Futsal · Level 1: Beginner · Sub-level 1.4
Scoring, Restarts and the Four-Second Rule
5 tests · 50 facts · updated 6 September 2026 · markdown
This sub-level teaches how the ball comes back into play and the count that hangs over every restart — the four seconds a team has to take a kick-in, corner, goal clearance or free kick, and the four seconds a goalkeeper may hold the ball in his own half; the kick-in that replaces football's throw-in, taken with the foot from the touch line with no goal scored directly; the goal clearance the goalkeeper throws from inside his area rather than kicks, and the corner that is kicked from the arc; what makes a goal, when the ball is out over a line or off an official, the dropped ball, and the ball striking the ceiling; and, once more, that futsal has no offside.
Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.
Test 1The four-second rule
A team has four seconds to take a kick-in, corner kick, goal clearance or free kick; the kick-off and the penalty kick are not under the count.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 13 · recall
Hands or feet, the count is the same for a goalkeeper on his own side of halfway; step over the line with the ball and the clock stops mattering.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 12 · recall
The referee holds an arm up and counts the four seconds down visibly with his fingers, so players can see how long is left.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 13 · recall
If a kick-in is not taken within four seconds, it is awarded to the opponents; the same swap of possession applies to a corner and, in effect, a free kick.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · applied
Holding the ball too long in his own half earns the goalkeeper an indirect free kick against his team, taken from where he was holding it, or from the six-metre line if that is inside the area.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 12 · applied
A goal clearance held longer than four seconds turns possession over: the opponents restart from the six-metre line, closest to where the delay happened.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · applied
The count begins when the player is ready to take the restart and there is nothing preventing him; it is not started while players are still getting into place.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · applied
Because the clock stops at every restart, a time limit stops teams running it down or slowing the game; four seconds keeps play flowing.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 13 · recall
A free kick not taken within four seconds is turned over: the other team gets an indirect free kick from the same place.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 13 · applied
The count only runs when nothing is stopping the taker; a defender who fails to retreat is delaying the restart and can be cautioned, and the four seconds do not run against the attacker meanwhile.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 13 · applied
Test 2The kick-in
Futsal replaces football's throw-in with a kick-in: the ball is placed on or just outside the touch line and played with the foot.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · recall
The kick-in goes to the opponents of the team that last touched the ball before it fully crossed the touch line.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · recall
The ball sits on the touch line at the point it went out; the kicker's non-kicking foot must be on the line or on the ground outside it.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · recall
Five metres is the standing rule for a kick-in, wider than the gap defenders keep at a kick-off, and it holds until the taker actually plays it.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · recall
A goal cannot be scored directly from a kick-in; if the ball goes straight into the opponents' goal, the restart is a goal clearance.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · applied
Steering a kick-in straight past your own goalkeeper does not count as an own goal; it hands the other side a corner instead.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · applied
The taker may not play the ball again until another player has touched it; a second touch is an indirect free kick to the opponents.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · applied
The ball is in play once the kick-in is taken and the ball clearly moves; it does not have to travel any set distance or fully enter the court first.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · recall
Only a goal scored directly from a kick-in is disallowed; once a second player touches the ball, a goal counts as normal.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · applied
A defender who does not retreat the required five metres and interferes with the kick-in is cautioned, and the kick-in is retaken.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 15 · applied
Test 3The goal clearance
A goal clearance is given when the whole ball passes over the goal line, no goal being scored, having last been touched by an attacker.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · recall
In futsal the goalkeeper puts the ball back into play from a goal clearance by throwing it with his hands from any point inside the penalty area; it is not kicked.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · recall
The goal clearance in futsal must be thrown by hand; if the goalkeeper kicks it, the restart is taken again.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · applied
The ball is in play only when a goal clearance has been thrown clear of the penalty area; if it stays inside, the clearance is taken again.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · recall
If the ball does not leave the penalty area, it was never in play, so the goal clearance is simply retaken.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · applied
Opponents must stay outside the penalty area until the ball is in play; a goal clearance taken while an opponent is inside is retaken.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · recall
Once the goal clearance is in play the goalkeeper may not touch the ball again with his hands in his own half until an opponent has played it; doing so is an indirect free kick.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 12 · applied
A goal cannot be scored directly from a goal clearance; since it is thrown, a direct goal at the other end would in any case not stand.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · recall
The goalkeeper must release a goal clearance within four seconds of being able to play it; a fast, legal clearance is a strong way to start an attack.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · applied
The opponent's presence inside the area invalidates the clearance, whatever became of the ball; it does not matter that a defender ended up with it.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 16 · applied
Test 4The corner kick
The defending side put it behind themselves last, so a corner follows: possession stays with the attack, restarting from the nearer arc.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · recall
The ball is placed inside the quarter-circle corner arc and kicked; unlike the goal clearance it is not thrown.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · recall
Opponents must be at least five metres from the corner arc until the ball is in play.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · recall
If the corner is not taken within four seconds, it is turned over and the defending team gets a goal clearance.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · applied
Unlike a kick-in or an indirect free kick, the corner is a restart that carries the direct-scoring right, so no other player needs to touch it first.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · applied
The ball has to be at rest inside the corner arc before the kick is struck; a corner played while the ball is still rolling is not valid and is retaken.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · recall
The taker cannot play the ball twice in a row; a second touch before anyone else plays it is an indirect free kick to the opponents.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · applied
The corner kick is taken from the corner arc on the side of the goal where the ball went out.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · recall
Once a corner is in play the normal rules apply, so a ball that then crosses a touch line is a kick-in to the team that did not touch it last.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · applied
A defender who fails to keep five metres from the arc and interferes with the corner is cautioned, and the corner is retaken.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 17 · applied
Test 5Goals, out of play and no offside
A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the posts and under the crossbar, with no offence by the scoring team.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 10.1 · recall
As long as any part of the ball is still on or above the line, the whole ball has not crossed, so no goal is given.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 10.1 · applied
The ball is out of play when it has wholly crossed a touch line or goal line, on the ground or in the air, or when it strikes the ceiling; otherwise it is in play.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 9 · recall
If the ball hits an official and a promising attack starts, a team gains possession, or a goal results, play is stopped and restarted with a dropped ball.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 9 · applied
The ball is dropped for the player who last touched it, at the place it was last touched, with all other players five metres away; if play stopped inside the penalty area, it is dropped for the goalkeeper.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 9 · recall
Like several restarts, the dropped ball carries no direct-scoring right of its own; an untouched shot that beats the keeper is waved out and the defenders restart instead.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 9 · applied
Law 11 in the Futsal Laws exists only to record that there is no offside in futsal; it sets out no offence.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 11 · recall
With no offside law, a team may leave an attacker high up the court permanently; whether it is wise is tactical, but it is not an offence.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 11 · applied
The ball is out once the whole of it has crossed the line, whether on the ground or in the air; it does not have to touch anything to be out.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 9 · applied
A goal counts whichever team's player put the ball in; an own goal is awarded and play restarts with a kick-off, taken by the team the goal was scored against.
Source: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 10.1 · applied
Sources
FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26 (approved by the Bureau of the FIFA Council, effective 5 September 2025) for every rule; the FIFA Futsal Coaching Manual (2025), chapter 2, and general futsal history for the sport's origins and governance. Both FIFA publications are free to download but not open-licensed, so questions are authored in original wording from these sources, never reproduced. A specific clause reference sits in each question's source field, never in the stem.
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 1512
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 1610
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 1710
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 135
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 95
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 123
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 10.13
- FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 112