Do y’all know about futsal? It’s a very close cousin to soccer, but the rules are a little different. They play it on a hard surface court, the goals are much smaller, the ball is heavier. I don’t think most people play it with shin guards. There are futsal shoes, if you choose to play in them, that kind of look like a cross between your standard indoor soccer shoe and your grandma’s favorite walking shoe. How long is a game? It depends! How many players a side? How many ya got? Obviously, there are real leagues with rules for those kinds of things, but the more popular version of the game is what amounts to street soccer.

Futsal in Paris has helped to shape players like Riyadh Mahrez and Paul Pogba. In cities like Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, non-profits, for-profits, and public parks departments are teaming up to create more spaces for futsal and street soccer. That in turn means more places for people to play the game they love at little to no cost. Louisville kind of has one place like it, ReSurfaced’s Liberty Build. There’s a private futsal facility over off Poplar Level Road. The Metro Parks Department is working on putting together a facility with some courts at Wyandotte Park. But I think there could be a lot more.

It sounds easy enough, just repurpose some underutilized tennis courts or drop some goals on a basketball court. Nothing’s ever that simple, but it’s way less expensive than putting together and maintaining grass or turf fields. Some of the bright minds at Coopers HQ are talking about how to help make futsal and street soccer more available here in Louisville. Keep your eyes peeled for more!