The same sport, the same passion... dozens of variations. As the most popular sport in France and around the world, football is practiced in quite diverse forms depending on desires, preferences, and available facilities. Without a goalkeeper for jorkyball, on the beach for beach soccer, with a net for tennis-ball, 5-a-side... Football enthusiasts continuously reinvent their favorite sport with great ingenuity. Among the different popular variations of football, you can find futsal, 5-a-side, and 5-a-side football. At first glance, these three variations seem identical, but they each have specificities and similarities.

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Futsal, deriving from the contraction of "futbol" and "sala" in Spanish, is a variation of football played 5-a-side, mostly indoors, in a gymnasium. Recognized and supported by FIFA and UEFA, futsal is a professional discipline with national, European, and intercontinental competitions (World Cup). It gained popularity in Latin America, in countries and neighborhoods where 11-a-side football fields are too scarce, addressing a space constraint in large urban areas. It is also referred to as "indoor football."

• Official fields measure about 38 meters long and 18 meters wide. Goal and touch lines define the field like in 11-a-side football. Entry into play must occur in just a few seconds, making the game fast-paced.
• The ball corresponds to a size 4 in circumference, it’s heavier and its bounce is controlled. This encourages short, ground passes.
• The recommended (or even required in competition) playing surface is parquet, linoleum, or synthetic PVC coating found in gymnasiums.
• The goalkeeper can leave the penalty area to participate in the game and even be replaced by a field player.

5-a-side football, sometimes called "five" or five-a-side football by the English, is played both indoors and outdoors on a synthetic surface. It is one of the more recent variations since it appeared in England in the 1990s. In France, 5-a-side football developed at the end of the same decade with a newfound enthusiasm for football after the 1998 World Cup.

In 2015, a major plan by the French Football Federation, in conjunction with private operations and local authorities, aimed to build accessible 5-a-side football fields in rural areas and poorly equipped urban zones. This open access to facilities (city stadium, mini stadium or multisport ground) also explains the success of the discipline.

• The dimensions of a 5-a-side football field are usually 30x19 meters. 5-a-side football is distinguished by the barriers surrounding the field. The ball never stops and players can play creatively to pass or dribble.
• The ball used for 5-a-side football is often a size 5 (sometimes 4) ball with semi-controlled bounce.
• The playing surface is generally quite short synthetic turf
• The goalkeeper is not allowed to leave his area. His role in the game is limited.

What is 5-a-side football?

Confused with 5-a-side by misuse of language, 5-a-side football, or reduced football, corresponds to a football practice for the U6 to U9 categories before playing on 7-a-side pitches. The playing surface is usually natural grass or synthetic turf. The dimensions vary according to the categories between 20 to 35 m wide X 30 to 40 m long. Mini-goals are temporarily installed for this practice.