Dirty Play for Mud Soccer World Championships
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Thousands of men and women alike flocked to bog-fields in the spirit of sportsmanship of dirty play, barely able to move an inch in the knee to waist-deep mud at the 10th annual Mud Soccer World Championships for what was more like mud carnival revelry in pig pens than a fundamental world cup outside the tiny town of Hyrynsalmi, Finland.
A goalkeeper prepares to throw the ball into play. Photo Reuters
A natural swamp was converted into 22 playing fields each measuring about 197 x 115 feet (60 x 35 meters) — marked out with little more than yellow tape and plastic drainpipes.
The game lasts for 2 periods of 25 minutes each on the swampy grounds, with 340 teams of 6 players — 5 field players and a goal keeper — for 880 matches, each wading, crawling, and trudging through the soaking mud fields.
A player in the mixed division brings the ball downfield. Photo Reuters
A player in the mixed division stuck in the mud. Photo Reuters
Players from the mixed division stand on the stage during medals presentation.
Photo Reuters
With shoes and socks taped with duct tape, teams of men in long dresses and white hospital gowns, Superman outfits, skimpy shorts, suits and ties, and blonde and pink wigs were common-sight, as were men dragging women through the mosquito-infested bog while they managed to play a game and swill beer simultaneously. Some wore oversized sunglasses which are also useful against the mud splatter.
Standard soccer regulations allegedly apply, but the intensely chaotic and largely uncontrolled games seemed to have few if any rules — there’s no offside, no definite penalty box and unlimited substitutions are made on the fly.
A goalkeeper tries to make a save during the business team competition at the
World Swamp Soccer championships in Hyrynsalmi. Photo Reuters
A goalkeeper in the mixed division celebrates after her team won. Photo Reuters
A player takes a shot towards the opposition’s goalkeeper
during the mixed team competition. Photo Reuters
Running and passing the ball demands not only strength but also creative game tactics. Being small and frail with large feet can also be a great advantage for a player.
“Playing ball in the swamp is like a slow-motion movie coming to a halt every time a player sinks in a hole.” said swamp soccer veteran Tuula Brocke for the G-Spots team.
“Your opponent snatches the ball right in front of your nose, but you are stuck in the mass of dung and cannot move at all.” she said as she wiped dried, crusted mud from her arms and face.
Some 10,000 people attended the event each of the 3 days, with Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Russia among the growing number of foreign teams.
“We have been training how to walk in the swamp on our fours and to kick from the side — that’s the only way we could move it, when the ground got this soft.” Brocke said.
“It was guts and always a bit of luck that decided the better team.” she added.
Wearing white probably wasn’t a great idea. Photo Reuters
A player in the hobby division wears a dress as he brings the ball downfield.
Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters
Not drinking water from the swamp and insurance protection were rules organizers emphasized most. A team member of Athletico Hucknall, England’s sole representatives left the arena aboard an ambulance, nursing a suspected broken leg.
Winning the trophy in the men’s, women’s, mixed or hobby category was secondary — at least for most.
But it was as calculated and serious as soccer gets when Anatoly Korchagin’s head-shot from the Russian team Sputnik made the winning 1:0 goal against Finland and snapped the golden trophy from its neighbor for the 2nd year in a row.
“You can’t run normally, and the swamp makes your legs very heavy — that boosts your heart rate and it pumps your upper leg strength.” said Portuguese Olympic cross-country skier Danny Silva, who joined one of the teams.
“It was the Finnish training methodology that was the best part of it all.” he said.
Two players battle for the ball during the men’s final at the World Swamp Soccer
championships in Hyrynsalmi, Finland, on July 20, 2008. Photo Reuters
One man loses sight of the ball as a shower of mud comes his way.
Photo Sky News
Players in the mixed division watch on as their team gets down and dirty.
Photo Reuters
Where swampland crosses over into a pond off to the sidelines, there’s a pier on the lake-shore and 99 foot (30 meter) long makeshift shed housing the ever-present Finnish sauna. There are 6 rooms, with 2 wood-heated sauna stoves each.
“You can cleanse yourself after the game and warm up.” said a visitor. “It gets really hot in there and there’s a great atmosphere.” Ample amounts of beer was consumed by partiers in a large tent near the sauna.
The first Drive-in Sauna Tube in the world was also built by the pond — you simply go into the Tube and pop out from the other end straight to the cool pond.
The sport was conceived by Finnish cross-country skiers looking for a way to train during the snowless summer months.
As the old and often-spoke local adage goes, “Great soccer players come from Brazil, great swamp soccer players come from Finland.”
