This document systematically reviews literature to provide a summary of evidence based research related to the sport of futsal. The review draws on diverse subjects including coaching, physiological, psychological, technical and tactical elements of the sport as well as reviewing subjects relating to the development of futsal. The methodology included a scoping study and review protocol to systematically review 601 documents relating to futsal; 44 of these documents were reviewed in the study. The review aims to provide a resource for fellow researchers, to study the sport and encourage further English language studies in futsal. To that end, gaps in the literature are highlighted by the researchers, and therefore this document acts as a guide for further study.

The introduction of UEFA's home-grown rule occurred for the start of the 2006-2007 season with the full quota in place from the 2008-2009 season, which imposed quotas on European clubs. From 2008, clubs are required to have at least 8 players classified as home-grown in the 25-player squad, up from 4 in 2006-2007 and 6 in 2007-2008. This study examines the efficacy of this rule across the six major European leagues (England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain) in relation to playing opportunities (minutes played and appearances) between 1999 and 2015. This was also examined in relation to age. Since the home-grown rule was introduced for the six nations hosting the major leagues, the rule had different impacts by nationality. Only Germany saw significant increases in the proportion of minutes played by their players when comparing the periods before and after the home-grown rules were imposed. Holland, albeit seeing a slight decrease overall, saw significant increases for playing time for under 21s and 22-to 25-year olds. England and Italy were the two nations where statistically significant decreases in indigenous playing opportunities were recorded since the home-grown rules were introduced.

BackgroundPrevious studies indicated that physical education programs in schools were unsuccessful to ameliorate physical activity (PA) behaviors among adolescents. This study investigated PE teachers’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to PA and further digital exercise interventions among inactive British adolescents in secondary schools based on the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior (COM-B) model, the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW), and Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).MethodA qualitative study was conducted among 156 PE teachers in England. deductive thematic analysis approach was applied to analyze data.ResultsA comprehensive perception of PE teachers revealed 21 barriers to PA among inactive adolescents in secondary schools. The study findings show that barriers exist across all categories of the COM-B model in physical opportunity (7), reflective motivation (5), social opportunity (4), psychological capability (4) and physical capability (1). The majority of these barriers were reported in previous studies as being barriers to PA from the perspective of children and adolescents. This shows that the findings are consistent with the views of children and adolescents that participated in these studies. Particular salient barriers for inactive adolescents were reported and greater insight into their experiences was highlighted. The study reported the main sources of behavior, intervention functions, policy functions, and behavior change tools that can be used for future behavior change interventions to support inactive adolescents.ConclusionThe study recommends using its findings to design interventions for inactive adolescents to achieve recommended levels of physical activity (PA). The study’s comprehensive approach and evidence-based solutions provide extensive reference points for future intervention design, informing policy and contributing to enhancing support for inactive adolescents. Further development of digital exercise interventions, including conversational artificial intelligence (AI), is suggested to engage adolescents at scale and provide personalized support to overcome multiple barriers to PA.

Background: Research shows that schools’ efforts to improve children and young people’s (CYP) physical activity (PA) behaviours have been largely unsuccessful. The study investigates Physical Education (PE) teachers’ perceptions of barriers to physical activity (PA) for inactive CYP in secondary schools and to identify facilitators to support future public health intervention design, using the COM-B model of behaviour change and Theoretical Domains Framework. Method: This study is a qualitative examination of the perceptions of PE teachers of inactive CYP in deprived secondary schools in England. The method involved structured telephone interviews with 156 Heads of PE in schools and analysed the data with thematic analysis. Results: The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the barriers to PA in secondary schools from the unique perspective of PE teachers. The research identifies 21 barriers to PA and details the main sources of behaviour, intervention functions, policy functions and behaviour change tools that can be applied to support behaviour change for inactive adolescents. The authors suggest the use of digital approaches, particularly conversational AI, to provide a more personalised, natural language experience to engage CYP at scale and overcome barriers to PA. Conclusion: The study is the first to apply the COM-B model, Behaviour Change Wheel, and TDF Framework to understand the habits and behaviours of inactive CYP. The findings of this study have important implications for policy and practice, providing a deeper understanding of the barriers to physical activity and potential solutions to overcome them.

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