Tired of Playing Soccer? Try These Sports Inspired by It Instead

According to the majority of the population around the globe, soccer is the most popular and most interesting sport in the world. No matter how perfect it is, it can get tedious sometimes, especially if you watch amateurs playing the game.

The sole idea of using only your feet and head is by itself very exciting and paved the way for a lot of soccer hybrids that have become popular in some countries. Take a look at some of the most popular soccer variants at the moment.

Sepak Takraw

Sepak Takraw is a Malaysian sport also popular in Thailand that involves playing volleyball with your feet! Just like in soccer, players are allowed to use all parts of their body except for their hands, which makes things very complicated, even if you are a professional soccer player.

Futsal

Played 5-on-5, futsal is the most popular variant of soccer that originated in Brazil. It is played on a smaller field which is usually located indoors. Controlling the ball and footwork are the most important skills in this sport as there is not much running to be made. Almost every country in the world has a couple of professional futsal teams.

Indoor Soccer

At first, it seems that indoor soccer is the same thing as futsal since the field size is identical, as well as the number of players who take part in the game. However, there is one significant difference which makes indoor soccer a sport on its own. Namely, no outs or goal-outs exist in indoor soccer. There are only walls around the field, which means that once the ball is in the game, there’s no stopping unless it enters the goal or someone makes a foul.

This makes the game much more difficult as players don’t usually have a lot of time to plan tactics or rest. It is a high-tempo sport which requires a lot of stamina and endurance. Oftentimes, when the game is played by amateurs, those who can endure the longest will win since many players don’t have enough strength to withstand the whole game.

Beach Soccer

Beach soccer is another popular soccer variant that originated in Brazil. If you are at least a bit into Brazilian players, you probably have already known that most of them simply love playing soccer on the beach. The rules are similar to futsal except that beach soccer is usually played outdoors, and players must be barefoot. The sand makes all the difference as it is very difficult to control the ball and your movement when your feet are burning.

Ronaldinho is one of the players from Brazil who love playing beach soccer and has had a lot of success in this activity after he finished his soccer career.