It’s World Cup season again, and we’re cheering for our favorite team! Take the celebrations up a notch with these fun football crafts for kids!

It’s World Cup season once again, and we’re thoroughly enjoying it!!

Football (or soccer), is one of the sports I grew up watching with my Dad, and I have so many lovely memories of staying up at odd times and cheering for our favorite team. Honestly, those were some of the best moments of my childhood!

If you have kids, this is a great time to create some memories of your own, and learn a little about the game too. The Football World Cup tournament was started by Jules Rimet in 1930, and it’s held quadrennially, i.e., every four years.

But first things first – should we call it football, or soccer?

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Is it Football or Soccer?

Short answer – both! Yes, the game was originally called football, because obviously, it’s a game played by kicking a ball with your foot!

However, things started getting confusing in the late 19th century, when football began to be used to refer to other sports, like rugby. So football (the black and white ball version), began to be called ‘association football’, which eventually got shortened to soccer.

Yet, most of the world today calls it football, while countries like the United States and Canada call it soccer. The game is known as ‘futbol’ in Latin American countries, while some people also refer to it as ‘British football’.

Well, a game by any other name would be just as fun, so we are going to join in the World Cup fever with some fantastic football crafts for kids!

20 Frisky Football Crafts for Kids

1. Interactive World Cup Football Craft

The 2026 World Cup has turned out to be the ‘largest’ World Cup in history, since it has the largest number of participating teams, as well as the most matches. Find out more trivia about this World Cup as you make this fun craft from The Joy of Sharing.

2. Football Fuse Beads Key Rings

The FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the most significant football tournament in the world, but there are some other important ones too – the UEFA Champions League, the Euro Cup, the Copa América and others. It’s great that these occur in different years, giving us something to look forward to every year! Learn about the types of trophies and participating countries as you make these fuse beads keyrings from Baker Ross.

3. DIY Paper Plate Soccer Craft

Our football crafts for kids would be incomplete without an actual football craft, like this one from Fireflies and Mudpies! Did you know that in the past, footballs were made from inflated pig bladders? This changed in 1844, when Charles Goodyear (of the tire company) started making balls from vulcanized rubber. Today, soccer balls comprise of a latex or butyl rubber bladder covered by panels made of leather, synthetic leather, polyurethane or PVC.

4. World Cup Soccer Agamograph Printable

While Jules Rimet is credited with starting the World Cup tournament, no one knows who invented the actual game. It seems to have existed during ancient civilizations like the Greeks, Romans and Chinese. China had a game called ‘Tsu Chu’, meaning ‘kicking ball’. We’re not sure who developed the concept of a ‘goal’, but that’s not going to stop us from making this craft from Non Toy Gifts!

5. DIY Finger Soccer Game

Making these football crafts for kids is a good time to get acquainted with the rules of soccer. These rules were standardized and codified by the Football Association in 1863 and are followed to date. One of the rules is the ‘No Hands Rule’ – only the goalkeeper can touch the ball with their hands, while field players can only use their feet, head or body. But it’s okay to use your fingers in this football game by Lady Lemonade!

6. Printable Football Papercraft

Krokotak has a cute little craft featuring a young soccer player scoring a big goal! Soccer has had some really young players – the youngest professional footballer is Eric Godpower Marshall, who was just 10 when he first played! Many teenagers have played professional football – we hope these football crafts for kids will encourage our young players too!

7. Soccer Player Paper Bag Puppet

One of the most prestigious soccer awards is the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded every year to the best player. Lionel Messi has won the award a record eight times, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, who won five times. These players have amazing skills with the ball, much like this little guy here from In The Bag Kids Crafts!

8. 2026 Football World Cup Paper Hats

For the first time ever, the FIFA World Cup is being held across 16 cities in three countries at once – the United States, Canada and Mexico. Interestingly, the USA men’s football team has never won a World Cup, bu the women’s team has won it four times! If you’re an American soccer fan, make sure you wear these paper crowns from Non Toy Gifts when you’re cheering the next time the U.S plays!

9. 3D Paper Soccer Ball

The World Cup isn’t just for the grown-ups; FIFA also has a younger version – the U-20 World Cup! This tournament is held every two years and is exclusively for players aged under 20. The current U-20 champions are Morocco, who won the 2025 World Cup. Share this fact with a talented young soccer player you know, and you can also give him this DIY football from I Love Doing All Things Crafty as a gift!

