Possession games teach players to create space, support the ball carrier and keep the ball under pressure. Numerical superiority with neutral players helps the team in possession succeed early.
Add a direction or a target as soon as the group copes, so possession has a purpose.
16 exercises
Positional game
Two teams of four keep the ball with the help of three neutral players — one at each end and one inside — creating a 7v4 for the team in possession.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Positional game
5v5 where a team scores by receiving a pass inside the opponents' end zone. Players learn to combine possession with well-timed forward runs.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Positional game
5v5 in three zones. Teams score by moving the ball from one end zone to a teammate in the opposite end zone — teaching when and how to switch play.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Possession game
Two teams of four keep the ball together against a third team that presses for the whole round. The pressing team counts its recoveries; every team presses once.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Possession game
6v6 keep-ball in two zones. Five passes in one zone followed by a switch to a teammate in the other zone scores a point; only four defenders may press in the ball zone.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Possession game
5v5 keep-ball with two inside neutrals and a two-touch limit. Six passes score one point; a third-man combination through a neutral scores two.
AdvancedGlobalPossession
Possession game
Three teams of four in one square: two keep the ball (8v4) and the team whose player loses it becomes the defending team at once. Fewest turns defending wins.
AdvancedGlobalPossession
Possession game
4v4 keep-ball where every player has a direct opponent with the same number and can only tackle, or be tackled by, that player. Six passes score a point.
IntermediateGlobalPossession
Possession game
7v7 keep-ball with a central neutral in a big area. To score, the team must string eight passes that use both halves; without the ball the team defends as a compact block.
AdvancedGlobalPossession
Possession game
Five players keep the ball against two defenders in a 12 × 12 m square. A pass between the two defenders is worth double.
IntermediateGlobalRondos
Possession game
A 4v2 rondo in one grid; when the defenders win the ball they pass it into a second grid and the play flips — the new defenders must sprint across.
AdvancedGlobalRondos
Possession game
Two teams in a 25 × 20 m area. The team with the ball counts its passes out loud; ten in a row scores a point. The classic keep-ball game.
BeginnerGlobalFun Games
Match
Goalkeeper plus six against six on a 60 × 40 m pitch. The build-up team earns a point when a midfielder receives facing forward in the middle zone, then attacks the goal.
AdvancedGlobalTactical
Match
7v7 with goalkeepers on a pitch split into thirds: maximum two touches in your defensive third, three in the middle third and free touches in the final third.
IntermediateGlobalSmall-Sided Games
Positional game
2v2 in the middle with four wall players around the area. Teams score by getting the ball to the end player they attack; side wall players help whoever has the ball.
IntermediateGlobal2v2
Waves
4v3 from a throw-in. Nobody may wait in the zone in front of the thrower, so receivers take their marker away and come back to get the ball.
IntermediateGlobalSet Pieces