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Football and superheroes are both immensely popular across the globe. Yet, their universes very rarely intersect. We’ve found 6 soccer variants to fix that.
Football is by far the most popular sports across the world. Behind its main form played with two teams of 11 players, many variants of the sport make it inclusive for just about anyone – including your favorite comic characters. Keep reading to find out which football variant the likes of Black Widow and Superman would choose if they had some time to spare after defeating bad guys!
Playing Indoor
First up, we have the infamous Suicide Squad – a team of imprisoned villains and anti-heroes. If they were to play a game of football, The Suicide Squad doesn’t really have much of a choice in their variant seeing as they’re locked up in jail. So, playing indoors it’ll have to be! Luckily for them, there are different types of indoor options to choose from, such as futsal, indoor soccer and jorkyball.
- Futsal is played on a small, hard court and is similar to five-a-side football. Derived from association football, indoor soccer is played in a walled indoor arena with synthetic turf.
- Indoor soccer originated in the US and Canada as a means to continue playing during winter months.
- Jorkyball is a type of two vs two football that’s played in a four-walled court with artificial turf. This type of soccer originated in France and is now growing in popularity in many countries including Italy and Portugal.
Change the Scenery
What’s great about football is that you can play it basically anywhere you want to. The versatility of this sport makes it easy to adapt to different environments – just like the Sandman. Soccer on beaches, swamps, streets – the options are endless! The Sandman can alter his body by changing any part of it he desires into sand. I think he’d love to play football on the beach, at a swamp or even on the street.
Beach football is pretty self-explanatory. It’s played on the beach or on some form of sand-like surface. Swamp soccer (yes, it is as messy as it sounds) is played in bogs or swamps. This variant is believed to have originated in Finland where it was played by soldiers and athletes as an exercise activity. Lastly, we have street football which doesn’t really follow the strict rules of association football. This soccer type is informal, it’s played on the street, and it involves very basic set-ups.
Rules are made to be broken
While the most common perception of football involves strict rules and guidelines, that doesn’t mean that the adaptations of the sport cannot be unconventional and non-conformist. Just like the Black Widow, whose character is far too complex and free-spirited to follow the rules of the game. If the Black Widow was into soccer, she’d probably prefer unorthodox football variants that show off her rebellious nature, such as football tennis, three-sided football and freestyle football (similar to keepie uppie).
Football tennis is played on a court that’s divided by a net. The aim of this type of football is to hit the ball across the net using any body part except your hands in a way that makes it difficult for your opponent to hit it back to your side of the net.
Three-sided football is played with three teams – as opposed to two – on a hexagonal field. The aim of the game is quite the opposite of association football as the winner is the team that scores the least goals.
Freestyle football is probably the most unconventional (and stylish) of the lot. This type of soccer involves juggling a football with any part of your body except your elbows to your hands. Freestyle football is creative in nature and often incorporates football tricks, dance, acrobatics and music.
Play With a Handicap
Now this is what makes football and its variants so remarkable – the inclusivity. There really is something for everyone, including those who have impairments. The diverse options include goalball, torball and powerchair football. The visually impaired Daredevil might be a fan of one of these, when he’s not fighting crime, of course. I think his “radar sense” would make him pretty good at it, too!
Goalball is a type of soccer that was specifically designed with those visually impaired in mind. Instead of a normal football, players use one that has bells embedded in it. A key rule in goalball is that you can only throw the ball by hand and are not allowed to use your feet. Goalball is played indoors in teams of three and relies on ear-hand coordination.
Torball is also an adaptation of conventional soccer for those who are visually impaired. It’s similar to goalball in a number of ways, but a key difference is that it’s played in the middle of a field, which has three cords stretched across the width of it. Torball is played by two teams of three players in each and they use a ball with bells inside. Players roll the ball under the three cords and into their opponent team’s goal. The team with the highest number of goals wins.
Powerchair football is a football variant that’s designed for those with physical disabilities. This variant originated in France and was invented by teachers who wanted their disabled students to be able to play sports along with their peers. Players use specially designed wheelchairs to control the ball when playing. The power chairs have footguards to attack, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch football.
Stay Homie
So, you want in on the football action, but you also don’t want to participate in something too strenuous that’s going to tire you out. I mean, if Spiderman and Superman have some time to kill at home before needing to run off and save the world again, I don’t think they’d want to put on their cleats and waste their valuable energy on soccer. But they might opt for a game of table football or subbuteo…
Table football is loosely based on association football. It’s a table-top game that requires you to move the ball into the opponent’s goal by manipulating rotating bars which have soccer figures attached. You can control the figures using the bars by holding them up, passing or ‘kicking’ the ball.
Subbuteo is also a tabletop variant, but it’s quite different to table football because you have to flick miniature figures with your fingers. The figures are mounted on weighted bases and you need to flick them across the tabletop pitch towards the ball. Unlike table football, the figures used in subbuteo come in hundreds of different team kits and accessories. Most of the team designs represent real football teams such as Real Madrid and Chelsea and the range of accessories include special figures for free kicks, linesmen, ball-boys, streakers and policemen.
Football for Gamers
As is the case with pretty much anything in this digital age, a new variant of football that combines the sport with technology has emerged. The world of football has taken on this new twist, as an online game that’s played behind a screen from the comfort of your home. With this introduction of technology, I can’t help but think that Iron Man would make for a great gamer (in an alternate universe, of course). Maybe Stark Industries would even design their own!
