The first international competition took place in 1965, when Paraguay won the first South American Cup. Six more South American Cups were held through 1979, with Brazil winning all of them. Brazil continued its dominance with a victory in the first Pan American Cup in 1980 and won it again the next time it was played in 1984. A U.S. team took part in the 1984 cup, but finished out of the running.

The U.S. Futsal Federation was incorporated in January, 1983. Osvaldo Garcia was the first president The game originally was referred to as Minisoccer and then became known by its official international name, Futsal. The current federation president is Alexander J.C. Para.

The first Futsal World Championship conducted under the auspices of FIFUSA (before its members integrated into FIFA in 1989) was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1982, with Brazil finishing in first place. The Brazilians repeated as champions at the second World Championship in 1985 in Spain, but lost in the third World Championship in 1988 in Australia to Paraguay. FIFA took over direct sponsorship of the event in 1989 in Holland and 1992 in Hong Kong. Brazil won both times. The U.S. Futsal (Indoor Team), finished third in 1989 and second in 1992. The highest showing by any team from the United States in a FIFA tournament until the U.S. Womens team won the gold medal in China for outdoor soccer. The Third FIFA World Futsal Championship was held November 24 through December 11, 1996, in Spain. The Fourth FIFA Futsal World Championship will be held in Guatemala between November 18 to December 4th, 2000.