The Story of The Football Game (So Far)

A Game Born on a Coach Trip

The Football Game began on a school coach back from a very average water park in Devon.

We were 16. Me (Sam), Jack, Jamie and Simon. Somewhere on that long journey home, someone asked:

“How many goalkeepers can you name who’ve played for Manchester United?”

That question turned into a game. We’d pick a football category, like Premier League left-backs or World Cup host nations and go around the group, bidding up the number we could name until someone called the bluff. Then they’d have to name them, one by one.

It was simple. It was competitive. And it stuck.

Wherever We Went, We Played

For nearly a decade, we played The Football Game everywhere. On buses. On trains. In pubs. In taxis home at the end of a night out. At Simon’s wedding (we were his best men, and we played it at the front of the ceremony while waiting for the bride to walk down the aisle). We played it on holidays, most memorably one night in a cave bar in Barcelona with towers of beer and free popcorn (shout out L'Ovella Negra).

Over the years, it became part of our friendship. It sparked the best football debates, reminded us of forgotten players and moments, and helped pass the time when bored - including when on a visit to Dublin I convinced the boys to walk 45 minutes to an out of town lighthouse.

There were some legendary performances too, Jack once named 53 Middlesborough players in 90 seconds which we still speak about to this day.

From Pub Game to Real Product

In 2021, we were meant to be in Rome to watch England vs Ukraine at the Euros. COVID scuppered the trip, so we watched it at our local pub instead. Before kick-off, we were playing The Football Game, as usual, and we started thinking. Everyone we’d ever introduced the game to that liked football had loved it, was there a way we could turn it into a physical product people could enjoy.

After the glorious 4-0 win, we went back to Jack’s and registered the domain thefootballgame.co.

Over the next 18 months, we tested dozens of versions of the game, mostly in pubs with friends and sometimes strangers we’d just approach and start talking to. We wanted to create a game that was super simple and you could start playing within seconds of opening the pack, but also that wouldn’t be something you’d play for half hour one Boxing Day and then never play again. We wanted it to be easy to play but also endlessly re-playable. We tried out different card formats, categories, and mechanics until we landed on a version that felt right.

At the same time, we started posting content online, sharing how the game worked, asking trivia questions, and slowly building a community around it.

Launching with Kickstarter

In early 2023, we launched our Kickstarter campaign to fund the first ever production run of the game. Our target was £4,000. After 30 days of constantly refreshing the page, we raised over £6,000, thanks to the incredible support from friends, football fans, and the community we’d been building.

That first batch of decks sold out by the end of the year. We ordered a second run, and that sold out too. Now, midway through 2025, we’ve sold over 1,000 copies of The Football Game and counting.

Community, Beer, and Football Trivia Nights

One of the best parts of creating The Football Game has been the community that’s grown around it.

Not long before we launched, we were contacted by Round Corner Brewing, a brewery who we’re not just saying this, has genuinely some of the best tasting beer we’ve ever tasted. We loved their beer and they were kind enough to say they thought the game looked fun from the initial posts we’d put on Instagram. Since then we’ve teamed up to run joint giveaways, pairing copies of The Football Game with their beer and merch, and hosted live events at their brewery.

Those nights were amazing. We created a competitive format inspired by football leagues: each table was a division, with promotion and relegation every 20 minutes. By the end of the evening, the top table—the Premier League—played in front of the whole room to decide the winner. It was loud, chaotic, and exactly the kind of fun we’d been having for over a decade but seeing a room of people competing in person was incredible.

Beyond the live events, the online community has grown massively. We run weekly football trivia challenges with over 100 regular participants, and we’ve launched a podcast called Versus where guests go head-to-head in a variety of football trivia challenges.

We’ve also been incredibly lucky to have support from many of our personal favourite podcasts and football journalists. James McNicholas (Gunnerblog), Dan Bardell (Sky Sports, The Athletic, etc.), Carl Anka (The Athletic), Tifo, Nostalgia FC, England B Team, Bucket Hat Sam, Jim Daly and many others have shared the game with their audiences.

A Game Built on Memories

What’s always been at the heart of The Football Game is nostalgia.

It’s a football trivia game, yes but it’s really about reliving your footballing memories. About pulling obscure players and managers from the back of your brain.

It’s about spending time with your mates, doing something not on a screen, laughing, arguing, one minute being frustrated and the next being absolutely elated. We’re as biased as it comes, but it really is a good way to spend a couple of hours.

What’s Next?

We’re still growing, still enjoying meeting new people in the vast football community and still frequently playing the game. The Football Game is back in stock, and we’re continuing to run events, record episodes, and build the community.

If you’re looking for something different, something that sparks conversations (arguments), brings football fans together, and makes a brilliant gift, consider a journey over to thefootballgame.co/shop.

Whether it’s for Father’s Day, a birthday, Christmas, or just to show up a mate at the pub who thinks he knows a lot more than he actually does.

Finally, we say this a lot but we cannot emphasise it enough, thank you to everyone who’s supported us so far. We’ve had a blast, and we can’t wait for what’s to come.