Football games for kids: 7 garden games they'll want to play again

Bored of shooting at an empty goal?

Every football parent knows the scene. The ball goes in the net, you fetch it, you roll it back, it goes in the net again. Ten minutes later your child is bored, you are bored, and the neighbour's fence has taken a beating.Children don't get bored of football. They get bored of football with nothing to beat. Give them a rule, a score or a grown-up to outwit, and the same ball keeps them busy all afternoon.Below are seven football games for kids that work in a garden, a park or a school playground. You need one ball, a few markers (jumpers, shoes or water bottles are fine) and, for most of them, one adult who doesn't mind losing. They suit children from about four to twelve, and each one comes with a way to make it easier or harder.

Before you start

The right ball. Most under-8s play with a size 3 ball and most 8 to 12 year olds with a size 4. A full-size ball is heavy for small feet and turns a game into a struggle.A safe space. Check for windows, greenhouses and prize roses. A wall with no glass nearby is gold, for reasons you'll see in game 3.Short rounds. Two or three minutes a round, then swap, change the rule or start a new game. Stop while they still want more.

Seven football games for kids

1. Dodge the Grown-Up

Set-up. Mark out a square about 10 by 10 metres. One adult stands in the middle. Every child has a ball.How it works. Children dribble around inside the square. When they see a clear shot, they pass the ball at the adult's legs (below the knee only). The adult dodges. Every hit is a point, and the adult has to make a big, dramatic fuss about it.What it teaches. Dribbling with the head up, picking the right moment and striking a moving target with the inside of the foot. It's also the fastest way to get a shy child laughing.Easier. The adult only walks.
Harder. Weak foot only, or the adult can steal a ball and keep it until it's won back.

2. Shout a Corner

Set-up. A square with a small gate (two markers about a metre apart) in each corner. Give each corner a name: four footballers, four foods or four animals.How it works. Children dribble in the middle. The adult shouts a name and everyone dribbles through that gate as fast as they can, then back into the middle. The last one through does five keepy-ups, or five toe-taps for the youngest, and rejoins straight away. Nobody sits out.What it teaches. Quick changes of direction, close control at speed, and listening while the ball is at your feet.Easier. Point to the corner as you shout.
Harder. Shout "opposite!" and they have to go to the corner facing the one you named.

3. Wall Word

Set-up. A flat wall and a five-letter word. GOALS works, and so does the name of your team.How it works. Players take turns passing the ball against the wall. Each player must return the rebound before it bounces twice. Miss the wall, or let it bounce more than twice, and you collect a letter. Spell the whole word and you're out. Last player standing wins.What it teaches. First touch, passing accuracy and balance. Wall work is how a lot of professional players built their touch as children, because the wall never gets tired.Easier. Three bounces allowed, or chalk a big target on the wall.
Harder. One touch only, or every pass must be with the weaker foot.

4. King of the Garden

Set-up. A channel about 10 metres long with a small goal at each end. Two markers make a goal.How it works. One against one: child against adult, or child against child of a similar size. Start in the middle and try to dribble the ball through the other player's goal. No shooting from distance. You have to beat the other player first. The winner of each round is King of the Garden until someone takes the crown.What it teaches. The courage to run at someone, feints, changes of pace and protecting the ball. It's the most important skill in football, and the one children lose first if nobody lets them practise it.Easier. The adult defends on their knees. Yes, really.
Harder. Make the channel narrower, or play 2v2 if friends are round.

5. Copycat

Set-up. Any open space, one ball each.How it works. The child is the leader. They dribble anywhere they like, with any trick, stop or turn they can think of. The adult follows and copies everything. After a minute, swap. Children love making a grown-up try a step-over, and grown-ups quickly find out how hard it is.What it teaches. Creativity. The child invents the moves, practises them and then has to watch and copy someone else's, which is how real skills get learnt.Easier. Walk, and stop the ball under the sole every few steps.
Harder. The leader shouts a move name ("drag-back!", "outside cut!") and both players do it at the same moment.

6. Keepy-Up Ladder

Set-up. A ball and a piece of paper on the fridge.How it works. Each player's best score goes on the ladder. Beginners can let the ball bounce once between touches. Everyone gets three tries a day. Beat your own record and you move up a rung, and the fridge is there to remind everyone.What it teaches. Touch, balance and the habit of practising a little every day. Going from 2 to 20 over a month teaches a child more about effort than any speech.Easier. Throw the ball up and catch it after one kick, then two, then three.
Harder. Alternate feet, or add a thigh touch every fifth kick.

7. Target Practice

Set-up. Three targets at different distances: a washing basket, a bucket lying on its side and a gap between two markers. Each one is worth more points the further away it is.How it works. Players take turns passing or shooting at the target of their choice. First to 20 points wins. Pick the far target and miss, and you score nothing that turn.What it teaches. Striking technique and weight of pass, plus a little decision-making: go for the safe point or risk the big one?Easier. Move the targets closer and let the ball roll in.
Harder. The ball must be moving when you strike it, and only the weaker foot counts for the big target.

How to keep it fun

• Let them win, but not every time. A child who always wins stops trying. A child who never wins stops playing. Aim for close games.
• Cheer the effort. Praise the step-over that didn't work, the weaker-foot pass and the shot from a brave angle, not just the goals.
• Keep instructions to one sentence. Show the game once and play. Rules can change during the game.
• End on a high. Finish with their favourite game, ideally one they win, and they'll be asking to play again tomorrow.

From the garden to the pitch

Games like these are how most good players started: lots of touches, lots of small battles, nobody standing in a queue. At training we use the same idea with more players and more structure. You can read how sessions work for 4 to 7 year olds and 8 to 12 year olds, or our training tips for parents.If your child is ready for more, Konevych FDC runs small-group sessions for ages 4 to 17 at Goals Tolworth and Teddington Lock, and the first session is free.

Questions parents ask

What age can children start playing football games?

As soon as they can walk and kick a ball. For three and four year olds, keep games very short and let them use their hands to set the ball up. Dodge the Grown-Up and Copycat work well from about four.

How long should we play for?

Fifteen to thirty minutes is plenty for under-8s, and up to an hour for older children if you keep changing games. Stop before they get tired or bored.

Can we play football games indoors?

Copycat and slow keepy-ups work indoors with a soft or sponge ball and plenty of space. Save the shooting games for outside.

My child only wants to shoot. Is that a problem?

Not at all. Use it. Target Practice and Dodge the Grown-Up are shooting games that also build dribbling and accuracy. Add one rule at a time, and they'll learn the rest without noticing.