Close-up of the word "PRONE" written in bold, white letters with a black background.
Logo with the text 'Soccer Academy' in bold white letters on a black background.

Welcome! 

Three children and one adult observing a drone display behind a safety net, with illuminated drones on the floor.
A soccer ball next to a blue drone cage on a green background.

Who we are  

Drone Soccer Academy is committed to making Drone soccer an integral part of STEM learning programs, fostering and encouraging an interest to in technology, team participation and co-operation, accessible to all ages and abilities and most of all, challenging and fun!

We intend to focus on novice pilots, at the start of their drone soccer journey. We have a strategic partnership with one of Korea’s leading manufacturers of drones.  

What is drone soccer 

Drone soccer is a team sport, recognised by the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale) requiring strategy as well as flight skills with players working together to defend and score. The rules are simple, matches and match drones are standard, (so no tweaking to gain advantage), the skill is with the team.

How do we play 

You can start playing with just two players, two drones and a goal, to practice your striking and flight skills. Just like football, Drone soccer is a game played by two opposing teams, with each team composed of three to five players.

Each player controls a soccer drone, and each team has a goal that they need to defend. The team has one striker and rest of the team defending and facilitating the striker. The aim of the game is to score as many ‘goals’ as possible by flying the drone through the goal defended by the opposite team. Each game consists of three sets lasting three minutes each. The team with the highest score at the end of the game wins! 

The game has wide appeal as it can be played by any age, gender and disabilities are no obstacle.  

Where do we play 

Play is within a netted area with goals at each end and that it. It is a contact sport, but there are no health and safety issues, as the players remain outside of the protective net. The drones are within and protected by a carbon fibre soccer ball’, and the game has been likened to a modern-day version of Harry Potter’s ‘Quidditch’.

Illustration of a foosball field with blue and red players, demonstrating a shot with the ball in play.
View of a drone soccer match at an indoor event with netted field, spectators, and illuminated spherical decorations hanging from the ceiling.

When you can have a go?

Person reaching out towards a drone flying over a mountainous landscape with green hills and a blue sky with clouds.

History

Drones have grown in innovation along with the areas in which they are being used. Where once drones were the province of photographers, geographers and film makers, they are now utilised underwater, in agriculture, in space, and even in combat, so it's inevitable that they should cross boundaries into the sporting world.  

Drones made it firstly into racing, which requires incredible piloting skills and is costly, making them out of reach to beginners. However, this has paved the way for a new sport, Drone Soccer, developed in South Korea in 2016 by the CAMTIC Institute of Technology in Jeonju, South Korea, then introduced into the USA and Europe and now the UK.

It is now governed by the FÉDÉRATION AÉRONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE - WORLD AIR SPORTS FEDERATION -  AND HAS AN OFFICIAL SET OF RULES. 

“the game has been likened to a modern-day version of Harry Potter’s ‘Quidditch’.

Indoor space with colorful lighting and illuminated spherical objects on the floor, with people watching through a glass wall. There are mannequins dressed in traditional clothing and a large illuminated sign that reads 'BLOON' or similar.