Cageball is a sport invented by the football coach Jörg Berger in October 2002, seeking a way to play association football (U.S. English: soccer) despite bad winter conditions.

The base format of a cageball pitch.

It is similar to traditional indoor football, although with some changes: as the name implies, one plays in a cage. Due to the enclosed environment, the game is faster and more dynamic, and putting greater emphasis on football technique. In certain European countries, including Norway, match-format cageball pitches are found in connection with exercise gyms.[1]

The sport resembles Nike's Secret Tournament, which was a more or less staged advertising event that preceded the invention of cageball by around 8 months. Cageball features somewhat larger goals, less stiff fencing and roofing, and the ball is carried into the field instead of being dropped from the roof.

Playing field

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Cageball is played on artificial turf. The playing field is usually 23x15 metres, but can vary somewhat due to hall constraints. The entire field is surrounded by a one-metre-high wall or fence, out of which extends a net for a further four metres upwards. This way, the ball is always in play, obsoleting all out-of-bound rules. Usually, a Cageball team consists of three field players and a goalkeeper, the latter which can also assume a "flying" role.

At recreational level, it is not unusual with 4 or 5 field players and no keepers.

Rules

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Normal football rules apply when it comes to fouls and deliberate hand usage. Free kicks must be immediately carried out. The offside is not observed, and there are no throw-ins or goal kicks.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cageball" (in Norwegian Bokmål). 3T-Trening. Retrieved 23 December 2023.