Your kids will have fun creating their own football or soccer themed foosball table out of a cardboard box. After creating the playing field, they can decorate the player printable anyway they like. The players were created so that children could make them a boy or girl. They can make the player have any skin color and any type of hair.

Making the Foosball Table

Supplies

• Large Cardboard Cereal Box
• Scissors
• Hole Punch
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Green Acrylic Paint
• White Acrylic Paint or White Copy Paper
• Long Straws
• Players for the Cardboard Box Football or Soccer Themed Foosball Table
• Cardboard Drink Sleeves (We got ours at a big name coffee spot.)

Directions for Building the Foosball Table

Working with the Cereal Box

Younger children may need to have you cut out the bottom section of a large cereal box. It will need to be about 3 inches tall.

Then a square of cardboard will need to be cut out off each end.  The opening will be about 1 1/2 inches tall and 2 inches long. This will be the area the ball will use to leave the foosball table.

Finally, holes will need to punch 2 inches away for the corner of each box on both sides of the box. You can place the holes closer to the ends if you like.

Painting the Foosball Table

Once the foosball table box has been created, it is time to paint the inside of the box green. You can paint it a grassy color of green like we did or a darker color if you like. Then you will need to paint on a white center line or glue on a small white rectangle.

Some cardboard seems to absorb paint. We have found that acrylic paint works well on cardboard and washable paint does not.

Adding the Players and the Handles

You will need to start by cutting out cardboard rectangles out of the coffee sleeves. You will out need to cut them out lengthwise. Each rectangle needs to be about 3 inches tall and 1 inch wide.

Then you can slip each of the rectangles onto a long straw.  You can place a little glue at the top and bottom of each sleeve to hold it in place.

You will then slip the straws into the holes on each side of the box.

Next, you will need to decorate two players. You can make the players boys or girls. They can have long hair or short. They can wear generic soccer uniforms or represent a particular team.

When the players are done, you can glue them to the cardboard rectangles.

Playing with the Foosball Table

Your children will need a small rubber or foil ball to play soccer or football with. They will need to place the ball in front of one of the players and have it the swing into the ball to get the game started.  Children can take turns with who gets to kick the ball first.

Next children can slide the straws to the left or right to block the ball. They can also twist their straw to get their player to kick the ball.

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