Soccer/Football

Soccer/Football

Years:	2000 - 2006
Subtheme of:	Sports
Related themes:	Hockey Basketball Gravity Games

Soccer, also referred to as Football (depending on region), is a subtheme of Sports. It began in 2000, and was discontinued after 2006. Many of the sets had Shell, Coke, Adidas and other promotional sponsors.

Description[edit | edit source]

Soccer/Football featured multiple opposing teams, attendants, and the press in a variety of activities and settings related to the sport of soccer and its display to the public. While most of the sets focused on scenes from soccer practices or games, other sets focused on subjects related less directly to the playing of soccer itself, such as 4465 Vending Machine.

With the exception of Zinedine Zidane, the minifigures were generic soccer players and reused head prints from previous themes. Additionally, most teams were only named after colours, such as the Red Team and Black Team. However, some sets such as 3405 Blue Team Bus included stickers that buyers could place on the minifigures' torsos, allowing them to change the nationality of the minifigures. Additionally, the L'Equipe de France Edition of 3420 Championship Challenge II included a team of minifigures with French National Team jerseys, and 3415 Japanese Football Team would have also featured a nationality-named team, but it was never unreleased.

An important aspect of the Soccer/Football subtheme, as with other Sports subthemes was the playablity, with many of the sets offering opportunities for one to mimic real-life soccer skills and activities, or even games, through the manipulation of their minifigures. Also similar to other Sports subthemes, this was accomplished partially through the use of new elements which, when the minifigures were attached, could be used to make the minifigures mimic the movements of real-life athletes in their respective sports. In this case, soccer minifigures could be placed on a spring-supported stand, which could be inserted into large rectangular green bricks meant to represent the playing fields. The ball, also a new element, could roll into one of the concave centres of these new green bricks and, from there, the minifigures stands could be turned to face the ball, bent back, and released, shooting the ball forward to mimic a pass or a shot. Goalkeepers would also be positioned on similar, spring-less stands attached to a rod, allowing players to angle the rod to block shots. Other new elements introduced into the subtheme included nets, handles for positioning the goalkeepers' rods, and over-sized goalkeeper gloves.

An additional feature many sets offered was an open-able case for a respective set's components. When opened, the case's transparent component would double as a goal, complete with a slot through which the rod for manipulating the goalkeeper could be inserted and handled. The case's green lid also featured a clip allowing the case to be attached to one's belt.

New Parts[edit | edit source]

Sets[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

This is one of few licensed themes where the majority of minifigures are not based on specific people.