RollerSoccer, Futins, Football Skating, Roller Foot or roller football is a version of association football (soccer) played on roller skates.
History The sport was created in the English Midlands in 1882 and the first documented match was a game between local rivals Derby and Burton on 30 January of that year. A 1934 game at London's Forest Gate Roller Rink, between two teams of female players, was filmed for an item on Pathé News. Over a decade later Billboard reported in 1949 that it had been revived in Detroit, having disappeared for more than thirty years."Roller soccer at Imlay City", Billboard, 26 February 1949
The game re-emerged serendipitously in San Francisco in 1995, when a soccer ball rolled into the street while Zack Phillips was inline skating. He instinctively kicked the ball with his skates and immediately envisioned sporting potential. Later that day he brought his own soccer ball to his group of inline skate friends who had previously kicked pine cones while skating."Skating sports roll on", The Vindicator, 9 June 2001, section E, p.1 In 1996 Zack established the RollerSoccer International Federation and launched a website and with the help of skate friends. By 1998, it was described as "well established in some areas".Liz Miller, Get Rolling: The Beginner's Guide to In-Line Skating, p.31 In the early 2000s the Futins (Futebol de Patins) organization established by Almir Falcão in Pernambuco, Brazil connected with the RollerSoccer organization.
The first RollerSoccer World Cup was held in London in 2003 and again in 2004 whereafter the tournament was rotated around the world with European and National events also emerging. Fourteen (14) RollerSoccer World Cups or Club World Cups were held through 2019. Post-COVID the world championships are resuming as the Football Skating World Cup 8-18 December in Trabzon, Turkey and a Club World Cup during 2023.
The country with most active players and the highest number of teams is France, with UMS Easy Riders currently the defending Club World Cup Champion. Skaters on inline and roller skates on every continent (except Antarctica) have played soccer/football on skates. AustraliaEleri Harris, "Canberra: The Roller-Socceroos", 666 ABC Canberra, 20 December 2011 and Belgium"Grâce à des jeunes, le roller soccer est une affaire qui roule en Belgique", RTBF, 19 April 2010 have interesting history. African and Asian teams have been emerging for many years.
Federations Since 2016, the sport of RollerSoccer/Futins is governed by 3 world federations: the combined yet late Federation International Football Skating (FIFS) and the early Futins International Federation (FIF) and RollerSoccer International Federation (RSIF).
World championships RollerSoccer World Cup The RollerSoccer World Cup was organised by the RollerSoccer International Federation, with help from the community that was using Futins' rules. 2003 (London) : 1st Holland 2nd Germany 2004 (London) : 1st Germany 2nd Holland 2005 (Germany) : 1st Germany 2006 (Nuremberg) : 1st Planet Roller 2nd AMSCAS Marseille 2007 (Paris) : 1st AMSCAS Marseille ?? 3rd Planet Roller ?? 5th UTOPIE Toulon 2008 (San Francisco) : 1st Away Team 2nd AMSCAS Marseille 3rd Euroland 4th Planet Roller RollerSoccer Club World Cup The RollerSoccer Club World Cup is what replaced the RollerSoccer World Cup in 2009. As the name would suggest, this one allows clubs to play instead of national teams. 2009 (Brussels) : 1st AMSCAS Marseille 2nd Shark Épinay Roller Soccer 3rd Planet Roller 4th UTOPIE Toulon 2010 (Piacenza): 1st AMSCAS Marseille 2011 (Recife) : 1st AMSCAS Marseille 2nd Sport Clube Recife 3rd Recife Futins Clube 2012 (Marseille) : 1st AMSCAS Marseille 2nd Rollera Ljubljana 3rd Recife Futins Clube 4th Shark Épinay Roller Soccer 2013 (Amsterdam) : 1st AMSCAS Marseille 2nd RSCT Toulon 3rd Phénix, Marseille 4th Paris RF 2015 (Toulon) : 1st RSCT Toulon 2nd Phenix Marseille Semi finalists: Rollera Ljubljana , AMSCAS Marseille 2017 (Marseille) : 1st Phénix, Marseille 2nd UMS Easy Riders Pontault-Combault 3rd AMSCAS Marseille 4th RSCT Toulon 2019 (Brussels) : 1st UMS Easy Riders Pontault-Combault 2nd Roller Holland Amsterdam 3rd Shinobis Riders Brussels 4th Phénix, Marseille Football Skating World Cup / FIFS World Cup The Football Skating World Cup or FIFS World Cup is the world cup hosted by the Federation International Football Skating. This tourney, however, uses the Futins rules instead of the RollerSoccer ones. 2024 (Turkey) : 2024 Turkey 15th 1st Senior IRAN 2nd Senior UAE 3rd SeniorBelarus 1st JuniorTurkiye 2nd JuniorEgypt 3rd JuniorGhana
References
External links The Official Rollersoccer International Federation The Official London Rollersoccer page