The football gifts for kids that get the most use are the ones a child can still play with on a cold Tuesday in January: the right size ball, a goal that fits the garden, and kit they need for matchday. The gifts that disappoint are usually the wrong size, the wrong surface, or something they will have outgrown by the spring.
This guide is sorted by budget and by age. It covers gifts for children who play, from a first ball to a garden goal, and gifts for children who watch: match tickets, a shirt with their name or a favourite player on it, and presents for young goalkeepers.
Quick Picks: Football Gifts by Budget
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Gifts That Get Used Every Day
A ball in the right size
A new ball gets used more than almost any other football present, and it is easy to buy in the wrong size. In England, youth football now keeps children on a size 3 ball for longer than many parents expect: size 3 runs right through to Under 11, size 4 covers Under 12 and Under 13, and size 5 only arrives at Under 14. Our guide to football sizes by age has the full breakdown.
A size 5 ball given to an eight-year-old because it is "the proper one" is heavier and bigger than anything they kick at training. Practising with it at home builds habits that do not carry across to the ball they play with on a Saturday.
It is also worth buying a ball for the garden that you do not mind getting scuffed on a patio or left out overnight. A match-quality ball is wasted on a back wall, while a cheaper training ball can take a season of that and be replaced without anyone minding.
A goal that fits the garden
A garden goal turns aimless kicking into shooting, saving and small games. Goal sizes now step up with each playing format, from roughly 4ft x 2.5ft at 3v3 to 12ft x 6ft at 5v5 and 7v7. Most gardens cannot fit anything close to a match goal past the youngest ages, so a 6ft x 4ft frame is the realistic choice for most primary-age children.
Two small goals can be a better present than one big one for younger children, because they turn the garden into a 1v1 or 2v2 game with a sibling or a parent, much closer to the small-sided formats children now play at grassroots level. Our guide to the best football goals for kids covers pop-up versus folding goals and how to anchor one safely, which matters for any goal staying out over winter.
The obvious one for us is his goal. We got a Samba goal for the garden and it has been used basically every day since he got it. We had to replace his old goal because the net didn't come off and foxes ate away at it, so the Samba was good as we could remove the net each time. We also bought a target net, which is a bit quicker to put on if we don't have time to put the full net up.
If the goal is the main present, build it before Christmas Day. A steel folding frame takes longer to put together than the box suggests, and a goal still in pieces at 11am on Christmas morning is a long wait for a child with new boots on.
Stocking Fillers for Young Footballers
Smaller football gifts work best when they solve a real matchday or training problem. A few that tend to get used:
- A second ball. Even a child with a good ball benefits from a spare one that lives at a grandparent's house or in the car boot for the park.
- A ball pump with a needle. Almost every family with a footballer ends up needing one, usually at 9am on a Saturday. A ball at the right pressure also behaves the way it should when your child strikes it.
- Training cones. A cheap pack of flat or dome cones turns a garden or park into a dribbling course, and it is the same equipment they see at training. Our football drills for 7 and 8 year olds shows how to use them.
- A soft foam ball. Lighter and quieter than a real ball, so it can be kicked around the house without the walls taking a battering.
- A target net. Clips onto a goal and gives a child corners to aim at, and is quicker to put up than a full net on a short evening.
- Winter gloves. Grassroots football carries on through December and January, and cold hands are one of the most common reasons a younger child wants to come off at half-time. Our guide to football gloves for winter training covers what to look for.
- Grip socks. Popular with older children who have seen professional players wearing them. Check your child's club allows them under the match sock first, since some clubs ask for kit to be worn a particular way.
- A boot bag. Keeps muddy boots away from everything else in the kit bag and the car boot, and a separate bag makes it more likely the boots come home after training.
- A boot cleaning brush. Brushes that hold water in the handle let a child clean their boots pitchside before the mud dries hard. The one we use is the Boot Buddy.
- Rechargeable hand warmers. Useful for a child warming up after a cold December match, and for the parent standing on the touchline for the whole of it.
One thing we got last year was the Boot Buddy. It's really handy straight after the game to scrape the mud off and give the boots a little wash while the mud is still wet. It also makes him more likely to do it himself rather than relying on me.
Kit Upgrades: Shin Pads and Boots
Shin pads
Shin pads are compulsory for matches, so a new pair is a present that is guaranteed to be worn every week. The catch is sizing: brands measure the same letter size against different height bands, so check the chart on the listing against your child's actual height rather than the size of their current pair.
