The FIFA Technical Study Group is set to collate their findings following the historic success of the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™ in the Philippines.

Brazil were crowned champions after defeating Portugal in the final, and while the standard of play was applauded, TSG members will now look to aid the global development of women’s futsal, revealing that the data highlights intrinsic differences between the men’s and women’s games.

Graeme Dell, Futsal Technical Expert & Development Consultant, Rajaa Chatah, AFC Futsal Elite Instructor & Women’s Futsal Development Supervisor at Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Tihana Nemčić Bojić, Assistant Professor at Zagreb University & Head Coach of Croatia’s Women’s Futsal Team, formed part of the TSG at the tournament.

“One of the biggest challenges was to make sure that we weren't looking at this as a male [FIFA Futsal] World Cup, or indeed perhaps as a female [FIFA Women’s Futsal] World Cup, but to use it as a learning experience to understand: what this competition offers for the women’s game; and then importantly, what we can learn from it to make it better next time around,” Dell explained. “It has to be continual improvement. Continual progress.

“Our role is to take the understandings that we have from futsal generally, to see how the data changes, perhaps from the male game. And to take that information and use it to construct a development programme for women’s futsal on a global basis, to very much be led by the data.

“Many things have struck me about women’s futsal, not least of all that it is different to the men’s game. We’ve seen elements of (that) in the games throughout this tournament that are perhaps trying to be a reflection of the male game, which might not be appropriate. And therefore we need to have a look and see how we can embrace the nuances of women’s futsal to allow it to grow.”

One area that will be the subject of post-tournament analysis is the amount of time the ball is in play. Compared to the men’s FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™ and FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021™ competitions, the ball appeared to be out of play more at the FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup Philippines 2025™.

“We’re seeing that the games last longer in the women’s game for a variety of different reasons. That could be the technical competence of a player, perhaps not where we would like to see it, not where they would like to see it - in some games, not in every game. But as a consequence of that, the ball is perhaps out of play longer than it’s in play,” explained Dell.

“We’re seeing the understanding of set plays is good, but maybe the execution is not that great. We’re seeing individual play is exceptional in some circumstances, but then maybe not coordinated with team play. And these are all development issues that we would look at, they’re elements that we need to understand better to see how we can influence them and bring them into a more cohesive game that makes the game better as a whole. 

“But across the board, (I am) just generally blown away by the level of some of the plays that we’ve seen.”

Sixteen women’s national teams competed at the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™ which took place between 21 November and 7 December with teams divided into four groups of four. And Ms Nemčić has urged a focus on the cultures and behaviours around the teams who progressed to the latter stages of the tournament.

“I think it’s crucial to see how the best teams behave, and the ones that reach the finals have shown a certain skillset that is supporting their vision, their tactical idea, how the coach wants them to play,” she said. “We also can see how resourceful they are in different situations.

“Women’s futsal developed a little later and it’s still developing, so from now on it will need to start showing some jumps in terms of development itself. I would say that this is the legacy and the privilege we have now to see history in (the) making because in 2030 it will be 100 years of futsal existing. And it’s the perfect time for women’s futsal to grow.”

Ms Chatah, an Elite Futsal Instructor with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and a women’s futsal development officer with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), was encouraged by the visibility of the tournament and believes it is vital for the growth of the women’s game that it was given its status as a World Cup tournament.

“It’s a historic moment. I feel very honoured to be part of it,” she said. “You can see how important it is to many of the players and everyone involved. You can see the passion that the players have while playing, from the first whistle – the first historic whistle, let’s say. And it gives hope to young girls for the future to dream bigger.

“Young girls can look forward to participating in Futsal that has a future ahead of it. Women’s futsal will go in the right direction, but it needs the appropriate support, technical help across every nation not just the top teams to really embed change and inclusion across the football family to get that progress in the future.”