Kids Football Goals – Buying Guide
What to look for when buying KIDS FOOTBALL GOALS:
The play area, the garden, the local park?
Child’s age
Goal Type
Product Design
Safety – (avoid steel freestanding goals)
Goalposts durability
Goalpost set up
Maintenance
Goalpost Guarantee
The play area, the garden, the local park?
The size of your garden is an important factor to consider when choosing your Kids Football Goals – Buying Guide. If you only have a small area, there is no point in choosing a goal which is too large. Always measure the space you have before ordering kids goalposts, goal sizes traditionally are shown in feet and inches and they are also shown in metres so make sure you check.
Kids age
The Football Association recommends the following:
Goal Post size Guide for Kids Football Goals
Under 7-8 years old Format 5v5 – Goal size 12”x6′ ( 8’x6′ is also a popular size)
Under 9-10 years old Format 7v7 – Goal size 12”x6′
Under 11-12 years old Format 9v9 – Goal size 16”x7′
For Older Children and Teenagers:
Under 13-14 years old Format 9v9 or 11v11 – Goal size 21’x7′ (24×8)
Under 15-18 years old Format 11v11 – Goal size 24’x8′
For Adult Games:
Under 18 years old + Format 11v11 – Goal size 24’x8′
Goal Type
If the goal is to be used at home and needs to be left outside year round, we would recommend a weatherproof material; uPVC or aluminium. Some goalposts are made in multiple sections so they pack in bags and can be stored after games. If you intend to leave kids goals outside we would recommend a single section crossbar or a two section crossbar version goalpost, the less sections the goal has the more rigid and straight the crossbar will be, particularly on goals 12′ wide and above. The goalposts made by ITSA GOAL are robust, weatherproof and long-lasting which is why they include a much longer guarantee than competitors’ goals.
Goalposts durability & Product Design
The goals you chose should be of a solid construction and include a Guarantee ideally longer than one year. The nets should be 2.5mm thick and be weather and rot proof or they will perish, and be 100mm square mesh to prevent children’s head entrapment. We would recommend looking at the corner bracket design, ITSA GOAL and FOOTIE GOAL branded goals include a locking spigot so that the horizontal top net supports lock into place, this design is much better than goals with top stanchions that push in with no locking – take a look at the video of the Kids football goals – installation and the close up of the goalpost corner brackets.
The picture below shows the difference between an engineered corner bracket made by Itsa Goal (left) and Far East goalpost corners used on the Striker goal supplied by Smyth’s toy shop(middle) and samba goal corner brackets (right). The Smyth’s Striker toy goalposts have much thinner nets only 1.5mm thick that will just not last. The tubing used is considerably smaller and weaker with rear net support tubes only 30mm in diameter. This clearly shows the difference between toys and proper sports equipment. Why buy a toy when for around the same money you can buy a goal with a longer warranty that looks better has thicker nets and will last? Buy a poor quality cheap toy and it will end up in a landfill. Buy a plastic Footie or Itsa Goal and it can last a soccer lifetime.
ITSA GOAL & FOOTIE GOAL Corner bracket is on the left – The products middle and right are NOT ITSAGOAL OR FOOTIE GOAL PRODUCTS. The photo was taken with the parts next to each other so they are proportional and it shows how much smaller the corner bracket of the Striker goal is and takes a smaller diameter post and crossbar.
The corner bracket image of the samba goal also demonstrates the large holes in the corner bracket where the back net support tubes spragg in place, in contrast the ITSAGOAL corner on the left has a separate spigot that is designed to lock in, it is specially strengthened internally and the net support is designed to lock in place over the spigot so the back net supports stay firmly in place.
300% Stronger ITSA GOAL POST corner brackets
The wall thickness of the ITSAGOAL Corner bracket has been measured to be 300% thicker and stronger than the samba corner bracket.
Quality Goal netting
ITSA GOAL POST netting is manufactured in strong weatherproof 2.5mm white polyethylene twine. See the quality of the ITSAGOAL netting compared to the Smyth’s Striker goal netting shown below. The ITSA GOAL netting has stronger and thicker net twine and a quality braided edge clearly shown below – This will extend the life of the goal net. Avoid goals with thin pea type netting.
Safety – (Avoid Heavy Steel Freestanding Goals)
It is important that the goals you choose comply with the relevant BS Standards for football goals. Many companies are quoting BS 8462, please note this standard is now out of date and all goalposts should conform to BS EN 16579:2018 – GOALPOST SAFETY STANDARD. The main safety aspect to consider when buying goals is to note that lightweight goals are safer for children especially the very young. ITSA GOAL invented the first portable lightweight uPVC mini soccer goal in 1989 and has been working for decades to allow safer lightweight goals to be allowed into the safety standard. It is only in recent years and with the support of the F.A in more recent times working with the British Standards Institute that the safety standard now includes lighter goals not just and mini-goals but also on larger children’s goals used by teenagers. For more detailed information on the goalpost safety standards please visit the football goals and the goalpost safety information page click here.
Goal set up
Your football goals should be set up in accordance with the instructions. The goal frame should be anchored down to keep it in shape and stop it from moving and the net should be attached to the goal using all of the net fittings provided included with your goal. All Kids football goal- plastic football goal fitting instructions can be downloaded to view before purchasing, click the link. Red safety Pegs are an advantage for children’s goals as they are safer then metal pegs and may cause injury, the red nylon safety pegs in contrast are safety for children and also do not damage lawn mowing equipment.
Maintenance
In general kid’s goalposts will need little maintenance. A quick wipe down once a year. A very good tip is to add your net into a washing bag- zipped to protect washing machines and the net will come up like brand new. Nets can be nibbled by rabbits so if you are prone to rabbits in your garden always lift netting off the ground after use.
Product Review not just service Reviews
Read the goalpost reviews. most reviews, especially on low-cost kids goals, just state how fast the goal was delivered……You really need to read how good the goalpost was for play and it stands up to a football striking the back of the net…read the football goal reviews for ITSA GOAL POSTS click here. Each product on soccertackle.com also has a list of customer reviews.
Goalpost Guarantee
Length of Guarantee – ITSA GOALPOSTS and FOOTIE GOALS are confident in their products and know the goals will last many years, so we offer a much longer guarantee than our competitor’s kids football goals. ITSA GOAL Goalpost Guarantee information
Should you have any queries regarding kids football goals please either email sales@itsagoal.net
or Call our GOAL LINE: 0114 242 4244
Click here to view Kids Football Goals available from soccertackle.com
One of the most popular kids football goals is the 8’x4′ click to view
More product information on the 12’x6′ 7v7 Kids Football Goal, 8’x6′ Kids Football Goal, 6’x4′ Kids Football Goal