For long, people in India have known that the game of football is considered a religion all over the world. And now the ‘Beautiful Game’ is making its presence felt even in India.
With the Indian soccer league (ISL) and 5-a-side Premier Futsal football championship becoming popular in India, the game is quickly becoming popular in India (which was long overdue anyways).
And unlike cricket, you do not need lot of equipment to play football. You just need a football, good pair of football shoes (also known as studs), and you’re good to play the game.
Football Equipment & Gear
As mentioned you need a football, and a pair of studs (the shoes are slightly different if you play indoor football). You also get football accessories such as backpacks.
Football Equipment List:
Soccer Ball: This the main equipment/gear that you need for playing football, as the game is all about your foot ball skills. The standard soccer ball is made of synthetic leather, stitched around an inflated rubber or rubber-like bladder.
- Football Shoes (Cleats or turfs): These have spikes on the bottom for better grip on the surface. The ones used for indoor football/turf have smaller spikes.
Shin Guards: These protect a player’s shin from the opponent’s shoes. Your opponents shoes could intentionally or unintentionally land on your shin as you both fight to get control of the ball.
Socks: Football socks are much longer as they are designed to cover the shin-guards.
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Football
The cheaper footballs (for kids) are available for a few hundred rupees, but good-quality branded footballs are slightly expensive.
The better balls use better quality material, have better stitching, and provides a better & consistent flight when kicked or thrown.
You do get footballs that are suited for various surfaces – grass-ground footballs, hard ground footballs, beach footballs, Astro-turf footballs and leisure footballs.
If you have bought a football for kids, please instruct your kids to not inflate it to the fullest for a couple of reasons:
- The football becomes too hard
- It could burst (especially the cheaper ones, you can get it stitched though)
Footballs are available in various colours.
Football Shoes
You need good quality football shoes to get a good grip on the surface, so that you can perform all the football related moves/skills with ease. These are designed to hone your skills.
Read more here about Football Shoes/studs.
Did you know that footballs made in Pakistan are sought after around the world?
Pakistan made footballs were used in the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia.
According to Pakistan Sports Goods Association, Pakistan exports around 10 million footballs across the world every year.
Sialkot, which borders India, is famous for producing the finest quality sports goods and has been supplying footballs for mega events for a long time.
At one time, China was a major exporter of footballs, but their machine-stitched footballs were not suitable for use in professional matches. Pakistan’s quality standards are better than China’s football production. As a result, a major part of the football production business is being transferred from China to Pakistan.
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