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Our guide to the best shin pads for kids explains which style suits which age.
Boots
Boots are one of the most-wanted football presents, and the riskiest to buy as a surprise. Three things make them harder than they look:
- Feet grow mid-season. A child who was a size 2 in September can be a size 3 by Christmas, and buying "room to grow" makes boots harder to control a ball in and more likely to rub.
- The surface matters. Most grassroots training and many matches are now played on 3G, where AG or FG/MG boots are the safer choice. Soft ground boots with longer studs are for muddy grass only and are often not allowed on 3G at all. Our AG vs FG boots guide covers the difference.
- Width varies by model. A narrow speed boot and a roomier control boot in the same size can fit completely differently. Our best football boots for kids guide explains which ranges run narrow.
If boots are on the list, two approaches work better than a wrapped box. One is to buy from a retailer with a long Christmas returns window and have them tried on with match socks and shin pads on Boxing Day. The other is a card or a note promising a trip to choose them together, so they can try a few models on and pick the one that fits.
Trust the process. Track the progress.
Track their goals and assists, log their progress and keep coach feedback in one place, season after season.
Bigger Presents for Older Kids
For children around 10 and up who are training several times a week, a performance tracker can make a good main present. These range from a simple calf strap to a GPS vest of the kind used by professional clubs.
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Before buying any tracker as a present, check two things. First, whether it needs a subscription after the first few weeks, since a present that starts charging in February is not much of a gift. Second, whether your child's club and league are happy for a vest or sensor to be worn in matches. Our guide to football GPS trackers for kids compares what each type measures and what it costs over a few seasons.
A rebounder
A rebounder is a frame with a tight net that sends the ball back to the player, so a child can practise passing, first touch and volleys on their own. Some models also have a setting that returns the ball in the air for volleys. The one we have is the QuickPlay Replay Station, which has a volley return, so check for that feature if your child likes striking a dropping ball.
He would always put me in goal and ask me to give him "different types" for him to control, but basically he just wanted me to throw it so he could volley. The rebounder we got from QuickPlay has a volley return, so I thought it would be good for practising his passing, since it has to be firm to get the right rebound, and it would save my back from picking up the ball 300 times an hour.
Gifts for Kids Who Watch Football
Plenty of football-mad children want to watch the game as much as play it, and some of the best-remembered presents are a day out.
Match tickets. A first professional match is a big occasion, so pick the game with a young child in mind. Women's football and lower-league games are often cheaper, easier to get tickets for, and less crowded, which suits a younger child. A ticket in a printed card or tucked inside a new scarf turns a date in the diary into something to unwrap.
Think about where you sit, too. The noise from a full stadium when a goal goes in can be a shock for a five or six year old, so a seat away from the loudest section, or a pair of children's ear defenders in your pocket, can make the difference between a great day and a short one.
I've taken him to lots of different grounds, some as presents and some because I just wanted to go to a different stadium, with varying degrees of success. At the first game I took him to, when he was about 5 or 6, he cried his eyes out when a goal went in. He didn't expect it, and 50,000 fans shouting took him by surprise.
A stadium tour. Many professional clubs run tours of the dressing rooms, tunnel and pitchside, and they work well for a child who is too young for a full match, or as a present that can be booked for a quieter day after Christmas.
A replica shirt. The present most children ask for by name. Club shirts are sold in junior sizes by age, but they come up differently between kit makers, so check the size chart against your child's chest measurement, and buy for now plus a little room.
A quiz book or sticker album. A cheap stocking filler that keeps a fan busy on Christmas afternoon, and a sticker album gives them something to swap with teammates in the weeks after.
Personalised Football Gifts
A child's name on their kit is one of the simplest ways to turn a standard present into their present. The most common options:
- A name and number on a replica shirt. Most official club shops and many sports retailers print names and numbers, but leave extra time before Christmas, since printing adds to delivery times.
- A personalised football. Better as a keepsake or a bedroom ball than a training ball, so pair it with a cheaper one for the garden.
- A personalised boot bag or kit bag. Practical as well as personal: named bags are far less likely to go missing in a changing room full of identical ones.
- Custom shin pads. Printed with a name, number or photo. Check the size against your child's height in the same way as plain pads, as covered in our shin pads guide.
A player's name on a shirt is a bigger decision than it looks. Professional squads change quickly, and a shirt printed with a player who is sold in January can feel out of date before it is outgrown.