Gamers who are into sports are spoiled for choice with the plethora of platforms available to them. FIFA, eFootball and Rocket League appear to be the most raved about at the moment. It’s a series of video games that’s developed and launched every year. FIFA ‘s popularity can be attributed to its availability in 51 countries and 18 languages. The most recent installments of FIFA games include exclusively licensed leagues and teams from across the globe.
Konami’s eFootball is a series of football simulation video games. So far, there are 18 main installments and quite a few spin-off style titles. eFootball is believed to be a long-standing rival of FIFA and is the second-largest football game franchise, coming in second to FIFA.
Psyonix’s Rocket League is a vehicular soccer game video. It’s typically described as “soccer, but with rocket-powered cars”. The game is played by two teams of up to eight players that use rocket-powered vehicles to hit a ball into their opponent’s goal.
Extra Time : Ready for World Takeover?
It’s no surprise that soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, especially now that we have something for everyone, including our much-loved comic characters! These variations are anything but boring and they truly give football a new lease of life. It’s highly unlikely that the fascination of this sport is going to die down anytime soon.
What did you think about our comic character tie-in? Which variation do you think your favourite superhero or villain would choose? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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Written by Prenelle Pillay.
Feature photo by Michael Li.
Due to an increase in demand for more digitized experiences, the global sport tech industry is on the rise. What catalysts and challenges set this sector in motion?
Following the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, we will be walking on uncharted territories for the next few years. Ready to reform how you make decisions?
What’s the future of (my) work? Which businesses and sectors should we invest in? Which education and career moves should we bet on? For quite a while now, we’ve all been facing tough life changing questions that have been coming up more regularly than we would like. And we’d better get used to it. Here are some tips and things to consider when navigating this new way of life.
In Times of Uncertainty, Follow Your principles
What’s right, what’s wrong? Is this true? Is this helpful? Doing something good with honorable intentions is what you should be doing in general. In times of crisis, it is often the case that an advantage reveals itself. It limits your risks, in both the present and future. Take any reprehensible behavior – it has an expected benefit, which is to be balanced with a potential cost. When the world shifts dramatically, it is much harder to calculate the short and long term risks of unethical or illegal actions. Therefore, unless you are a sinner by vocation, you should not insult the future. Don’t act funny when times are serious.
Can’t I Just Ask Google, or Do I Follow My Guts?
Nope. Don’t count on an AI program to tell you what to do during a crisis. AI relies heavily on past data, which tells you what you could have done yesterday if today hadn’t changed the whole equation. Data analytical tools can give you a live picture of what’s happening right now, which is good for immediate tactical decision-making. But the nature of a crisis makes data and AI a bit off when it comes to reading a fast-changing model. And particularly of no use when it comes to understanding the human phenomenons at play. Remember, AI still cannot distinguish a cause from a consequence. Seriously, AI, where’s your head at?
Don’t trust your instincts too much either. In difficult times, our senses and emotions are subject to all sorts of cognitive biases such as pressure, fear and irrational thoughts. If you just follow your guts, your neurotic impulses might send you toward a very dark place. Remember the last time you bought a marathon length in toilet paper and an axe? Yet, your intuition, which is a more elaborate form of instinct,can be useful during a crisis. You can use your intuitions as a lighthouse.
Don’t Go Against Your Intuition
Let’s start by quickly labeling your intuition as your instinct’s better half. Those that aren’t busy trailing the scent of some edibles, college pheromones, or a childhood trauma. When everything moves around us, our intuition can be a powerful tool. They have their own logic – just a fuzzy, deeper, unconscious one. You can see intuition as the skill to factor in so many parameters, for which the outcome cannot be verbally articulated. Just vaguely felt. Distorted and biased as they are, our intuition is a form of thinking that is well in line with the nature of a global crisis: messy, contradictory, holistic. When your world turns upside down, you can’t catch a wave with a compass. Your intuition can help you sense if you’re going against the river flow.
What to Do When Intuitions and Principles Contradict ?
Well, there you have it :
Your principles and intuition can sometimes take off in mixed directions during a time of crisis. It can be confusing to decide which to follow, but I recommend that you always trust your intuition. Even if it seems like it’s for a good cause, with good reasons. When your intuition sends you a warning, don’t ignore it; there might be something that you don’t know, just not consciously anyway. Spend your time and energy on what’s good and what feels right. What about the other way around, when something goes against your principles but seems nevertheless like the right thing to do? Sin responsibly, meaning only if you have to.
Conclusion?
During a crisis, you can’t properly estimate risks. So there isn’t really a case for trading them for a potential profit, even a substantial one. However, there is a case for trading future risks against immediate losses. When the sirens are on, and the safety nets off, a large blow to your finances, your health or your relationships can easily spiral into further unforeseeable hits, which can eventually take your fate out of your hands. You must be ready to take great measures to forbid this. If that means trading the threat for an unknown risk that can be dealt with at a later time, then do it. Even if it goes against your principles. Don’t act funny when times are serious, unless you face immediate consequences.
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Written by Nicolas Morel
Main photo by Edwin Hooper.
Second photo by Joshua Reddekopp.