In short
- The best football toys for kids are the ones that get them kicking a ball, whether that’s in the garden, the hallway or the park.
- For ages 5-6, think soft balls and pop-up goals. For 7-8, rebounders and skills kits. For 9-10, table football and training gear.
- Indoor football toys like soft balls and mini goals are worth having for the long, wet winter months.
- Check the age label and look for a CE or UKCA mark, especially if there’s a younger sibling at home.
Walk into any toy shop in the run-up to Christmas and you’ll find a whole aisle of football toys. Some get played with every day for years. Others are forgotten by Boxing Day.
This guide sorts the good from the gimmicky, age by age, for children who live and breathe football. It also covers indoor options, training kit and a few simple safety checks.
What are the best football toys for kids?
The best football toys for kids are simple ones that get them moving: a good ball, a goal and something to kick against. Fancy features rarely beat the basics.
That’s not a bad thing. The NHS recommends children aged 5 to 18 get an average of 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity a day. A football and a goal in the garden is one of the easiest ways to get there.
Beyond that, the right toy depends on their age, how much space you have and whether they want to play, practise or collect. Here’s how that breaks down.
Which football toys suit 5 and 6 year olds?
Football toys for 5 year olds and 6 year olds should be soft, simple and forgiving. At this age, they’re still learning to kick straight, so toys that make scoring easy keep them keen.
Good picks:
- A size 3 football. Smaller and lighter than an adult ball, so it’s easier to control.
- A pop-up goal. Folds flat, goes up in seconds and works in a small garden.
- A soft foam ball for the house, so a stray kick doesn’t take out the lamp.
- A target net or banner with holes to aim at. Children this age love having something to hit.
Keep it fun rather than technical. Five minutes of “can you score past Mum?” does more than any training gadget at this stage.
Which football toys suit 7 and 8 year olds?
Football toys for 7 year olds and 8 year olds can be a bit more ambitious, because most children this age have started playing for a team or at school. They want to get better, and they want to show you.
Good picks:
- A rebound net. They kick the ball, it comes straight back. Brilliant for practising alone.
- A skills ball on a cord. Great for keepy-uppies without chasing the ball down the road.
- Training cones and a ladder. Cheap, and they’ll set up their own drills.
- A proper goal with a net if the garden allows. The sound of the ball hitting the net is half the fun.
A note on ball sizes
Ball size matters more than most parents expect. A ball that’s too big and heavy is hard to control, and a child who keeps miscontrolling it soon gets frustrated.
As a rough guide, most children use a size 3 ball up to about age 8, then move to a size 4. A full-size 5 usually comes later, around the end of primary school. If they play for a team, ask the coach what size they train with and match it at home.
Football toys on a budget
You don’t need to spend much. A decent ball, a set of cones and a chalk “goal” on a wall will keep a 7 or 8 year old busy for hours.
If you want one bigger item, put the money towards a goal or a rebounder. Those two get used far more than anything with batteries.
This is also the age when club loyalty kicks in hard. A ball or water bottle in their team’s colours often means more to them than a pricier toy that isn’t.
What football toys do 9 and 10 year olds want?
Football toys for 10 year olds and 9 year olds are often less “toy” and more “kit”. They want things the older players have, and things that help them play a little better.
Good picks:
- A size 4 or size 5 ball, depending on what their team uses.
- Speed and agility gear, like a ladder, hurdles and a stopwatch.
- A table football game. A favourite for this age, and something the whole family can join in with.
- A football card collection and a binder to keep it in.
Many children this age also start reading about the game, so a football book or a magazine can sit nicely alongside a toy. Our football books by age guide has ideas for every stage.
Indoor football toys for rainy days
British winters mean plenty of days when the garden is a mud bath by four o’clock. Indoor football toys keep the game going without breaking anything.
A few ideas that work well inside:
- Soft or sponge footballs. Light enough to kick in the hallway, safe enough near the telly.
- Mini goals with soft nets that fit at the end of a bedroom or landing.
- Table football, from small tabletop versions to full-size tables.
- Flick or finger football games, which need nothing more than a kitchen table.
If you’re short of space, a soft ball and a tape “goal” on the bedroom door gets surprisingly heavy use. Just agree house rules first about where kicking is and isn’t allowed.
Are football training toys worth buying?
Football training toys are worth buying if your child already plays and wants to improve. For a younger child who just likes kicking a ball about, a simple goal is usually a better choice.
The ones that genuinely help:
- Rebounders. They let a child practise passing and first touch on their own, which is useful for a child without a sibling to play with.
- Skills balls on a cord for keepy-uppies and close control.
- Cones and agility ladders. Cheap, flexible and used in almost every junior training session.
The ones that rarely last are novelty gadgets with batteries, apps or lights. They’re exciting for a week, and then the ball goes back to the wall.
Football soft toys and keepsakes
Not every football toy has to be kicked. Football soft toys, club mascots and plush footballs are lovely for younger children and for bedtime.
They also make good stocking fillers. For more small, affordable ideas, see our football stocking fillers list.
Keepsake toys work best when they’re linked to their club, or to them. A plush mascot in their team’s colours, or a framed team photo, often ends up on the shelf for years.
How do you check childrens football toys are safe?
You check childrens football toys are safe by reading the age label, looking for a CE or UKCA mark and buying from a seller you trust. It only takes a minute.
RoSPA’s toy safety advice is to check the toy is suitable for the child’s age range, because children under three are at greater risk of choking on small parts. It also points to the British Toy and Hobby Association’s Lion Mark as a sign of a responsible member.
A few more things to check with football toys in particular:
- Goals and frames. Make sure they’re pegged down or weighted so they can’t tip over.
- Small parts on table football games and flick games, if there’s a toddler in the house.
- Wear and tear. Check rebound nets and goal nets every so often for frayed cords or snapped clips.
A football toy that’s all about them
Most football toys are about the game. The best present can be about them.
Our personalised football books put your child in their club’s kit, with their own name and shirt number, scoring the winner. They’re not reading about the star player. They are the star player. Every illustration is hand-drawn by a real artist. No AI, ever.
Pair it with a new ball or a goal and you’ve got a present they’ll play with and read, and read, and read again. For more ideas, see our guides to gifts for football-mad kids and football birthday gifts.