Social distancing with progression to lockdown has been implemented in many countries around the world. With sporting events postponed, including football leagues, forced closures of schools, restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as non-essential shops, people are being asked or told to stay at home. Enforced lockdown with police and/or military enforcement is becoming increasingly common, with strict limitations on the reasons why you are allowed to leave your home.
With so much time at home, no live football on TV, and the kids to keep entertained we have compiled a list of ideas on how to stay upbeat, keep yourself busy and stay in touch with the game you love most – football. Here’s a list of ideas that we will cover in more detail below:
- Garden football skills and mini family games
- Console based football games
- Online football games
- IOS & Android games
- Learn about tactics
- Soccer Box football activity book
- Your club’s social media pages
- Watching past games
What is Covid-19 and Why are we Social Distancing?
It is March 2020, and practically every country in the world is making unprecedented demands upon their citizens in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19, also known as Coronavirus, is a viral infection that is sweeping the globe. Many of the infected will become mildly ill with a cough and high temperature but should quickly recover. However, for around 5% the illness will be more serious requiring hospitalisation and often the use of a ventilator. Unfortunately, it is thought that Coronavirus has around a 1% death rate for those infected.
Covid-19 appears to be easily spread, and very contagious. The first cases were in China in November 2019, and it has now spread around the globe including cases across Asia, Europe, Australia, North and South America. This speedy worldwide transmission has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. In response, governments have been imposing stricter measures on the freedom of their citizens in order to slow the spread of the virus and avoid overwhelming already stretched health services.
Playing Football at Home
Regulations in most countries’ forbid gatherings and socialising with people outside of your home. Obviously, that means that you or your kids can’t get together with mates at the park for kickaround, but you can play in your garden or in local parks (depending on the rules in your specific country), as long as it is only with people you live with.
You may also want to practice your skills, which you can even do alone, and with very basic equipment. Online shops are open for ordering and will deliver if you don’t have a soccer ball, which is required as a minimum. Below are skills ideas to get you started.
- Set up some cones and practise dribbling around them
- Shooting skills and penalty taking
- Passing practice with both feet
- Improving physical fitness with running and strength training
PS4, Xbox Soccer Games
Video games are sure to be a popular form of entertainment during social distancing and lockdown. There are many video games with soccer as the core theme. If you already own a PlayStation, Xbox or handheld console such as the Nintendo Switch it is likely that you already own a football game such as FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer.
We would advise not spending too many hours each day playing video games and trying to get some form of physical exercise as well. However, video games can be played multiplayer online and can be a great way to ‘socialise’ with friends without physically seeing them.
PC Based Football Games
Like with console games there are an array of football games that can be played on a desktop or laptop computer, which is a great option if you don’t own a video game console. Games such as Football Manager, Football Tactics & Glory or even a classic such as Super Arcade Football would be great choices. In 2020, most games are downloadable, so if you don’t already own one, but do have a PC, you can quickly get started with one of these football games
IOS & Android
If you don’t own a console or PC, you may be wondering if there is a football game for you. If you own a smartphone or tablet using IOS or Android technology, then yes, there is plenty of soccer-based game for you to choose from too. Why not take a look at Kick: Football Card Trader or Puppet Soccer Champions to start with? You can also search the respective app stores for games, where you will find plenty of options to choose from.
Football Tactics Education
Listening to crowds of football fans watching matches you’d think many of them know better than the manger! Football tactics, however, is a very complex area that takes a high degree of understanding of the game to be able to plan effectively. You could look online for tips on how to learn football tactics in depth or why not try out an online course such as from Udemy, which is relatively inexpensive, will keep you busy and guide your learning strategically.
Free Football Kid’s Activity Book
Many parents now find themselves as home tutor to their child in conjunction with working from home. Schools should be providing work to do but juggling teaching and your own work is likely to be challenging. Here at Soccer Box we have created a free activity book for kid’s, with all the activities based around football to keep it entertaining for your young soccer fans.
All you need to do is print off the book, print your pdf activity book here, ensure that your child has pens, pencils and crayons to complete the activities with. Look us up on social media and share pictures of some of the completed activities with us, we would love to see your child’s hard work during this difficult time.
Club Social Media
Your favourite football club wants to stay engaged with you during this period of social distancing. Football clubs large and small, in every country, are using social media to stay connected to their supporters. Follow your favourite teams and leagues, who will be attempting to keep you entertained and updated with the latest information from the club. One of the best initiatives we have seen so far is a game of noughts of crosses played via social media between Manchester City and Southampton AFC to keep supporters entertained for a short while.
Past Matches with a Twist
As a passionate football supporter maybe, you have seen every game that your team has played in recent years either live or on TV. Why not take this opportunity to re-watch some of your favourites? You could simply grab a beer and your usual football snacks to watch the game, there are always old games being re-run on satellite/cable TV channels or you can stream them on YouTube and other video services.
If watching an old game sounds a bit dull why not try it with a twist. Turn the volume off and try taking on the role of commentator, your whole family could take it in turns to see who is the best or most engaging. Or why not watch and analyse the game, then write an article or blog post about it, and what you would have done differently if you were the manager.
Stay Football Focused During Lockdown
This is a difficult time for everyone and maintaining a positive outlook will help to keep your mental health in shape while social distancing. Hopefully these ideas will kickstart your creativity to come up with ways of integrating your passion for football into your new daily normality at home.
Do checkout out the free activity pack we have produced and keep an eye on our fun and games page for more ideas and activities. Remember that Soccer Box is still available online, you can order your team’s latest football kit from us for delivery direct to your home.
