Football Variations You Don’t Know About

Football, the beautiful game and the most popular sport on this planet. Many feel like the dream is over for them after school and they don’t make it as a professional. They give up on playing the sport even though full size games are not the only option on the table.Football is such a simple sport that any slight tweak to the formula can create something fresh and interesting. Here are a few of the sport’s most popular spinoffs and other football variations.

Goggle Football

As the name suggest this game requires special goggles. It is a variation on five a side football that has become popular at parties. The teams wear specially modified goggles which can play havoc with their vision. It can have either 10x zoom or 10x distancing. This means that when you’re playing with the ball it will be impossible to judge with foot-eye coordination. This leads to some hilarious outtakes and interesting gameplay. There are many air shots and falling players in this game. It is definitely one of the most interesting and fun football variations.

Walking Football

This game has one main rule differentiating it from any other football based game. Players are not allowed to run and if they are caught doing so then it is an automatic freekick. This sport has become especially popular with the older generation who want to maintain a cardio vascular fitness but are unable to run. This one of the popular football variations where older people can enjoy the beautiful game.

Bubble Football

Bubble football has the biggest emphasis of all these variations on equipment. In the game the 5 players are wrapped in an inflatable bubble. This not only hinders their running but also leaves themselves vulnerable to hits! That’s right! Bubble football allows you to body check opponents and thanks to the giant bulls surrounding players they are protected from the hits when doing them too. This sport has been rapidly growing around the world and 2018 will see the first ever Bubble Football World Cup, where teams from all around the world will participate. Another one of the unique football variations, and the ‘bubbles’ pose challenges that help increase the competitiveness of the game.

Beach Soccer

This is the glamorous, holiday version of football. Beach babes will watch as you struggle to deal with the radically different surface. Because of the nature of the sand the ball does not travel across it well. This means players are left to improvise, often spectacularly as they control the ball in the air and shoot with overhead kicks and volleys.

Blind Football

Blind football is taken from five a side as it is an opportunity for sight impaired and blind people to take part in the beautiful game. It takes place on a typical five-a-side pitch. The goalkeepers are sighted but all the other players are masked to guarantee no advantage. They then play with a ball filled with ball bearings which produces noise as the players play and they can then follow the sounds. It has been made into a Paralympic sport and it is impressive to see their level of skill when only going on sound. It was known for being part of an ad campaign for betting tips site Paddy Power.

Futsal

Futsal is incredibly similar to five a side but has a few key differences. The court is a typical indoor hard court you see in leisure centres. They also have a different shaped goal than five a side with a more box shape allowing scoring above the waist. The biggest change is with the ball. Not only is it smaller than an official ball, but it is also weighed down. It also has 30% less bounce than a regular one. This means that control of the ball is easier and more reliant on dribbling with the feet. Not surprisingly it is most popular in south America with Brazil and Argentina continuing their duelling indoors as well as outside. There is also the emergence of the Premier Futsal League that has helped its popularity.