Who knew there were so many sizes of football? Well, if you didn’t you’re not alone.
Of course, your children can play with whatever ball they want when they’re kicking around in the park! But if they’re going to be playing in leagues, the ball size they play with will be determined by their age.
So here’s the recommended ball size by age, based on these FA Laws.
Recommended Football Sizes by Age
This is based on the FA Laws mentioned.
| Football Size | Playing Age Group | Age of Players Typically Playing at that Age Group* |
| Mini | N/A | All ages |
| Midi (Size 2) | N/A | 3 to 6 |
| 3 | Under 7 | 6 to 7 |
| Under 8 | 7 to 8 | |
| Under 9 | 8 to 9 | |
| Under 10 | 9 to 10 | |
| 4 | Under 11 | 10 to 11 |
| Under 12 | 11 to 12 | |
| Under 13 | 12 to 13 | |
| Under 14 | 13 to 14 | |
| 5 | Under 15 | 14 to 15 |
| Under 16 | 15 to 16 | |
| Under 17 | 16 to 17 | |
| Under 18 | 17 to 18 |
*Typical age is the usual age group of those players. Children aged 6 to 14 can play “up” a single age group. I.e a child who is 6 years old on 31st August could play for under 7s (their usual age group) or could play “up” at under 8s that season. When a child reaches 15, they can play up by up to 2 levels (so at 15 they can play at u16, u17 and u18 and at 16, they can play u17, u18 and open age).
What size ball if your child isn’t playing in a team?
The FA laws are based on a number of factors. So we’d suggest staying within the guidance. If your child isn’t playing a team, then loosely this would be as follows:
| Age | Football Size |
| Toddlers | Mini |
| 3 to 6 | Midi (Size 2) |
| 6 to 10 | Size 3 |
| 10 to 14 | Size 4 |
| 14 and over | Size 5 |
What’s the Difference Between the Various Size Footballs?
So roughly, this is the circumference and diameter of the various size of footballs as stipulated by the FA.
For anyone (like me) who’s put GCSE Maths as far out of their head as possible, I’ll save you the Google:
- Circumference is the measurement the whole way around the ball. So you could measure this by wrapping a piece of string around the middle of the ball and measuring the string
| Football Size | Circumference (cm) | Weight (g) |
| Size 3 | 58 to 61 | 300 to 340 |
| Size 4 | 63.5 to 66 | 340 to 390 |
| Size 5 | 68 to 70 | 410 to 450 |
Does it really matter what size ball children play football with?
Nobody will stop your 6 year old kicking around the garden or the park with a size 5 football. But the guidance exists to ensure children are playing with a ball of the size and weight most suited to the typical size of a child at any given age group.
Ball size is enforced in games. If you’re playing in an FA affiliated league or competition, the referee should be insisting upon the correct size ball. But of course, kicking around on your own, you can play with whatever ball you want. If the kids are likely to want to play for a team (even if they’re not yet) then it probably makes sense for them to kick about with whatever size ball they’d be playing their games with.
