From the interview done by Derek O’Neill for futsal.fai.ie

During the course of the interview, Pele spoke about his involvement in futsal and how important it was to his development as the greatest football player ever:
“When I played Futsal in Brazil, it was actually called “Futebol de salao”. A lot of Brazilian players play both normal football and futsal. I played futsal for 3 years before I joined Santos”
Futsal is a fast moving, high scoring game and Pele spoke of the appeal of this aspect of the game to him:
“I wanted to score lots of goals. I was 12, 13, 14… three years I played futsal, it was very important to me”.
In Brazil, futsal is seen as the ideal skill building environment for 11 a side football and is often referred to as football’s “little brother”. Even today, futsal still has a big part to play within Pele’s family:
“My son was a futsal player and nowadays he is involved in organising futsal tournaments in Brazil .”
Futsal originated in the inner city streets of Uruguay and Brazil where space for playing football was at a premium. As a result, the handball courts in the city complexes and even local dance halls were opened up for football! This in turn led to the development of the ball with the low bounce which has been an integral feature of football among kids in Brazil for generations now.
Said Pele: “In Brazil, I think futsal is very important for youngsters as today they don’t have too much space”.
Even today the legacy of those early days is evident as futsal pitches and goalposts are the exact same dimensions as Olympic handball courts!
When asked about the direct influence of futsal on his development as a player Pele was quick to acknowledge the benefits futsal offered him:
“Of course futsal was important in helping to develop my ball control, quick thinking, passing… of course you have to have an aptitude for both futsal and normal football and you must have the capacity to adjust because of the differences in the games. But for dribbling, balance, concentration… futsal was very, very important, no doubt”.
Futsal has helped to produce generations of great Brazilian players who all began with the smaller heavier ball. Indeed, it has had a profound effect on the style of football played by Brazilian teams who never give the ball away too cheaply. Pele reminisced about some of his playing colleagues who were exceptional futsal players.
“Futsal helped produce many great players in my generation like Paulo Cesar and Rivellino. All the best players began with futsal”.
He fondly remembered his time a couple of years ago when he helped to coach the young players at his beloved Santos and he really enjoyed helping the emerging young talent. Pele flagged two players in particular, Robinho and Diego, who he helped to coach and has tipped them for superstardom. They too also graduated from the school of futsal:
“Robinho started with futsal and played when he was 10 to 12 years old. Diego also played in futsal tournaments when he was very young”.
It’s evident that the futsal phenomenon is ongoing in Brazil. From Pele’s era right up to the present day, most of Brazil’s legendary superstars such as Zico, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho started football life on the futsal courts.
“As I told you, in the schools and colleges everybody in Brazil starts with futsal, and then they move to normal football. In the hinterland in Brazil, because they have a little more space, they play outside but in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santos…they all play inside”
Pele acknowledged that futsal has the potential to help in the technical development of young Irish players. The ever increasing number of cars driving or parked on our streets means that the days of youngsters playing football on those streets is a rare sight nowadays. With the exception of one or two Irish players, it seems the production line of great dribblers who learned their trade on the city streets has ended. However, Futsal can help rekindle the spirit of street football and offer a lifeline to the essence of spontaneity and free expression of skill that is the hallmark of the beautiful game. And so, Pele left with a phrase which epitomises the essence of the game:
“Good luck… keep the ball rolling!”