Football gifts for kids — the best football gift by age

A must-have for every football fanatic: a good ball. Mind the size — size 3 up to about age 8, size 4 up to about 12, then size 5. A lighter ball is nicer for small feet. The mini football (size 1) isn’t a toy but a proper training ball: precisely because it’s so small, you have to strike it more accurately. Ideal for training technique and ball control, and it fits in any bag.

For a real football fan there’s little better than the kit of the Dutch national team (the Netherlands play in orange, hence “Oranje”). An original Oranje shirt with matching shorts turns every kickabout in the garden into an international — and it’s worn with just as much pride to school as to training. The same goes for the Belgian kit, for anyone who lives just over the border or has family there.

Want something cheaper, or not sure which club or country it should be? Then a neutral training shirt with matching shorts is a safe choice — a child can play just as fanatically in that.

With shirts, watch the size: they often come up small, so a size up is usually the safest choice. Looking for socks, boots or goalkeeper gloves? You’ll find them below under accessories.

Are the parents mad about football? Then this is the perfect new-baby gift. An orange babygrow or a complete mini kit always goes down well with a football family — and it’s guaranteed to produce the sweetest photos. Also spot on for a first or second birthday.

Mind the sizes: they go by body length in centimetres (62 to 92 for babies, 104 to 128 for toddlers and young children). Better to go a size up — then it lasts longer.

Don’t forget the accessories! Goalkeeper gloves are a surprisingly fun gift: for my own son they were the reason he suddenly got extra keen on going in goal. Shin pads are compulsory in matches and tend to go missing, so a new pair is rarely wasted.

Hair bands keep long hair out of the face and make a nice little gift, and for many children a captain’s armband is the best thing there is. Football boots are best bought together — the fit really matters and children have strong opinions about them.

This is where our favourite surprise gifts are. With a set of cones you turn the garden or the local square into a real training pitch in no time: slaloming, dribbling, setting up a course. Children can happily spend a whole afternoon with them, and they last for years.

A ball pump is one of those gifts nobody thinks of but that’s needed all the time — a flat ball is the biggest spoilsport. A whistle and a stopwatch are gold for the child who’d rather play referee or coach. And a ball bag is handy for anyone with several balls lying around.

Football without the mud: football games for indoors. From the Loco booklets for the youngest (a popular Dutch learning game) to a tricky logic puzzle, a football quiz and a proper game of table football.

Building and football in one! In the LEGO Editions range you build your favourite player — Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappé or Vini Jr. — or the official FIFA World Cup 2026 logo. From a compact set to a big building challenge for the true fan.

A football book is a gift that lasts: from the very first read-aloud books to exciting stories and books packed with facts. Below are our favourites, handily bundled by series and theme — with an age hint, so you can quickly find something that suits your child. (These are Dutch-language books.)

A football party might just be the easiest children’s party there is: a pitch, a ball and two small goals, and the rest takes care of itself. Allow about two hours for children aged 6 to 10.

For the creative football fan: getting stuck in with a football theme.