Swamp football


Swamp football is a form of association football that is played in bogs or swamps. The sport is said to come from Finland where it initially was used as an exercise activity for athletes and soldiers, since playing on soft bog is physically demanding. The first organised championship was the 1998 Finnish championship and was the brainchild of Jyrki Väänänen nicknamed "The Swamp Baron". There are currently an estimated 300 swamp football teams around the world.
The officially recognised global body for Swamp Soccer is Swamp Soccer UK Ltd, based in Scotland. As well as managing the Swamp Soccer World Cup, Swamp Soccer UK has a mission to introduce the sport to other countries. Headed up by Stewart Miller, in the last few years official tournaments have been launched in China, Turkey and India.

Swamp football in the UK

In 2008 the Dunoon competition moved to nearby Strachur to become the World Cup. 43 teams entered the tournament, which was contested over 3 days. Top honours went to Team Rambos in the men's competition with Belgium's De Rode Modderduivels winning the mixed competition.
In 2009, sponsored by FRijj, the world cup competition attracted 100 teams from 25 countries. FRijj and Swamp Soccer ran an innovative on pack promotion which included augmented reality - the first time an established UK brand had used this medium for a national promotion.
In 2011 the tournament moved to Edinburgh and 2012 it was in Inverness, the capital city of the Scottish Highlands.
The Swamp Soccer World Cup moved back to its spiritual home, to the Dunoon area in 2013. In 2014 Ardbeg single malt whisky became the title sponsor.
In 2016 the Swamp Soccer World Cup moved to Istanbul in Turkey.

Rules

The standard football rules have been modified significantly to suit the demanding sport: