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31 July 2010 The joy of a kickabout

When it comes to getting together with your mates over the weekend almost nothing can beat a good old-fashioned kickabout in the park.

Perhaps the purest form of football, a kickabout with mates enables us to dream we are scoring a free kick like Rooney, thumping a volley like Drogba or dribbling like Messi.

It’s not just your imagination you’re exercising either. What better way of shifting a few hundred calories than hoofing a ball around the park?

Here's our ‘rough guide’ to the different kinds of kickabout you can enjoy with the boys.

‘Regular football’

The format for many a park/street kickabout, the rules are simple: your team should score more goals than the opposition before it gets dark/the owner of the ball goes home/your mate who is taking you home leaves. Usually a jumpers-for-goalposts set-up, the only major departure from professional football (well, sort of!) is how the teams are selected. No transfer windows here, the teams are usually picked by two ‘captains’ and the widely acknowledged ‘worst-player’, the last to be selected, is exposed for all to see.

Three-and-in

A fast-paced game, the premise is simple: It’s every man for himself and the game is over when someone has scored three goals, at which point they take over as goalie. The game then starts again, with all previous goals wiped out. Great if you are a bit of a maverick who wants to show off in front of your mates, but watch out for the goalkeeper who lets in weak shots on purpose so they can cease being goalie as quickly as possible.

Wembley (Also known as World Cup)

A knockout game which can either be played individually or in pairs. Players have to score a designated number of goals (usually one) per round, at which point they progress through to the next stage. The final player(s) left at the end of each round without scoring is eliminated. The eventual winner’s prize is usually to pick the goalkeeper for the next game. The secret to success at Wembley is, as any seasoned player knows, to never, ever volunteer to go in goal first time round!

Headers and volleys

Simple rules here where the ‘skills pay the bills.’ Every player starts on the same number of points (often the first goalie gets an extra point). Players cross the ball to one another, with a point awarded for scoring via a header or a volley. If you score, you gain a point, if you miss (or attempt is saved) you lose a point and take over in goal until someone else misses. Every goal you let in is a point deducted, once you get to zero points you are eliminated and the game continues until only one person has points left. This game rewards skill and showboating so don’t ever play it with a Brazilian.

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