The term street football encompases a number of informal varieties of football (soccer).

Football is the most popular team sport in the world, however a formal game requires, amongst other things, a large field; field markings; goal apparatus and corner flags; eleven players per team (with a minimum of seven per team); and match officials (referee and linesmen).

Smaller sided versions of the game exist, including the FIFA recognised indoor football game futsal, and various other modified games. Again, formal games require considerable set-up.

Presumably due to football's popularity and simple essential features, informal variations of football are played across world, often utilising only to the most basic features of the official laws of the game: so called "jumpers for goal posts" games.

Examples

Some varieties of street football include:

• Keepie uppie

• Rush goalie/Rushie Keeper

• Heads and volleys - This game in some forms requires only 2 players however most often it needs at least 3. In the game one player crosses the ball to another who must then either header or volley the ball into the goal which is defended by another player. If he scores he gains a point and the keeper looses a point, if he misses he looses 2 points and must become the goal keeper.

• Co-op/Cuppies – This game requires at least 3 players. One of the players is a goal keeper and the others are divided into teams (often a team consists of just the one player), the players must try and score past the keeper in the single goal whilst stopping the other players from doing the same. The game goes up in rounds with progressively more goals being required to progress each time with one person per round being eliminated (and the first person to be eliminated taking the goal keeper position in the next game). Many extra rules are often added to stop cheating such as no ‘goal munching’ (hanging around the goal line to try and get your foot onto someone elses shot)

• Spot - This is a game loosely based on football and is generally played by school children. The goal area is a hard surface such as a wall and the number of players can be variable. Each player takes it in turn striking the ball against the goal area. If the player misses, he's out. Each player must strike the ball from the where the ball ends up after the previous player's shot.