Football Goal Posts and Portable Football Goal Reviews -The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Thursday, December 24th, 2009Football Goal Portable Goal Reviews -The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Football goals or football goal posts are probably one of the wisest investments you’ll ever make for your child especially if they show an inkling of a liking for kicking a ball.
Childrens football goals come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and qualities so you have to work out your budget against the type of goal, the size of goal that will best fit your garden and of course the quality you want.
You may be wondering why I’m qualified (if at all) to give an opinion on this subject, and you would be right to think so.
But just for your information I’m a professional football coach, I run my own soccer academy called Striker Academy and online football coaching business, and more important than all that I’m a parent of an eight year old boy and 4 year old girl!
If you’re just about to buy your first ever goal for your child, I know exactly what you’re feeling - excitement and confusion, yes it’s a wierd one.
If you’ve been round the football goal posts ‘merry-go-round’ I know how you’re feeling too. Having purchased most of the brands out there from really cheap to uber expensive and everything in between!
I want to be as objective as possible and try to give you an unbiased and clear picture as possible to help you in your quest to provide your child the best garden goal or portable football goal for your money.
I will only concentrate on garden goals and portable football goals that can be used for the garden rather than training goals.
So here goes…
Let’s start with quality first (those who have been through the mill of buying inferior goals will know why I’m starting here) but for those that haven’t been through the mill and don’t want to go there this will be of great value to you.
uPVC Goals with BSEN 71-1:2005
Samba Football Goals
Possibly one of the most popular brands in the UK, Europe and USA having dominated the soccer coaching industry for years with their infamous mini soccer goals. Coaches will know that these last for years and can take some stick.
They’re made from a tough uPVC plastic, manufactured in the UK again, after a shortish affair with China where it didn’t really work out for Samba.
Samba do many, many models starting with their baby version at 5ft(W) x 4ft(H); 6ft x 4ft; 8ft x 4ft; 8ft x 6ft and 12ft x 6ft. They also do other official sizes for mini-soccer, junior and senior goals.
The most popular size for the garden is the 8 x 6 model. All models have the same high quality uPVC and most (if not all) feature the handy locking system which helps to secure the corners of the goal to the frame so it doesn’t fall apart when your child kicks a ball at it.
The garden goals can be a little tricky to put together at first - some joke it’s like the Krypton Factor! But once they’re done you know you’ve a good quality, solid garden goal that’s going to give you many years of use.
For anyone that’s interested I may do a video on how to put together your Samba football goals quickly and easily. Leave a post requesting this if you want this to happen.
The only downside of the Samba goals is set up time. But if taking them down and setting them up is not an issue then you could do worse than buying a set of these good, high quality, robust portbale football goals.
Samba goals are also more expensive than many of the other uPVC and plastic goal brands. And you can pay up to 30-40 percent more than you would with a high street brand but the quality is also worlds apart. More on this on the High Street Brands section.
A cheaper alternative to Samba goals is Harrods Goals. Harrods (not the shop in London) specialize in metal goals for football pitches and 5 a side goals. They have been trying to break into Sambas territory for years but the goals are not as high quality as Sambas and the price tag of a Harrods goal allows for this.
JJB goals, STATS goal, Toys R Us goals, Umbro goals (Argos)
These are probably the main high street brands of portable football goals that are available in the UK today.
JJB do a 6′x4′, 8′x6′ and 12′x6′ version. Toys R Us are now only stocking an 8×4 version of the plastic goals and Argos seem to be doing an 8×6 and 12×6 version in their catalogues. Of course their online shops may have bigger ranges and more choices.
To my knowledge none of these are manufactured to BSEN 71-1:2005 and that’s probably why you won’t pay as much for these goals either. All are manufactured in China.
On first inspection, the main differences between these goals and the Samba goals are the quality of plastic is of a lower grade and the thickness of the plastic goal posts is thinner (internally).
You will also notice that the diameter of the goal posts is smaller. Samba goals come in at 68mm and the high street goals tend to be around the 50-52mm diameter.
This simply means the breakability of the thinner goals is greater because the thinner plastic is more brittle.
Another major difference is the quality of the net supplied with these goals is of a thinner nylon and not as strong as the one supplied with the Samba goals.
So what does this all mean to you? Does it mean the high street goals are not worth the money you will pay for them?
It all depends on how you look at the amount of usage against the cost of getting new parts and replacements.
The basic rule of thumb to follow is that if your child will be out practising every day and will be putting the goal through its paces then the investment in the more expensive Samba football goal will be a wise one. And not to mention when their friends are around for a kick about and they are standing on the nets and tubing when getting the ball.
Your Samba goal will withstand more of this than any of the high street counterparts.
However, if your child is just starting out and you’re not sure if they’re going to use the garden goal that much then the high street version will be a sufficient choice. And if they really enjoy using it and eventually break it through wear and tear then you can always upgrade to a Samba goal or equivalent later on.
iGoal (inflatable goal)
Possibly the best invention of 2008? Certainly in terms of football goal post safety.
Not only is it the safest goal on the market but possibly the quickest complete garden goal to set up and possibly the most portable football goal on the market.
The iGoal also comes complete with a bag which is a bonus if you want to store it during the winter months or take it out and about with you to the park or beach.
We use iGoals extensively in our Soccer Schools because they are quick to set up (the nets are already attached) and quick to take down. It takes around 1 minute from out-of-the-bag to ready-to-use.
They are also safe because the tough coated material just folds if the children put any weight on it. And that also means they can’t climb all over them - bonus!!
Surprisingly they react like a plastic goal when a ball hits the post or crossbar and you get a decent rebound so your little strikers can learn to follow their shot and improve their decision making and reaction speed.
One concern I had was the durability of the iGoal but we use ours every weekend and some weekdays too and so far it’s stood the test of kids whacking the ball into it.
The net is good quality too but I would expect that because the iGoal is not cheap. You get the dual-way pump included which is used to inflate and deflate the goal. It will take you a couple of goes to get the iGoal back in the bag but once you suss this out it’s a breeze.
The only downside of the iGoal is the price tag. But again when you way up the cost of a bag with the other goals (if portability or storage is a need) then it’s probably only slightly more expensive than the Samba goals. The iGoal is also manufactured in China.
Summary
Now before this football goal review gets any longer let’s wrap up our findings with a quick summary.
If you’re looking for a high quality garden goal or football goal posts that are portable then either the iGoal or Samba football goals will be a great choice. Both have good quality nets included and ground pegs to secure into the grass (similar to tent pegs). The Samba goals have an optional bag and the iGoal comes with a bag included. The iGoals fold into the bag which is the same size as an oversized sports bag or holdall. The Samba bag is longer so it can fit the posts and cross bar in but should still fit in the boot of a family car. You may have to fold the rear seats down.
These will give you many years of maintenance free service and perhaps the only thing you need to change will be the net when it eventually wears out (or when the dog chews it!).
If budgets are an issue or if you’re not sure that your child will use your garden goal as often as you hope (hey we’d all like our child to be out practising everyday and be the best goal scorer in the land!) then any of the high street brands will do the job very well. And with prices starting at under £25(!) for an 8×4 football goal they are a real bargain.
Remember that the high street goals are less likely to have replacement parts whereas the more expensive brands do have them easily available via their websites.
The football nets can be bought from any good sports eTailer (online sports store) or specialist sports shop and I’d always recommend spending a few pounds more on the heavier netting because it won’t rot and will take a lot more stick than the the thinner, cheaper football nets.
If you’ve had any experiences you’d like to share with others about your goal purchase then please leave a comment in the box below. Thanks for stopping by!