Whether you refer to it as soccer or football, there’s no dispute about its popularity. Soccer, as it’s known in the United States, is the most watched sport in the world, with an estimated 5 billion fans. If you’re not yet among them, this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup is a great place to start—along with this collection of phenomenal photos from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest.
The moves these two young players display are as bold as their brightly colored soccer gear.
Janice Kohout, Oregon, 2013
Children high in the mountains play with a homemade soccer ball, jumping into the air to compete for it.
David Lazar, Lesotho, 2011
Desert hills surround a dirt soccer field, where stones delineate the borders and boys play with a ball that is wrapped in adhesive tape.
Hamid Jamshidian, Iran, 2019
Under the shadows of palm trees, a family plays soccer just a few yards from the beach.
Andrae Steed, California, 2017
Grassy soccer fields are fine, but the game is just as enjoyable on a wet, sandy beach.
Louis Charpentier, Sierra Leone, 2017
Two women from Vietnam’s San Chay ethnic minority play in a tournament, wearing traditional soccer dresses rather than numbered uniforms.
Tran Tuan Viet, Vietnam, 2020
Beneath Indonesia’s National Monument, the reflection of young soccer players is captured in a puddle of rainwater.
Derry Nurmansyah, Indonesia, 2020
Student athletes at Lynchburg College and Meredith College make contact—with each other and the ball—on the soccer field.
Natalie LeDonne, Virginia, 2015
An aerial view reveals a soccer field, almost hidden, among trees turning golden yellow during the fall season.
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