Football is an extremely fun team sport, and almost everyone plays it at some point in their lives. With the 2022 World Cup being here, more and more people are getting into playing the sport again, which could be what brings you here, too! So, what are the benefits of playing football? Are they only physical? Let's find out:
Teamwork Building
Everyone is somewhat aware of the physical benefits of football but what people are often unaware of is the way football builds teamwork in individuals. As football is a team sport, it is difficult, if not impossible, to play the game without coordinating with the team and establishing proper roles. For example, someone has to play the position of goalkeeper, someone has to be defending, someone has to be in the midfield, and lastly, someone has to be the striker. Building a team around these roles and playing with coordination is something we learn without even knowing we're learning.
Body Coordination
Similar to a team in football, your body and its various parts need to coordinate well to perform at their best, and football is one of the best ways to do just that. Things like hand-eye coordination, which are crucial in any area of life, are improved significantly through the various motions we perform when playing football. These include dribbling, shooting, shielding an opponent, and tackling, among other things.
Cardiovascular Health
Unlike some other sports, football rarely allows an opportunity to stay sedentary; you must constantly walk or run to be in the correct position for a pass or intercept an opposition play. Accordingly, this means your heart rate stays up constantly and builds strong cardiovascular health by reducing plaque buildup in your arteries, reducing blood pressure, and burning excess fat (if any).
Muscle Strength
In football, the entirety of your body gets exercised as you need both upper and lower-body strength to excel at the game. Lower body strength is needed for kicking the ball harder and running faster than your opponents, while upper body strength is useful for defending the ball from a nearby opponent and for throw-ins. Through consistently playing football, you can build your overall muscle strength up significantly.
Lower Body Fat
As discussed earlier, football forces you to be constantly moving in order to play at your best. This means a constantly elevated heart rate which creates for an excellent cardio workout! Apart from this, football also contributes to muscle building while burning fat at the same time. This is because of the way we have to alternate between different movements during the game; our bodies can develop slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibres simultaneously.
Accessibility
Unlike a sport such as tennis, for example, you do not need any specific court or area to be able to play football; it can be played virtually anywhere! The only thing you really need, as you'll have seen in street football, is an open space and a football, and you're off!