Breaking away from the pack – a player manages to streak ahead
through a spray of water and mud. Photo Sky News
Players fight for the ball during the men’s competition at the World Swamp Soccer
championships in Hyrynsalmi July 19, 2008. Photo Reuters
About Swamp Soccer
The extreme sport of swamp soccer World championships have been held every year since 2000 in Hyrynsalmi, some 372 miles (600 kilometers) north of Helsinki and 112 miles (180 kilometers) east of Oulu. As an offshoot of swamp soccer, the Deep Snow Soccer Championship is held every winter in the same venue.
Swamp Soccer is basically football played on a genuine, wet Finnish bog, and has been around for decades. It started as an exercise and training activity for athletes, since playing on soft bog is physically demanding. As exercise it isn’t limited to Finland, but if more than one Finn does something, they’re bound to organize world championships sooner or later.
A player from Russia’s Sputnik team (R) battles for the ball with a
player from Finland’s Lomalyly July 20, 2008. Photo Reuters
Players fight for the ball during the mixed team competition at the World Swamp Soccer championships in Hyrynsalmi July 19, 2008. Photo Reuters
Modifications have been made to the football rules:
• Play is shortened to 2 halves of 25 minutes
• No changing of shoes during game
• Corner kicks, penalties and throw-ins are made with drop kicks
• No off-side rule
• Penalty area is 16 feet (5 meters) deep
• 1 goalie and 5 players on field, with maximum of 12 on roster
• Unlimited changes
• Tactical Considerations
Since the bog is very soft, the ball won’t roll very far and you can’t make fierce moves to get past the opponent, as the only real way to move the ball is by kicking it or using your head.
Anyone can participate, as the competitions have both series for those playing for the title and amateur series for those playing for the sake of playing. Women have their own championships, although mixed teams can participate in men’s competition.
The number of teams is limited with a minimum quota of foreign teams to ensure international participation.
Players from Russia’s Sputnik team celebrate after defeating Finland’s Lomalyly to win
the men’s final at the World Swamp Soccer championships in Hyrynsalmi July 20, 2008.
Photo Reuters
The captain hoists the trophy as Finland’s SST Kalu team celebrate after winning first place in
the mixed division. Their life-jackets seemed to have saved them from drowning in the mud.
Photo Photo Reuters
Captain Kimmo Oulonen (R) hoists the trophy after Finland’s SST Kalu team won first place
in the mixed division at the World Swamp Soccer championships July 20, 2008.
Photo Reuters
The first organized competition was held in 1998, when 13 teams gathered to play for the Finnish Championship. 1999 saw an upgrade to European Championships with 69 teams playing for the title and the first World Championships were played in the year 2000. Among the countries taking part in the competition were Sweden, Russia and the Netherlands.
In the 2002 World Championships, 203 teams travelled to Hyrynsalmi with more than 500 games played.
Registration to the Swamp Soccer World Championships 2009 began on Monday July 21st, 2008.
Sources: Reuters / Brisbane Times, BBC, Finnguide, and DW-World
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Down and Dirty Block of Mud Carnival
Cinderella Story Ending for a Piglet Afraid of Mud
I saw this event being reported in the local prime time news on tv. It must be chaotically fun and the players dirt tired pulling their feet from the bog.
Interesting that you saw it on the news, Betshopboy. It wasn’t featured where I live. But yes, it looks like some extreme fun, for sure
Wow! Sounds like fun, and like a real work out!
Great Post
It seems interesting after seeing this post I am thinking of playing soccer in the mud. Its funny but great to play soccer in mud. I love to play soccer in rainy season when there is lots of mud with rain an interesting combination. Good Luck
I am from spain, and I must say this is the first time that I see soccer played on mud on purpose. However, I remember when a was kid, that nothing will deter us from playing soccer, and that included muddy fields on rainy days. On a side note, we also used to played soccer with a half liter juice cardboard container fill with paper on the streets whenever we could not find a ball.
It seems interesting after seeing this post I am thinking of playing soccer in the mud. Its funny but great to play soccer in mud. I love to play soccer in rainy season when there is lots of mud with rain an interesting combination. Good Luck
It is a first time I have read about Mud Soccer World Championships. It is such a pleasure to see how people enjoying themselves and let others to watch them and have fun. Great pictures, and video too; many would be inspired to play soccer in mud after seeing them. Thank you.
I’m from Brazil.I always look for pictures of mud soccer and I love to have fun playing soccer in mud field and rainy days too. I loved all the pictures above. Thank you.
It looks like an awful lot of fun, Sipfilho
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
This is something i would enjoy doing, but i would definitely cover my eyes and mouth, i don’t think the dirt taste good at all.