He has always had his own name on his shirts. He's turning 9 soon, and it's the first time he has asked for a specific player on his shirt. Up to now his own name has been easier, as players move so quickly that it saves it being out of date.
Goalkeeper Gifts
Many children at grassroots level take a turn in goal, especially in teams that rotate positions, and a pair of goalkeeper gloves that fit makes it a lot more enjoyable. Gloves are sized by number, and the sizes are not consistent between brands, so measure around your child's hand and check the brand's own chart. Gloves that are too big make catching harder, which defeats the point.
A few goalkeeper gifts that get used:
- Junior goalkeeper gloves. Finger-protection versions have stiffer backs that help stop fingers bending back on a hard shot, which some younger keepers find reassuring.
- A spare training pair. Latex palms can wear quickly on 3G, so a cheaper training pair keeps the better gloves for matches.
- A garden goal. A young keeper needs something to dive in front of, and a 6ft x 4ft goal in the garden turns shooting practice into goalkeeping practice for whoever is in it.
We rotate his team fully so everyone plays every position, which is partly the reason I built the Coach App. So we got him goalie gloves.
Football Gifts by Age
Under 7 and Under 8. A size 3 ball, one or two mini goals, and cones. At this age the best present is anything that makes a quick game possible in the garden or the park. Expensive kit is wasted on a child who will have grown out of it by Easter.
Under 9 to Under 11. Still a size 3 ball. A 6ft x 4ft goal, a second ball, shin pads in the right size, and winter gloves. This is the age when children start to notice what teammates wear, so a sleeve-style pad like older players use can go down well once they are tall enough for one.
Under 12 and Under 13. Time for a size 4 ball, and possibly a step up to a bigger goal if the garden allows. Boots are usually a better shared shopping trip than a surprise at this age, because feet are changing fast and children have firmer views on fit.
Under 14 and up. A size 5 ball, sleeve-style shin pads, and a tracker if they train several times a week. Older children often value an experience as much as an object, such as a ticket to watch a professional or women's game together.
What to Skip
A few football gifts tend to end up unused by February:
- A full-size size 5 ball for a young child. It feels like the "real" ball, but it is not the one they play with.
- A replica kit bought several sizes too big. Children grow, but a shirt that hangs to their knees will not be worn until it fits, by which time the club may have changed the kit.
- A flimsy pop-up net as a main present. Fine as a stocking filler for very young children, but a light frame will not survive a winter of proper shots.
- Boots bought purely on looks. A boot with the wrong soleplate for their pitch, or too narrow for their foot, can rub or slip whatever colour it is.
- Games that need two players. Table football and similar games can be a hit for an afternoon, but a child who cannot play them alone often stops once the adults are busy.
- Keepie-up trainers. A ball on a cord is sold as a way to learn keepie-ups, but the gadget part is often abandoned. The ball itself can still earn its keep.
A few presents were good for an hour and then nothing, like table football, mainly because it's hard to find time to play and he can't do it on his own. With our son it's mainly things that help him play the game. He also got one of those ball-on-a-string keepie-up trainers. He unscrewed the rope and played with the ball all the time instead. It was foam and maybe a size 2, so quite nice for mucking around the house with, and being foam it wasn't as loud banging away on the walls.
When to Order
Football gift demand builds from early November and peaks before December, which is also when popular goal sizes and kids' boot sizes can sell out. Goals in particular are seasonal stock, and a goal that arrives on 23 December leaves no time to build it.
A sensible plan is to choose by mid-November, order bulky items like goals by the end of November, and leave only small stocking fillers until December. Check each retailer's Christmas returns policy before ordering anything size-dependent, such as boots or shin pads.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good football gift for a child who has everything?
Something they would not think to ask for often gets plenty of use: a spare ball for the car, a target net for aiming at corners, or cones for setting up their own drills. Older children may prefer an experience, such as watching a match together.
Are football boots a good Christmas present?
They can be, but only if the size, width and soleplate are right. A gift card, or a promise of a trip to try boots on, avoids the risk of a pair that does not fit or does not suit their pitch surface.
What do you buy a football-mad child?
Start with whether they mostly play or mostly watch. A child who plays every week gets the most from a correctly sized ball, a garden goal or a rebounder. A child who follows a team often values a match ticket or a shirt with their name on it more than any piece of kit.
How much should I spend on a football gift?
A correctly sized ball and a pack of cones cost little and get used every week. Spend more on items that need to be sturdy, like a goal that will stay out all winter.
