Different Sport – Fun For Some

While we play sports in various places, new and unique sports are played in various areas around the world, that quite often shock us.

One such sport is played in the Southern US called Swamp Football and is played by both men and women alike, but if you don’t like getting dirty, avoid this one!!

Swamp football is to say the least an unusual form of football of Soccer which is played in bogs or swamps, yup that’s right!

Players compete on a wet bog, though for the major tournaments the pitch is simply a dry muddy field which is covered in water, rather than a naturally occurring swamp and the dimensions of the pitch are around 60m long and 35 meters wide.

The sport originated in Finland, where apparently it was used as an exercise activity for athletes and soldiers, as playing on soft bog is very physically demanding.

The first organized competition was held in 1998, when 13 teams gathered to play for the Finnish Championship.

How do you ever come up with a name of a sport like this, never mind wondering how it will be played, while the one named “The Swamp Baron” Jyrki Väänänen thought of it and to our surprise there are an estimated 260 swamp football teams around the world.

The sport is particularly popular in Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Holland, Russia and Brazil and interesting enough the World Championships are played in Hyrynsalmi in northern Finland and the very first one took place in 2000.

The rules of Swamp Football is a heavily modified version of standard football rules.

• games are played in two 13-minute halves.
• Boots can not be changed during the game
• Corner kicks, penalties and throw-ins are made with drop kicks
• there is no offside rule
• the penalty area is five meters deep, but the goalkeeper is only allowed to hold the ball in a three meter radius from the goal
• There are 6 players on the field, with maximum of 12 in the squad. The players can be substituted as often as they want

If you’re up for a game, I can put you in touch with the contacts!! On the other hand, if this looks a little too messy for you, you could try something like bubble football suits? Still football related but definitely not as messy! Another great way to connect with your team and build vital communication skills. Also, very fun!