Who we are
Western Pennsylvania’s only independent competitive club organized specifically for futsal, the Barbarian FC associates freely with every outdoor football association without interference or prejudice and is not affiliated with any one outdoor club. Player ages range from U8 through U19 competing locally, regionally, and nationally in matches and leagues under US Futsal. With an ongoing resolution to nurturing a lifelong passion for the sport and club, the Barbarians promote both Open Men and Open Women’s teams comprised of but not limited to players who competed on behalf of the Barbarian FC as youth.
We are the only organization involved in youth sports who has addressed and embraced ACL/MCL injury prevention on a continuing basis for the last 13 years, not only in hope of avoidance but also in lessening recovery time should an injury arise. Long before any others the Barbarian FC designed and implemented a HANDBOOK for giving clear guidance to its members. It is revised as warranted to meet the concerns continually facing us in ongoing effort to remain contemporary.
While many talk of development we are committed to each individual’s ability to develop here, in time, with patience. We are the only competitive futsal club who have developed an IEP (Individual Education Platform) for each member allowing for them to progress at their own pace.
We do what we do and how we do it for players to gain a long term sensibility and instill an enduring confidence in themselves, within our style of play, with or without the ball (creativity), and the greater community outside of football, in life. Even though selection is a part of our process, we do not feel the need, (nor have we ever,) to hold tryouts.
If you have an agenda that is contrary to what we do, the way in which we do it, or why, then this is truly not what you are looking for! Many measure success by the number of wins and trophies that are garnered. The Barbarian FC measure success one enduring relationship at a time.
Why Futsal
We have an opportunity to serve the youth soccer players of Western PA by implementation of a curriculum that will empower every club within PA WEST.
Futsal First for ages U6-U12 in which skill development is key, will elevate the level of play on a local, regional, and national level, and will be the model for all of youth soccer in the US. Futsal First is designed to develop a player’s agility, awareness, ball confidence, cognition, creativity, decision making, determination, fitness, foot-skills, recognition, and speed of play. All of which has been proven through futsal, the game of skill.
When US SOCCER began the march forward on the development of the youth player one thing that was put forth was the use of the small sided game, especially for those players under the age of twelve. No longer would players under that age play 11V11 etc. The mandate for the small sided game had been launched. 8V8, 7V7, 6V6, and finally, 5V5 or futsal are all tools available for the development of players within the US!
The rationale: players develop an overall greater picture of the game when augmented by more touches additionally, their greater exposure to more 1V1 opportunities are accessed through the small sided game. It is estimated that in the course of a 7V7 match players are 4 times as likely to touch the ball than in an 11V11 scenario. Through guidelines set forth by FIFA, Futsal is the only sanctioned indoor game (typically, indoor is known for its small sided nature).
Futsal is a fast paced game in which every player must attack and defend. It is a game where everyone is forced to make decisions quickly, pass and receive the ball cleanly, and, move without the ball in order to create space for the attack or in defending the counter attack. It requires ball support defensively and offensively on a consistent basis.
On average each player is likely to touch the ball 30 more times than the player in an 11V11 match. The game can be played indoor or out with quick restarts and kick-ins (rather than throw-ins), and a 4 second limit to get the ball in play once it has been awarded. A maximum roster size of twelve players allows for more players to be involved in the game and for players to develop a greater confidence with the ball while increasing their ability to play in tight situations which ultimately creates the imaginativeness that distinguishes players from the ordinary. Substitutions can occur on the fly with no limit to the number allowed.
With Futsal First, the outdoor clubs in this area will have a greater selection of players who have already developed the skill necessary to help them achieve the recognition and success they are after. It will be the model for the standard across the US.
Futsal History
The origin of Futsal can be traced back to Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1930 when Juan Carlos Ceriani devised a five-a-side version of soccer for youth competition in YMCAs. The game is played on basketball-sized courts, both indoors and out without the use of sidewalls.
The term FUTSAL is the international term used for the game. It is derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word for “soccer”, FUT bol or FUT ebol, and the French or Spanish word for “indoor”, SAL on or SAL a.
The game is frequently referred to as Five-A-Side. Once Ceriani got the ball rolling, Futsal gained rapid popularity throughout South America, particularly in Brazil. The skill developed in this game is visible in the world-famous style the Brazilians display outdoors on the full-sized field. Pele, Zico, Socrates, Bebeto and other Brazilian superstars developed their skill playing Futsal. While Brazil continues to be the Futsal hub of the world, the game is now played, under the auspices of FIFA, all over the world, from Europe to North and Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Asia and Oceania.
The first international competition took place in 1965, when Paraguay won the first South American Cup. Six more South American Cups were held through 1979, with Brazil winning all of them. Brazil continued its dominance with a victory in the first Pan American Cup in 1980 and won it again the next time it was played in 1984. A U.S. team took part in the 1984 cup, but finished out of the running.
The U.S. Futsal Federation was incorporated in January, 1983. Osvaldo Garcia was it’s first president The game originally was referred to as Minisoccer and then became known by its official international name, Futsal. The current federation president is Alex J.C. Para.
The first Futsal World Championship conducted under the auspices of FIFUSA (before its members integrated into FIFA in 1989) was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1982, with Brazil finishing in first place. The Brazilians repeated as champions at the second World Championship in 1985 in Spain, but lost in the third World Championship in 1988 in Australia to Paraguay. FIFA took over direct sponsorship of the event in 1989 in Holland and 1992 in Hong Kong. Brazil won both times. The U.S. Futsal (Indoor Team), finished third in 1989 and second in 1992. The highest showing by any team from the United States in a FIFA tournament until the U.S. Women’s team won the gold medal in China for outdoor soccer.
The Third FIFA World Futsal Championship was held November 24 through December 11, 1996, in Spain. The Fourth FIFA Futsal World Championship was held in Guatemala between November 18 to December 4th, 2000. The fifth Futsal World Championship was held in Taipei in December 2004.
The first international Futsal match played by the U.S. Futsal National Team was in May 1984 in Nanaimo, Canada, and the United States won 6 -5. The first international Futsal match in the United States was held in December, 1985, at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, Calif. The U.S. select team, defeated Australia, 9-5.
U.S. Futsal has conducted a National Championship each year since 1985. Futsal is establishing itself at the youth level in the U.S. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America took a strong interest after the Columbia Park Club in San Francisco asked the Federation to give a demonstration. The national organization adopted the sport, and it is now played at about 1,100 Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the U.S. The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) also plays the sport in a close working relationship with U.S. Futsal since 1988.
The U.S. Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) and U.S. Futsal signed an agreement in August of 1995 and in 1999, to promote futsal in all their National State Association as their game of choice for indoor soccer under the auspices of U.S. Futsal.