The Best Football Books for Kids

The Academy Series

If you love football and are aged 8+, this middle-grade sports adventure series written by T. Z. Layton may just be perfect for you! Leo K. Doyle lives a quiet life in a small US town, with little experience beyond his love for football. Everything changes when a talent scout spots his skills and offers him the chance of a lifetime — a try-out for a Premier League youth squad, the Academy. But the path to success won’t be easy. Leo must overcome bullies, confront his biggest fears, and juggle schoolwork while proving he has what it takes to earn his place on the team

Five-Minute Amazing True Football Stories

Think you know everything about football?

Have you heard of...
* The heroic white horse who saved the FA Cup final?
* The World Cup-winning women, who fought for equality - and won!
* The Red Dragons of Wrexham who came roaring back (with a little help from Hollywood)?

Each five-minute story is the perfect length for reading at breakfast, bedtime, in the car or on the bus. Mega football fans can dip in and out, or have a full match day experience - reading the entire book in the time it would take to watch a football match! Either way, the stage is set for a top-of-the-table classic football story collection.

The Football GOAT: Messi vs Ronaldo: Who is the greatest of all time?

Messi vs Ronaldo: which of these footballing legends is the Greatest Of All Time?

The brand-new series from Matt Oldfield, the bestselling author of Ultimate Football Heroes, and Seth Burkett, a former professional footballer, tackles the question that every football fan wants answered: who is the GOAT? Each book will pit two of the biggest and best players in the world head-to-head in a battle for the crown, kicking off with the superstar clash of Messi vs Ronaldo. Action-packed and full of detailed facts, trivia, stats and funny illustrations , this is the the collectable new series that's perfect for fans of Ultimate Football Heroes and Football School.

Ultimate Football Heroes Series

Ultimate Football Heroes is a series of biographies telling the life-stories of the biggest and best footballers in the world and their incredible journeys from childhood fan to super-star professional player. Written in fast-paced, action-packed style these books are perfect for all the family to collect and share. 

Me and Aaron Ramsey

Me and Aaron Ramsey tells the story of Sam and his dad who both love football, which is always there for them however tough real life becomes. That is, until Dad's dreams of football stardom go horribly wrong. Sam's love for the footballing legend becomes tangled with his relationship for his father as things go south in their family life.

Bad United: Just For Kicks

All Hoof the Unicorn wants to do is be part of a football team but his club never appreciated his talents and kicked him out. Then he spots an advert for BAD UNITED and he feels a tingling in his hooves. A chance to be part of a team again! A chance to play the game he loves! And a chance to show off his skills…

The first book in a super and silly graphic novel series, perfect for fans of The Bad Guys and The Nothing to See Here Hotel.

The Most Incredible True Football Stories - The England Edition

From the winner of the 2020 Children's Sports Book of the Year Award, Matt Oldfield.

Think you know everything about the Three Lions and the Lionesses?

Have you heard of . . .
*The naughty pitch-invading dog that stole the show at the 1962 World Cup?
*The English amateurs who achieved Olympic gold?
*The spy who snuck into training?
*The incredible comeback of the England women's team?
*The infamous World Cup handball that sealed England's fate?
*The Lost Lionesses who made it big in Mexico?

The beautiful game has always reigned supreme in England. These incredible and sometimes ridiculous stories may give you some idea of why. From penalty pain to unbelievable comebacks, discover some of the best true tales of our beloved national teams.

Compiled by bestselling author Matt Oldfield, this is the third book in the award-winning Unbelievable Football series and the perfect World Cup gift for football fans everywhere.

The Funny Life of Football

A hilarious fact and fiction hybrid from bestselling author and stand-up comic James Campbell, who has visited over 3,000 primary schools to tell stories and encourage children to write their own. Want to know why OCTOPUSES can't play football? And how to play the game across multiple DIMENSIONS? How about learning the REAL RULES of how football is played, why Henry VIII banned it, plus where it came from and who the greatest players of ALL TIME are? Whether you love a game of TABLE FOOTBALL, can't get enough of BACK-GARDEN BALL, only enjoy the game from your SOFA or would sooner swim with sharks than play it, if you LOVE to LAUGH - then this is the book for you! But be warned - this is NOT a normal book. You can read it forwards, backwards, sideways and in approximately 861,000 different ways in between. From comedian extraordinaire James Campbell, get ready to laugh your BUTT off to a silly book filled with funny stories, partly-true facts and hilarious pictures that will make you think twice about the game everyone thinks they know so well.

Football School: The Greatest Ever Quiz Book

Test your football knowledge with over 300 funny and fascinating questions about the beautiful game.
How much do you know about football - and the world? Test yourself and your friends with over 300 brain-busting questions from Football School. Discover questions on star strikers, crafty coaches, momentous matches and much, much more. Packed with hilarious cartoons and fascinating trivia, this spin-off from the bestselling series is the perfect way for fans to learn more about the beautiful game.

