Take a look at a couple of free football games that will make the weekend's matches more exciting

I like to take a look at the different aspects of football in my blog. I believe that football is more than just the things that happen on the pitch, and about more than the things that happen in the Premier League. I've taken the time to look at the following in recent weeks-

The best food to eat while watching football - http://inofftheblogpost.blogspot.com/2015/09/whats-best-food-to-go-with-football.html

Perfect football Christmas gifts - http://inofftheblogpost.blogspot.com/2015/09/so-your-child-wants-to-be-footballer.html

This ultimate football quiz site - http://inofftheblogpost.blogspot.com/2015/10/take-look-at-fun-footie-quiz-website.html

And it's by looking at the periphery sometimes that opens up my eyes to the wonderful world of football.

A couple of things have been reignited in my eyes this week - both testing your skill (and luck) and both free of charge.

Super 6

This is a free app provided by Sky Sports and tests your football knowledge for a potential £250,000 prize. Each week they state 6 fixtures, all Saturday 3pm, and ask you to guess the correct scores. Be the only person to get all 6 completely correct and win the top prize. If more than one person gets them all current then the closest guess to the first goal time is the winner. With 5 points for a correct score and 2 points for a correct result, if there's no £250k winner then the top point scorer gets £20,000. The idea is a good one and gets people watching Gillette Soccer Saturday, gets downloads of their app and gives Sky a chance to market Sky Bet to an audience that already has expressed an interest in predicting football scores. And it's a worthwhile bit of weekly fun for you football fans out there.

Fantasty football

This is a development borrowed from American Football and allows the manager in you to compete against friends, family and the world. It's been here for 20+ years but is still going strongly, with the newspapers in particular pushing sign-ups. I prefer the official game on the Barclays site, as it allows you to build a squad, make substitutions and transfers. It does, however, take up a bit if time every week as you plot substitutions, transfers and captains. But once you are in a league against your friends or work colleagues it's all worthwhile and adds to the enjoyment of the football fixtures as well as provoking some friendly rivalry. If you're not yet part of a game I suggest you give it a try - most are free to join and will provide a little fun and the chance to win a prize.

I'll keep looking at different ways to enjoy football and I'll post all the angles on here!

So your child wants to be a footballer? Feed that passion.

In off the post tries to look at all aspects surrounding football and one overriding reason for me to write my blog is the massive interest that my own children have in the game. I wrote the following with them in mind-

So your child wants to be a footballer?

They think about it all day long. They want to be the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. They ask for football stuff for every birthday and for every Christmas. They play football games on their games console all the time and they want to be better at it than all their friends. They look at football cards and study the rating of all their favourite players. Their every wish is the latest pair of football boots that they hope to eventually get for free when they sign a contract with Adidas or Nike. They want to play in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga. They've read the stories of the best players and seen how they've worked their way up from their local teams to play for the best teams in the world.

All they can think about when they are in the classroom, in the playground and at home is playing football. When every part of their existence is geared towards football and all things football, it can sometimes be difficult to think outside the box (no pun intended) when looking for presents. Ideas beyond the standard football short, footballs and football boots can be hard to come by and often lack imagination.

So where do you turn?

The best presents in this area are hand-made, personalised and unique. Adding to the magic of Christmas for all the family are these Personalized Christmas Stockings from The Busy Elf Workshop-

How about starting a new family tradition this year? It’s the traditional things about Christmas that you remember as a child and these family traditions and rituals are what make Christmas. It’s what you pass down to your children and hey pass down to their children. If your children just love football, then a football-themes stocking will add to the magic of the season. Every stocking is customized to look like each member of your family and to showcase their interest in football.

They’re not just available for the football lovers in your family – the stockings are personalized and customized.  Whatever the interests send them in and The Busy Elves will do the rest. Love to bowl? cook? play music? hike in the woods? It’s a one-of-a-kind Christmas stocking treasure about each of you— to keep for years to come. 

Each stocking is personalized in the following way-

•      Name to appear on the toe
•     Gender and general age (boy/girl, teenager, man/woman, mature woman/man)
•      Hair Characteristics (color, texture, any facial hair)
•      Clothing Suggestions (please include colors)
•      Hobbies/Interests/Profession

Imagine the smile on the faces of your little ones when they are preparing for the arrival of Father Christmas and get out their own stocking that’s been designed and made uniquely for them. Check these great stockings out at-

https://www.etsy.com/listing/247211206/personalized-christmas-stocking-custom?ref=shop_home_active_3

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBusyElfWorkshop?ref=hdr_shop_menu