Indoor Football Activities: Create your own table football

Last Updated on: 11th July 2023, 04:50 pm

We know that not everybody is lucky enough to have their own outdoor space to run around in. That doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy some football fun during the lockdown. Why not play football inside with your own DIY table football?

DIY Table Football

This is not only a great game to get your kids involved with but it’s also a good craft project that will keep them busy for a while. It’s pretty simple to make and you might already have everything you need at home.

You will need:

• A shoebox
• Green paper
• A pen
• Scissors
• Glue
• 4 wooden dowel rods (you can get these online from craft stores, eBay, Amazon etc.)
• 10 pegs
• A variety of coloured paints and pens
• A paintbrush
• A ruler
• A ping pong ball

Substitutions

If you don’t have access to wooden dowels, you can always try and substitute it for something you have in the house. You just need something long and thin that will rotate. You could try plastic straws if they’re long enough but you might need to reinforce them with tape to make sure they don’t bend.

What to do

1. Take your shoebox and remove the lid.
2. Trace around the bottom of the box on your green paper and cut out the rectangle.
3. Draw on markings to make it look more like a football field and stick to the base of the box.
4. Decorate the sides of the box as your wish. You can add in a crowd of people or use images of your favourite team or players.
5. On the shorter ends of the box, measure out your goals. These need to be big enough for the ball to get through.
6. Cut out the rectangles for your goals.
7. Measure a line around the top of your box to show where your dowel rods will go. This needs to be high enough that the pegs will move freely when attached to the rod and to allow the ball to pass underneath.
8. On one of the long sides of the shoebox, measure out 4 evenly-spaced points. Cut a hole at each of the points. Make sure it is large enough for your rod to fit through snugly.
9. Do the same thing on the other long side.
10. Paint two of your rods in one colour and the other two in a different colour to represent the opposing teams.
11. Push the rods through the holes, alternating between the two teams. You can wrap tape, string, or an elastic band around each end to stop the dowels falling out.
12. Paint your pegs to match the rods. Paint half in one colour and half in the other.
13. Attach your pegs to the dowels in team formation.
14. Place your ping pong ball in the centre and start playing.

Tips

• Before making any cuts, check that the pegs have enough room to move freely backwards and forwards when placed on the dowels.
• When cutting out the hole for your dowel rods, it might be easier to use a hole punch. Just make sure that the size of the hole matches your rod.
• When attaching the tape/string/elastic band, make sure you leave enough room to move each rod in and out of the box.
• Add a smaller box to each end of your shoebox so you have something to catch the ball in when it goes in the goal.
• If you can find a bigger box, you can add extra players to make the game more exciting. The longer the box, the more players you can have.
• When decorating your pegs, you can cut out players from paper so they look even more realistic. Maybe give them a mini version of your favourite Pendle football kit.
• You can also paint your ping pong ball to look like your favourite Pendle football.

Tutorials

If you’re looking for a handy guide to print out, the CBBC website has their own guide that includes a template for your players. Or you can check out this video to see one in action.