7 Ideas for playing football in the garden 

Crossbar Challenge

For this game you need a goal suitable for the garden (solid or inflatable). The aim is to hit the crossbar with the ball as many times as you can in a period of 15 seconds. Playing this game can become an obsession, but you can spend many pleasant hours playing with the family!

Shooting to hit a target

You may also use a particular target as the goal. The idea is to award points for shots hitting different parts of the goal, with each player having a set number of attempts. Let the fun begin! You can play this game on your own or with the family. If you're playing on your own, set yourself a total that you have to achieve in a certain number of attempts. Playing together, see who can score the most points from a set number of shots.

Goal to goal

You need two sets of goal posts for this game, such as two inflatable goals or a pop-up and an inflatable one. Players start the game with the same points total, say ten. You need to mark out the halfway line with the aid of a sweater, string, chalk or marker tape. The aim is to try and score a goal against your opponent, who loses a point every time you score.Your opponent's hands and arms may not be used to prevent a goal. When the ball leaves your half of the pitch, your opponent owns the ball even if you have not been able to put in a shot (for example, when the force of the opponent's previous shot rebounds back into the opponent's half again). The first to concede 10 goals (corresponding to the number of points with which each player starts) is deemed the loser.

Keepy-ups competition

You can't talk about football in the garden without mentioning keepy-ups competitions. You can spice things up by bringing in an alternate-leg or a headers-only rule Here's some advice for more experienced practitioners of the art: tell your opponent to go and find something useful to do while it's your turn. After all, it might be a while before you let the ball hit the ground.