FIFA 97 was the first FIFA game to feature indoor football, presented as FIFA Indoor Soccer.
The mode used smaller teams and an enclosed pitch, producing a faster style of play than the standard outdoor matches. Walls around the field kept the ball in play and made rebounds part of the tactics. It was one of the series’ earliest experiments with an alternative football format.
The indoor mode drew inspiration from indoor variants of association football, but it was not the same as the later Volta Football mode. Volta arrived decades afterward and emphasized street football, small-sided venues, and stylized presentation.
FIFA 97 also featured traditional eleven-a-side football and was released during the series’ early transition toward more detailed 3D presentation. The indoor option is a particularly distinctive feature of this entry.