Founded | 1989 |
---|---|
Region | International (FIFA) |
Number of teams | 24 |
Current champions |
Argentina (1st title) |
Most successful team(s) |
Brazil (5 titles) |
Website | World Cup |
The FIFA Futsal World Cup is the international championship for futsal, the indoor version of association football organized by FIFA.
The world championship tournament is held every four years, on the even year between two football World Cups. The first event was held in 1989, the year FIFA became the world governing body of futsal. It was held in the Netherlands to commemorate the popularity of the game there. Up until the 2016 World Cup, only two countries have taken the Futsal World Cup: Brazil winning five, and Spain winning two. In 2008 Brazil became the first host country to win the Championship beating Spain in a penalty shootout. Brazil also won the 2012 competition, defeating Spain.
All events prior to the 2008 World Cup has been 16-team events. The first event featured 6 from Europe, 3 from South America, 2 from Africa, 2 from Asia, 2 from North and Central America, and 1 from Oceania.
The 2012 event included 24 teams, making it the largest group. This edition featured a six group round-robin tournament, with four teams in each group. The top two teams in each group, together with the 4 highest-ranked third-place finishers, advanced to a sixteen team knockout final series.
The adidas Golden Ball award is awarded to the player who plays the most outstanding football during the tournament. It is selected by the media poll.