The “donor sport” concept proposes that engaging in futsal can facilitate the acquisition of transferable skills for association football (soccer), consistent with ecological dynamics perspectives on constraint-led learning.
Objective
To identify, evaluate, and synthesize scientific evidence regarding the transfer of technical, tactical, and perceptual-motor skills from futsal to soccer.
Methodology
A systematic review following PRISMA 2020 guidelines (Page et al., 2021) was conducted across three electronic databases (Scopus, ScienceDirect and Web of Science Core Collection) up to November 2025. Original studies reporting quantitative data relevant to futsal-to-soccer transfer were included.
Results
Seven studies were included (N = 7). The meta-analysis revealed a very large effect size favoring futsal-based constraints for passing accuracy (SMD = 1.43; 95% CI: −0.16 to 3.03). For time-based perceptual-motor outcomes, the pooled estimate was non-significant and highly heterogeneous; field-based reactive tasks tended to favor futsal, whereas isolated laboratory tasks tended to favor soccer.
Conclusion
Current evidence supports the use of futsal as a potent medium to accelerate the acquisition of technical passing precision. However, the transfer of speed and agility appears to be highly dependent on context and task specificity.
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