn: Futsal aims to revive the lost love for Indian football

Humanity has always been obsessed with speed. Fast food, fast entertainment, fast news – things in all sectors of life have been shortened and compressed to fit into everyday life.

Inevitably, this trend has permeated the sport, with shorter formats such as T20 and rapid and blitz attracting new audiences and even opportunities.

Meanwhile, football found its miniature counterpart in Futsal.

And slowly but surely, India has embraced the faster format of the beautiful game, evidenced by the silver medals won by the women’s and men’s teams at the recently concluded SAFF Futsal Championships.

Of the two, the former’s performance on January 25 was the first-ever international medal won by India in the FIFA-recognized discipline.

First steps

Mithila Ramani set the ball rolling when she scored the women’s team’s first goal at the SAFF Championships against the Maldives. For Mithila, who played with Misaka United in the Indian Women’s League, indoor football was ultimately the way to wear the Indian crest on her chest.

“I have always wanted to represent my country at international level in football. Info lengkap: source 78. And I got the chance to do that with Futsal,” she told Sportstar.

«I started playing as 5-a-side and 7-a-side on artificial grass as futsal courts are not easily available in India. The format is something I have been exposed to but it was just the playing surface and the ball that I had to get used to. So now the tournament has introduced us to international standards which is good,» she added.

The difference between football and indoor football is big. The field is about 8-10 times smaller than a standard football field, and that includes the goal posts. Lihat juga source 76. The green turf makes way for wood, artificial grass or even concrete.

The ball has been deliberately made smaller and heavier to reduce bounce and allow quick movement during the match, which lasts just 40 minutes (two 20-minute halves), not including breaks.

Perhaps the biggest change is the downscaling from eleven players to a close-knit group of five.

However, the team, consisting of players used to the longer format, seems to be adapting quickly and positively to the changes. After Mithila’s opener, India scored a further 30 goals, ending the season with four wins and two defeats against Bhutan and eventual champions Bangladesh.

According to the team’s captain, Jigmet Chunzen, the small team size creates an opportunity for more team bonding.

«I’m a very emotional person and when we lost two games I couldn’t keep up. I felt like I couldn’t help my teammates win. But at that moment it was them who picked me up. That’s how this team works. We were all new to futsal and a little nervous, but we were still motivated to work together.»

Why indoor football?

The head coach of the women’s team, Joshua Vaz, believes that players with a foundation in futsal will have the upper hand if they pursue a career in professional football.

“Futsal is a game about time and space,” he said.

«When we have the ball, we have to create exactly that. When we don’t have the ball, we have to minimize the time and space available to the opponent. This is the first thing the player must understand,» he explained.

Vaz underlined how a lack of knowledge about the format could leave India behind on the technical front.

«All the tactics in futsal have already been implemented in football. Nowadays teams defend deep and hold the ball. Then they counter-attack and suddenly few passes, then it becomes a goal. These transitions happen all the time in futsal,» he said.

«You see Brazil, Argentina, or even in Asia, you see Iran, Uzbekistan and Thailand, they all have a strong futsal base. That’s why their football is doing so well. In India this is something that our coaches and our people need to understand.»

«Indoor football did not come to compete with football. Indoor football came to help you become a better footballer,» he added.

Laying foundations

Despite its success, Futsal is still far from a prominent discipline in the country.

Two qualifying campaigns for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup for men (2023 and 2025) and one for women (2025) are the highest level India has played since the formation of the national team in 2023.

Vaz noted that the lack of good futsal teams in the country is a serious problem. “The biggest challenge leading up to the SAFF Championships was that we didn’t have a good competitive friendly before the tournament.

«Because in India we don’t have good futsal teams to play a match where the girls would get that experience,» he said, adding, «there has to be a lot of companies involved. We need something similar to the Indian Super League (ISL) style. Because futsal is to football what T20 is to the ODI format of cricket.»

The presence of the Futsal Club Championship, organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) every year since 2021, is an encouraging sign.

Futsal committee chairman Mulrajsinh Chudasama said plans are also being made to introduce a women’s league to increase recognition.

“When we first started looking for players for the AFC qualifiers, not many came in. But this time when we sent out announcements for the SAFF Championships selection trials, we got a much better response and therefore a better team,” Chudasama said.

Futsal is still making baby steps in the country, and the recent wins only prove what targeted support can bring. And if a long-term plan can be successfully executed, the sport might just be enough to revive a long-held interest in Indian football.

Published on February 6, 2026