Kicking Off: Dick, Kerr Girls

The remarkable story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies is brought to young readers for the very first time by award winning and CILIP Carnegie nominated Eve Ainsworth. It's 1917, and Britain is at war. Shy teenager Hettie wants to help the war effort, and signs up to work in the local Dick, Kerr & Co. munitions factory. She's nervous, but she has no idea quite how much her life is about to change ... For, inside this factory are young women who are about to make sporting history. Can Hettie find the courage to join them, and in doing so, find her own place in the world? Based on the thrilling true story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies team - football's forgotten legends.

Johnny Ball: Accidental Football Genius

From the author of Ultimate Football Heroes comes the first book in the new Johnny Ball series, perfect reading for football-mad kids

Johnny Ball LOVES football. He loves reading about it, talking about it, watching it - and he loves playing it too. He's a good player, but not quite good enough to make the Tissbury Primary School team for the super-huge Under-11s County Cup. But never mind, because their clueless coach, Mr Mann, has a special role for Johnny: ASSISTANT MANAGER! With only Grandpa George's old scarf, a 'pocket' notebook and his brilliant football brain, can Johnny lead the Tissbury Primary team all the way to County Cup glory?

Football School: The Ultimate Puzzle Book: 100 brilliant brain-teasers

A football-themed puzzle book that will keep kids busy for hours with word, logic and number puzzles.
Train your brilliant brain and enjoy hours of football-themed fun with Football School's The Ultimate Puzzle Book . Packed with over 100 brain-teasers, word searches, riddles, maths puzzles and logic games, this book is perfect for car journeys, planes and rainy days and makes the ideal gift for any young football fan.

Unbelievable Football: The Most Incredible True Football Stories You Never Knew

The perfect read for the football-mad kid in your life

Do you think you know everything there is to know about football?

Have you heard of ...

* The psychic octopus who could predict the winner?

* The Lancashire Lasses who became football's best kept secret?

* The dog detective who saved the World Cup trophy?

* The superstar footballer who never actually played football?

Discover the most incredible, sometimes ridiculous, and always completely unbelievable football stories you never knew. From bestselling author Matt Oldfield, this is Unbelievable Football - true tales from the world's favourite game where there's everything to play for and anything can happen.

The Big Book of Football by MUNDIAL

Dive into the world of football with this mega book of everything to do with the beautiful game. Learn all the lingo; meet the greatest players, managers and teams from both the men's and women's games; take masterclasses with the pros; wander through the haircut hall of fame; learn the most iconic goal celebrations and more.

Written by the team at MUNDIAL, the celebrated football lifestyle magazine, and filled with fun, colourful illustrations, The Big Book of Football by Mundial covers it all:

• The basics and the lingo that will have you talking like a football expert in no time.
• History of football , including how we got from playing with a ball made of feathers to using high-tech footballs, the greatest teams of all time and the evolution of football boots.
• The great players , including Paolo Maldini, Lev Yashin, Joy Fawcett, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Michelle Akers, Sir Stanley Matthews and Marta Vieira da Silva.
• Legendary managers and how they did it - learn the favourite killer formations of greats like Rinus Michels and Sir Alex Ferguson.
• The big cups , with their histories and greatest players.
• The world's most amazing stadiums , including Wembley, Melbourne Cricket Ground and San Siro.
• Kits hall of fame , from the USSR's (now Russia) classic red sweatshirt with 'CCCP' written across the front to Mexico's green home shirt with Aztec patterns and the giant face of the Aztec god of death.
• How to take the perfect shot like Ji So-yun, take the perfect set piece like David Beckham, take penalties like Matt Le Tissier, beat the offside trap like Fernando Torres, do the perfect attacking header like Didier Drogba and more.
• Weird and wonderful , from the way we describe things that happen in the game (a fox in the box) to the way we celebrate a goal (by pretending to be a robot) or do our hair (shaving it all off except for a triangle at the front).
• The culture and people surrounding the game, from traditional pre-game food to the referee, commentator and all-important crowd.

My Greatest Football Team Ever: Build Your Dream Team

The greatest football team ever. Managed by you .

Here are the finest players that have ever lived, in every single position, fighting for a place in your squad. No manager has ever had to make these decisions before, but no manager has ever had talent like this at their disposal.

Let your favourite footballing stars go head-to-head and build your ultimate football dream team in this activity book with a difference. From journalist and co-host of That Peter Crouch Podcast Tom Fordyce, learn how to think like a manager, pick your players, draw your kit, set your formation, plan your pre-match meal and more.

So, get your football fix this summer and start creating your greatest football team ever ...

Ultimate Football Heroes Quiz Book

How much do you know about one of the greatest football tournaments of all time - the Euros? Prove your super fan status with this ultimate quiz book that will test even the most dedicated football fan to the limit. With questions ranging from famous players and matches of days gone by to the tournament as it is now, there is bound to be something to challenge all the family.