Footbal Fun

Football fans bored by England's performances at the Euros can kick up their own fun - with a game that's been dubbed the "crazy golf of football". Yard Ball gives fans the chance to relive childhood memories of kickabouts against garages against a backdrop of music, graffiti and cars from the 1980s and 90s. The £1million attraction in Sheffield, South Yorks., aims to transport visitors back to a time when kids played out until the street lights came on. Based on creator Scott Riley's childhood on a council estate in the city, it has seen a disused warehouse converted into an 'immersive street football-themed experience'. He said he wanted to give younger generations the chance to experience the beautiful game in 'its purest form'. Scott, 44, said: "The concept really was born out of a little bit of boredom during lockdown and based around my kids. "My lad was nine at the time and was involved in grassroots football, we had the chat about what I did as a kid growing up on the council estate where I lived. "I played football everyday, but my pitch was a yard, a set of garages, a pub car park. "I was explaining all the things we did and from that moment on it was a bit like 'how do I create this concept for the younger generation to enjoy and move them away from the modern day football that we know?'" When the 50,000 sq ft venue opens on July 15, for £14.95 per person visitors will be able to test their skills at 21 football-themed games. They include hitting the Top Bin like on Soccer AM, playing curby and aiming for the windows of a maisonette, complete with vintage multi-coloured striped door curtain. Even the graffiti is retro themed and the estate features flags from all nations, posters of Oasis and Blur, a bus shelter and a clapped-out 1992 Vauxhall Nova. Business cards inside an old phone box include one for a Mr D Beckham's bin supplying business. There is also a game called Fergie Time, Manchester United's knack of of scoring late goals under Sir Alex Ferguson, which sees guests kick the ball so that it stops on the trophies. Scott, who came up with the concept with business partner Oliver Booth, 37, added: "The challenges are all the things I did as a kid. I lived in a Masionette that had a yard. "In the yard, we had washing lines that became goal posts, we had garages that became nets. That was our pitch essentially. "We had a pub at the bottom of the road that had a security light so as the night drew in we'd move to the pub car park, play Wembley, play heads and volleys. "So that side of it was really easy, then I met Oliver and we expanded the idea to how do we take a council estate environment and amp it up to make it a leisure idea. "I created it all myself, over the course of four years and then for the last two years, Oliver got involved. "We had a team to build it, but the creative concept was all us. "We are very much hands on, we set ourselves a challenge of doing it on a stringent budget, because we don't want money to be the main focus. "It was all created around my children, but that included myself because I wanted to get stuck in. "We all had that upbringing, we all did that stuff. There's a lot of grown ups who want that nostalgia hit and there's a lot of kids that think that looks fun." Oliver, who is creative director at the business, said: "A lot of the games and challenges are games we'd play as kids, such as chipping it into buckets, through hoola hoops. "So it's combining that playful edge of football without being too serious and gamifying it in an immersive venue. "It's amazing what you can do with a bit of imagination and grit. "It's aimed at literally everyone, families can play it, groups of kids can play on their own, grassroots teams can come, even corporate events. "The space is full of so much visual and little triggers and nuances that one person might pick up on and it will spark a memory or a conversation. "There's a real common denominator where everyone has a view on it but can share." The pair have plans to roll out the experience nationally, but had no second thoughts on where to open the first one. Scott added: "We had an opportunity to do the first one in Manchester, but I was just really hard on clinging to Sheffield, but we have got plans for all major cities. "Football is universal, we've all had the same upbringing, just in different postcodes, we genuinely think this will transcend across the major cities in England. "We already can't wait to do the next one." Oliver added: "Sheffield is the home of football, it had to be in Sheffield. We're both from Sheffield, but there is no city other than Sheffield in our point of view that is more important to football than Sheffield."