Street football orstreet soccer is an informal variation on the game ofassociation football, typically played in outdoor urban settings such as streets, playgrounds and car parks.[1] The term encompasses a variety of different formats, which do not necessarily follow the requirements of a formal game of football, such as a largefield, field markings, goal apparatus and corner flags, eleven players per team, or match officials (referee andassistant referees). Often street football is played as apick-up game, without fixed timing and with players joining and leaving at any point.[2][3] Many renowned footballers stated that they learned to play football on the street, including the likes ofDiego Maradona,Johan Cruyff,Pelé,Giuseppe Meazza,Éamon Dunphy,Eusebio,Dejan Savićević, andCristiano Ronaldo, among others.[4][5][6]
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Street football is more similar tobeach football andfutsal than toassociation football. Often the most basic of set-ups will involve just aball with awall orfence used as agoal, or items such as clothing being used for goalposts[2][7] (hence the phrase "jumpers for goalposts"). The phrase was used byEd Sheeran in his 2015 documentaryJumpers for Goalposts: Live at Wembley Stadium as a nod to playing the concerts atWembley Stadium,[8] the "home of football."[9]
In some cases, a standardball is not available and street football depends on a ball made out of garbage, such as discarded plastic.[10][11]Handwalla Bwana, describing street football in theKakumarefugee camp said "We used to make a garbage ball. We used to go through the garbage cans and make as much soccer ball as we could" and attributed use of the garbage ball to being better with his feet.[12][13]Johan Cruyff has said "Footballers from the street are more important than trained coaches."[14]
The ease of playing these informal games on the streets and open spaces make football the most popular sport in the world.[15]
In 2005, video game publisherElectronic Arts introducedFIFA Street, afranchise based on street football andfreestyle football.FIFA Street series focuses on flair, style and trickery, reflecting the cultures of street football and freestyle football played in streets and backlots across the world.
In 2019, Electronic Arts added a Volta gameplay mode toFIFA 20. It shares similarities to theFIFA Street series and has a storyline of a street football player playing through the ranks, both making new friends and losing old ones along the way.[16][17]
Soccer is the undisputed # 1 game in the world and the primary way kids around the world developed their ball skills was through "street soccer". World-class players came out of this environment.
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