Street Soccer has grown in popularity around the world because it can be played almost anywhere. You don’t need a stadium, big field, painted lines, etc. All you need is a ball and some goals. The goals can be anything such as garbage cans, articles of clothing, shoes, and so on. Traditional soccer balls are made of polyester and latex and can cost anywhere from 10 to 100 dollars. Not everyone can afford soccer balls and around the world people get creative to make their own in order to play the world’s most popular sport. In Kenya a homemade soccer ball made from a plastic bag is called a “Juwala Ball,” meaning plastic waste. Here is how to make one.
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- Step 1: Insert any type of filling material like sponge, paper, or cloth into a plastic bag.
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- Step 2: Shape the bag into a ball and put the ball into another bag twisting the end so it fights tightly.
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- Step 3: Tie a chord around the bag tightly with one short end and one long end. Cut off excess on the short end.
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- Step 4: With the long end begin to make latitude lines on the ball dividing each new line by half. Make sure to cross stitch when you reach 360 degrees.
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- Step 5: Repeat multiple times.
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- Step 6: Starting at one pole move across the latitude lines with a backwards stitch across each line you pass.
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- Step 7: Continue with tight spacing until you reach the other end.
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- Step 8: Tie off the chord and cut the excess.
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- Step 9: Play!
