Swamp Soccer

By: Bob | April 27th, 2007

You know a sport is going to officially make our list of odd games when the world champion is Finland, some of the top teams are Estonia and Iceland, and a small town in Scotland is hosting the world championships.

Swamp Soccer is a modified version of football played on mod bogs. It was invented by skiers in Finland who were looking for a way to stay in shape during the summer months. Some of the rules:

• The games is played in two halves of 13 minutes
• There are 6 players – 5 in the field and one goalkeeper
• Shoes can not be changed during the game
• Corner kicks, penalties and throw-ins are made with drop kicks
• There is no off-side rule
• The penalty area is 5 meters deep
• There are 1+5 players on field, with maximum of 12 on the roster
• The players can be changed as often as they want

The host country Finland won the World Cup of Swamp Soccer in 2005, beating out 200 teams from around the world. The 2007 version of the competition will be played in Scotland in mid-June. Here is what the game looks like. I’m going to go flood my yard right now so that I can play.