When football gets dirty - 16th October 2023

Football's an extremely popular sport, but in Finland, they've created 'Swamp football'. This game's played in a swamp, which is a wet, muddy area.

The organiser of the Swamp Soccer World Cup is Jussi Kiiskila.

Jussi Kiiskila: "Swamp soccer was invented back in 1998. Basically, most of the top Finnish cross-country skiers used to train in the summer in the swamp area because it's very good exercise for the, for the fitness. And here in Hyrynsalmi a skier came up with the crazy idea of combining football and skiing, and you know the first competition was held in 1998, near Hyrynsalmi, with 13 teams."

The Finnish game's great for getting fit but it's harder to play, so the playing time's shorter. Each half only lasts 10 minutes, and the teams are smaller. There are only six players per side, and that includes the goalkeeper, but the rules of the game stay the same.

Swamp footballer Siri plays for Lahen Stolit, a Finnish team.

Siri: "Well, we just play kind of soccer in the swamp. Obviously, we get stuck on the swamp and we lose our shoes in the swamp and so on. But we just try to get the ball into the goal. That's the main purpose."

There are several groups in the World Championship competition. German team Jugendclub Lindenau joined for the first time and came top in one men's group. They enjoyed the variety of different pitches to play on.

Member of German team Jugendclub Lindenau: "The fields are really different to soccer. Every field, like here, is different. Some, like, really dry and some are really the swamp, and you sink in, like, the whole body and you need to crawl."

People who want to watch can stay clean and dry because there are places where they can stand at the side.

This year, 140 teams - men and women - took part in the Finnish contest. People are hoping that numbers will increase next year, as before Covid-19, numbers reached 200-250.

Around the world, there are 300 swamp football teams. Maybe, you'd like to get fit and dirty, too?