Footvolley

Footvolley

Footvolley is a fun sport that mixes ideas from beach volleyball, tennis, and soccer. Players kick a soccer ball over a net, like in beach volleyball, but they can only use their feet, knees, and head to touch the ball—no hands allowed.

The sport began in 1965 in Rio de Janeiro with a man named Octavio de Moraes. It is also called Futevôlei in Brazil and Futevólei in Portugal.

World Federation

There is no official world championship or world federation for footvolley. Instead, there are several leagues around the world. Some of these include World Footvolley, Thefootvolley.com, the International Footvolley Federation, and the Federation International of Footvolley (FIFV). There are also leagues in Europe, Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Kenya. Each of these groups helps organize and promote the sport of footvolley in their areas.

History

Footvolley began in 1965 on Copacabana Beach by Octavio de Moraes. It was first called 'pévolei' but later changed to "futevôlei" because it mixed ideas from football and volleyball. The game spread from Rio de Janeiro to other cities like Recife, Salvador, Brasília, Goiânia, Santos, and Florianópolis.

At first, teams had five players each, but now it is usually two versus two. In recent years, many famous Brazilian footballers have played footvolley for fun. The sport became well-known around the world in 2003 with a big event on Miami Beach and was shown at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Ball

An indoor footvolley ball looks like a basketball. It is smaller, bouncier, and heavier than a regular volleyball.

Rules

Footvolley is a fun game that mixes rules from beach volleyball and soccer. Players kick a soccer ball over a net instead of using their hands.

The court is smaller than a regular volleyball court, measuring 4x4 meters. Points are scored when the ball lands in the opponent’s area, if they make a mistake, or if they cannot kick the ball back over the net. Matches are usually played to 18 points in one set, or best of three sets to 15 points. The net height changes depending on the competition, with men’s nets set at 2.2 metres and women’s nets at 2 metres.

International growth

Footvolley started in Brazil and has become popular all around the world. Today, people play it in many places such as the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.

Big tournaments have taken place in many beach cities in different countries. These include Spain, Portugal, Israel, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, France, the Netherlands, Aruba, Thailand, South Africa, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Iran.

Paraguay

Paraguay was the first team to win the world championship in footvolley. A player named Jesús from Paraguay is considered one of the best in the World Championship.

Brazil

The city of Brasília, the capital of Brazil, has produced many great players. These players have taught others, helping the sport grow in Brazil.

United Kingdom

In 1997, the England team joined football stars John Barnes and Niall Quinn at a tournament in Pattaya, Thailand. England held events in 2007, and players Dirceu and Luigi won both of them.

Israel

Israel has a special footvolley league that starts every summer. It began in 2008 and includes teams from Europe. There are also winter tournaments and many events across the country.

Italy

The first big footvolley tour in Italy started in 2008. It usually happens in June, July, and August with several tournaments each summer.

Australia

Footvolley Australia was created in 2007 to help grow the sport in the country. They organize events for new players, teach footvolley, and take part in international competitions.

United States

Footvolley started in South Florida in the United States. The first national championship was held in 2005, and many tournaments have happened every year since then. Players from different places compete to be the national champions.

2016 Olympic qualifiers

In 2016, the U.S. Footvolley Association held tournaments to choose teams for the Rio Footvolley Exhibition Tournament. The winning teams traveled to Seaside, Oregon, for the final tournament.

2016 Rio Tournament

At the 2016 RIO World Footvolley Tournament, the U.S. teams competed against other countries.

Pro Footvolley Tour

The Pro Footvolley Tour is a professional series of tournaments in the United States. It began in 2008 and has grown to include many events across the country. The Tour broadcasts games to networks around the world.

Equipment

In 2015, a special ball just for footvolley was made and used in big tournaments.

South Korea

Footvolley was part of a big sports event in 2018 during Chuseok. The game used special rules for that event.