10. Easy DIY Decoupage Soccer Ball Frame

Soccer has had many legends, including Diego Maradona, Pele, Zinedine Zidane, Garrincha or more recently, Lionel Messi. Who would you consider the GOAT? As you figure that out, don’t forget to frame a photo of your own little football star, and Gym Craft Laundry has the perfect DIY photo frame idea for it!

11. Football World Cup Origami Jersey Craft

Although the FIFA World Cup tournament has been held 22 times, only 8 countries have won it. Brazil has the most World Cup wins, five, while Italy and Germany have four each. Everyone’s looking forward to see if Argentina will join these countries this year, since it already has three wins! Have fun learning about the jerseys of each time as you make these Origami jerseys from All About Jersey.

12. Soccer-Themed Painted Rocks

Did you know that soccer has a card system for offenses on the field? The Yellow Card is a warning card, where the referee warns the player for minor offenses like foul play, wasting time or arguing. A Red Card is more dangerous – it ejects the player from the game, and is for serious offenses like violent behaviour, offensive language or major foul play. Maybe you can paint yellow and red card rocks to add to this collection of soccer painted rocks from Sustain My Craft Habit!

13. Printable Soccer World Cup Model

With it being World Cup season and all, we can’t have a list of football crafts for kids that doesn’t feature the World Cup trophy! Paper Shape has a printable and shows us exactly how to create our own gorgeous trophy craft. The real trophy was stolen multiple times – once for 7 days in 1966, and later in 1983, after which it was never found. The present trophy is made in Italy, and is made of 18-carat gold!

14. Soccer Team Washer Necklaces

A football team has 11 players, including the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and forwards. If you have a soccer team of your own, Crafty Confessions shows us how to make soccer washer necklaces for every member of the team, complete with the jersey numbers on them!

15. Soccer-Themed Clay Pencil Topper

Soccer or football is an excellent sport for kids – it’s a great way to burn up all that pent-up energy! It develops strong bones and muscles and helps kids maintain a healthy weight. You can add some extra encouragement by helping them make these cute soccer-themed pencil toppers from Smart Fun DIY!

16. Free Football Modern Art Coloring Pages

We’ve been talking about the ‘FIFA World Cup’ for a while now, but what exactly is FIFA? FIFA is The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, an association based in Zurich. It was founded in 1904 and comes under Swiss law. Let kids find out all the countries that come under the association as they make this soccer-themed art project from The Imagination Box!

17. Paper Quilling Footballer Sculpture

Sachin Salunkhe celebrates the magical moment just before a player kicks a ball – presumably towards the goal post! This entire craft is made out of paper quills, and the jersey shows this player is Argentinian! Argentina is the current FIFA World Cup champion after defeating France in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

18. DIY Shoebox Table Football

Before a football match begins, everything needs to be in place. The ball must be on the center spot of the field, and all the players except the kicker must be in their half of the field. But you don’t have to worry about all that in this football game from Mumin the Madhouse, since the players are all stationed in their places and ready to go!

19. Football World Cup Paper Art

Margaret Scrinkl has an interesting addition to our list of football crafts for kids, with some pretty pink elements and what looks like women’s football shoes! The first FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in 1991, and the United States won the Cup. Women soccer players are amazingly talented; in fact, the world record for most international goals scored belongs to a female player – Canadian striker Christine Sinclair! Christine scored 190 goals, while the highest men’s score is by Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with 143 goals.

20. Free Printable World Cup Coloring Pages

The FIFA World Cup is the world’s most-watched sporting event, with millions of viewers watching the games live from across the world. It is estimated that 1.5 billion people tuned in to watch the World Cup Final match in 2022! We’re sure to be watching this year, and if you’re joining in, keep the kids busy with some football crafts for kids and these coloring pages from Growing Play!

These football crafts for kids sure have got us excited to try a few of these, and we hope you’re intrigued too! There are crafts for kids of all ages, from early school-goers to teens, so ask your child to choose one they’d like to make. We’re certainly going to be making a few of these, so let us know how it goes!

If you’d like to know more about some of the top participants in the FIFA World Cup, check these out: