Aim of the Game
The aim of the game is to answer questions correctly in order to move the football through the lines of the team in order to get the ball to the strikers in order to score goals. The team that scores the most goals in the given time or question limit are the winners.
Procedure
Explain to the class that you are going to play a game of football. The teams have to answer questions correctly to maintain possession of the ball and advance it through their lines (from goalkeeper to defenders to midfielders to attackers) in order to eventually score a goal by answering a question correctly when one of their attackers is in possession of the ball.
If a team answers incorrectly, the ball is intercepted by the other team as it is passed forward to the next line of players. For example, if a defender has the ball and the team answer wrongly, the ball goes to the midfielders of the opposing team. In the same way, if an attacker is in possession and a question is answered incorrectly, the ball is saved by the goalkeeper of the opposing team, who retains possession of the ball and tries to move it out to their defenders.
Do a couple of easy examples with the class as a whole to begin with to show them how the game works.
The questions take the form of completing common English similes correctly. Read out a simile, but instead of saying the adjective, say football, leaving the team to guess the correct adjective themselves. If they guess correctly, they move the ball forward. if not, possession passes to the other team. Accept any appropriate adjectives where relevant (e.g. as large as an elephant).
Toss a coin to see which team starts. As the midfielders kick-off, the team in possession only need to answer two questions correctly in order to score a goal. The game is always restarted after a goal by kicking off with the midfielders in possession, therefore requiring only two correct answers in a row to score, ensuring a high scoring and motivating game.
The team who has scored the most goals at the end of the time limit or when all of the questions have been answered are the winners.
Variations
Discipline problems such as speaking L1 during the game, not paying attention, or shouting out out of turn can be ‘penalised’ by rewarding free kicks to the opposition, signifying a change of possession.
This game is best used to revise and extend the similes rather than relying on the learners being able to work them out from the context.