Team Building Ideas for Football Teams

You can put a group of players together on the field, but this doesn’t guarantee they’ll operate as a team. The best football coaches know that they need to put in a little extra effort to help encourage team bonding.

Establishing a strong team requires excellent communication, trust, empathy and understanding. This won’t happen overnight. Sometimes, you need to engineer situations where they can strengthen these bonds. And this is where team building exercises come in useful.

Team building is great for football teams and any other sports team that requires a little extra encouragement to get to know one another better. They might train together and play matches together, but training will often focus on technical skills, not the soft skills that are required to build incredible teams.

If you’re a football coach looking for team building ideas, look no further. We’re sharing our favourite team building ideas for football teams that will encourage everyone to get to know their teammates while also building trust and familiarity.

Why bother with team building?

Team building exercises are essential for any successful football team to thrive. It can help to break down barriers, remove bias and ensure that everyone can relate to their teammates on a personal level.

This might sound unnecessary for a football team, but it could have significant implications for how the team plays together. Communication, trust and collaboration can make the difference between a dysfunctional team and a successful winning team.

If you’re ready to get your team working together seamlessly, you need to start planning regular team building outings. By scheduling different events throughout the year, you’ll have a better chance of engaging players with different personality types.

Cycling challenge

Your team might be accustomed to strenuous training to get match ready, but long distance cycling is a very different animal. When they cycle together as a team, the goal is not for them to compete against one another to see who has the best endurance. Instead, they are aiming for everyone to cross the finish line together.

They’ll need to train for the event, which offers plenty of opportunities for bonding and open communication. They’ll learn a lot about what it takes to keep their teammates motivated and positive when the odds are stacked against them.

Escape rooms

Escape rooms are popping up all over the country as a popular team building and social exercise. Companies love how effective they are for encouraging collaborative problem solving, which is often highly applicable to the corporate environment. This type of team building is also highly effective for sports teams.

Why does it work? It’s a new setting for your team to explore. They’ll be faced with problems that they don’t encounter together on a regular basis. This change of scenery can help to unlock better collaboration and enhance their communication skills.

Not to mention, escape rooms are also very fun and very competitive. This will make it easier to get everyone on board with the fun, with fewer issues related to engagement.

Scavenger hunt

Need a change of scenery for your team building task? Why not set a scavenger hunt and offer prizes and forfeits based on how well they complete the tasks. This type of team building exercise will test their communication, problem solving and collaboration skills.

They’ll need to learn how to lead while also knowing when to follow. This can be a difficult distinction for many players to make, particularly when they are used to being the one in charge. But a huge part of playing together effectively as a team is knowing when and how to put ego aside for the good of the team.

Quiz and a curry night

If your team needs an opportunity to blow off some steam and let loose, you can encourage this in a healthier format by hosting a quiz and curry night. They’ll enjoy a delicious cheat meal while having their intellect tested by rounds of general knowledge and football-related quiz questions.

This type of team building exercise will be highly effective for encouraging introverted players out of their shell. It will also be perfect for encouraging open conversations that will reveal common ground. All of this can contribute to a more collaborative and cohesive team environment.

Obstacle course

Treetop obstacle courses are another great way to get outside and enjoy a change of scenery. It’s a great way to discover which players are afraid of heights, and which ones are great at encouraging their teammates.

This is also a non-competitive form of team building, which can be helpful if you are looking for something to bring everyone together rather than giving them an opportunity to become more competitive. An obstacle course is also a great way to improve upper body strength and agility, which are skills not always put to the test in football training.