Ahead of FIFA World Cup, Soccer Prevails on Sea, Snow & Street

From the coasts of Thailand to the mountains of Italy, the world is playing soccer ahead of FIFA World Cup 2018.

Men playing soccer.

(Photo: Reuters)

As Russia puts the finishing touches to the carefully manicured fields that will host the FIFA World Cup from next week, people around the globe are playing soccer on a surprising variety of makeshift pitches.

Off the coast of an island in southern Thailand, they play on a floating platform; in the mountains of northern Italy, they kick about in the snow - images captured by Reuters photographers around the world.

Men playing soccer outside the village of Pogi in Leningrad region, Russia.

Eriskay and Barra playing a soccer match on the Isle of Eriskay, Scotland.

Children playing soccer on a floating pitch in the fishing village of Ko Panyi in southern Phang Nga Province, Thailand.

Children playing soccer and details of flip-flops, a football and a pitch by the Botataung Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar.

Local children playing soccer in the Royal Old Town Vranduk built in the 14th century in Vranduk, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Men playing Subuteo and details of Sabuteo pitch, a player and a football in Rome, Italy.

On a dusty Kolkata street, painted with a 2018 World Cup logo, Indian schoolchildren brave the traffic for a barefoot game.

“We play when we get time and whenever the road is empty,” Papan Mallick, 13, told Reuters.

He is a fan of Argentina's Lionel Messi, while 12-year-old Suchan Pakre worships Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo. They will both be watching the action in Russia that kicks off on June 14.

Boys playing soccer in a residential area in Kolkata.

Boys playing soccer in their garden in Vienna, Austria.

Boys playing soccer on an improvised football pitch in Bayanzurkh district of the capital Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Boys playing soccer at the compound of the Dambai EP Primary School after school hours in the town of Dambai, Ghana.

Students checking soccer robots and details of a pitch, a ball-handling device, and a ball at the Robot Vision Laboratory of the Tokyo Polytechnic University in Atsugi, Japan.

Children playing soccer in Alcorcon, near Madrid.

As will Lorenzo Richetto, who uses skis for goalposts as he enjoys a match on the snow with his friends at the Italian ski resort of Sestriere.

I would like to emulate Messi but playing with ski boots, I will be more likely to emulate the former ski champion Alberto Tomba.

Richetto, 46, to Reuters

Ski club teachers playing soccer in the snow wearing ski boots in Sestriere, Italy.

Local residents playing soccer on the top floor of a parking garage in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Men playing soccer on a roof stadium in Shanghai, China.