“Dad, I’m going to play futsall.” If it were up to the KNVB, children who go to kick a ball in the sports hall will say so from now on. Last month, the football association made an official name change. There is no longer indoor football, the Eredivisie Indoor Football is now called the Eredivisie Futsal.
The KNVB wants the sport with the new name – a contraction of the Spanish fútbol and sala – provide a “more professional appearance”. The association also hopes to attract young talent and the name should offer more promotional opportunities.
The name change almost went unnoticed, but a real tribal battle was once fought internationally over the name of the sport, which originated in Uruguay.
The South American world futsal association and the powerful world football association FIFA are discussing the name fútbolbecause the futsal association initially fútbol sala used as name. After the futsal association registered the name futsal in 1985, FIFA also started using that name.
Renaming a sporting discipline is more common. This is usually based on standardization of the rules of the game. Lacrosse got its name after French missionaries took over the free, spiritual play from the original inhabitants of Quebec in the 17th century. ‘La crosse’, because the missionaries thought the toy looked like the bishop’s cross. American football also came to North America from Europe, as a combination of rugby and football, called ‘soccer’ in the US, via ‘association football’ (football played according to the rules of the football association) and its abbreviation ‘soccer’. .’ got his name. Organizations were set up and names issued.
Club names are also regularly given a new look, usually due to sponsorship deals. In Hungary, football club Fehervár FC underwent numerous name changes, most recently with the addition MOL, after the oil and gas multinational. Red Bull’s clubs are better-known examples. When the sports drink manufacturer started buying up football clubs, they not only received investments, but also a new name: RB Leipzig, FC Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls. In Germany the club is officially called RasenBallsport Leipzig, because sponsor names are not allowed there.
A sports name rebrand is probably more sustainable than renaming a club. When the unions make a decision, the players follow. But sponsors can leave. When MOL stopped financing last year, the prefix was dropped and the club had to continue as Fehérvár FC. Many fans speak of ‘Vidi’, after the previous sponsor, electronics manufacturer Videoton.
Breakers know better than anyone how difficult it is to impose a (sports) name. The media persistently refer to practitioners of the new Olympic sport of breaking as breakdancers. Whether the name futsal becomes established in the Netherlands is not only due to the more than 300,000 practitioners – many were already using the name futsal – but mainly also to external communication. In any case, Dutch captain Oualid Saadouni sets a good example in the press release. He “fell in love with futsal”, “because of the speed and intensity” and because you have to master all facets of “the game”.
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