# Scoring, Restarts and the Four-Second Rule · Futsal Level 1: Beginner

Futsal · Level 1: Beginner · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/futsal/level-1/scoring-restarts-and-the-four-second-rule/)

Scoring, Restarts and the Four-Second Rule in Futsal (Level 1: Beginner) on Insporta: 50 sourced facts behind 5 tests. Covers: the four-second rule; and more.

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.

## Test 1: The 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)

## Test 2: The 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)

## Test 3: The goal clearance

![A futsal court seen from above, the goalkeeper in the left-hand penalty area with the ball in his hands. He throws it out of the area to a team-mate near the halfway line; the ball is in play once it has left the area. Two opponents wait outside the penalty area until the ball is in play, and a note beside the goalkeeper reads four seconds, the time he has to release it.](https://book.insporta.app/diagrams/futsal-goal-clearance.svg)
*The goal clearance: thrown by the goalkeeper from inside his area within four seconds.*

- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)

## Test 4: The 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)

## Test 5: Goals, 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)

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.

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