From confidentiality to the World Cup, how French futsal has managed to transform

Qualified for the World Cup in Uzbekistan, the Blues of futsal begin their adventure on Monday against Guatemala. A historic first for France, after a long journey.

From the shadows to the light. Ranked 37th in the world ten years ago, the French futsal team has undergone a spectacular transformation in a decade. Now ranked 10th, Les Bleus are preparing to play their very first World Cup match on Monday, September 16 (5 p.m.) in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, against Guatemala. Although they had to wait until the tenth edition of the competition to qualify, the players have great ambitions, the result of several years of professionalization.

Created in 1997 for a friendly match against Belgium, the French futsal team was formalized in 1998 with the arrival of Aimé Jacquet, world champion with the French football team, at the head of the national technical management. However, despite these established bases, the results were slow to come and the Blues struggled to establish themselves on the international scene.

Unlike Brazil, Spain, Portugal or Ukraine, futsal has long struggled to find a place in France. It is primarily young people who are passionate about this sport born in Uruguay in the 1930s. Futsal has developed in middle and high schools, far from professional spheres. Today, it is the most practiced team sport in schools (UNSS), ahead of handball, basketball and even football, with more than 200,000 players according to the French Football Federation (FFF).

It was only in 2017 that the FFF finally recognized the importance of futsal, making it a priority. Noël Le Graët, then head of French football, launched a development plan under the direction of Philippe Lafrique, futsal referent within the executive committee.We were behind other countries. We had to democratize sport in France. Many districts did not have a futsal championship.“, he recalls. Resources were then deployed to develop infrastructure and training, and the number of clubs has since increased, reaching 1,582 in September 2024.

In 2018, a French hub was created in Lyon to support professionalization.As not all clubs in the French championship are professional, we have fallen behind. This training center is intended to fill this gap.adds Philippe Lafrique. Eight years ago, we had to deal with the jobs of our players, who could not always respond to call-ups.“In 2024, the situation has changed: all the players are now professionals.

Raphaël Reynaud, coach of the French team since 2021, attributes this success to the resources implemented by the clubs and the federation. The players benefit from more structured supervision, with up to seven training sessions per week. The professionalization of the team has also been accompanied by a strengthening of the technical staff with a physical trainer, a video analyst and three physiotherapists.

French clubs, such as Etoile Lavalloise and Sporting Club de Paris, regularly qualified for the Champions League, provide many internationals. Raphaël Reynaud also underlines the importance of players playing abroad, such as Mamadou Touré at FC Barcelona or Souheil Mouhoudine at Jimbee Cartagena, also in Spain, who contribute to raising the level of the team.

In Europe, countries like Portugal, the reigning world champion, or Spain, which has the best championship, are references.In France, we lack futsal culture. To fill this gap, we are banking on a strong playing identity, based on constant pressing and quick transitions.“, explains the French coach. This model is applied from the youth teams within the French pole, as well as with the women’s team.

While the French men’s team has existed for over twenty-five years, the women’s team is very recent. Its first selection was created in 2023, with the first World Cup in sight, scheduled for 2025 in the Philippines.Women’s futsal is crucial for ussays Philippe Lafrique. The number of licensees increases every year and we are working to set up championships in the districts.“However, international players do not yet enjoy professional status.

Further along in their development, the Blues have even achieved remarkable performances, such as their victory against Brazil in April. Under the direction of Raphaël Reynaud, the team has an impressive record of 30 victories in 44 matches.

As the World Cup approaches, the FFF has set itself the goal of getting out of the group stage by finishing in the top two places in its group or among the four best third-placed teams, out of six groups. Raphaël Reynaud and his team have high hopes.We asked our players what their goal was for the World Cup. One of them said: ‘We’re going to close the gym, to be the last ones to leave.’ They want to go all the way. We remain humble, because it’s our first World Cup, but we are competitors.“, says the coach, nevertheless lucid and aware that “their lack of experience” could play tricks on them.

For their entry into the competition, and to hope to launch a magnificent epic, the Blues will play under the eyes of the president of the FFF, Philippe Diallo, who made the trip to Uzbekistan.