Backyard Soccer
Backyard Soccer, known in Europe as Backyard Football (PC) or Junior Sports Football (PlayStation) and in Australia as Junior Sports Soccer, is a children's association football video game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment; Infogrames published the PlayStation version. It is the second game in the Backyard Sports series, following Backyard Baseball, and the first installment of the Backyard Soccer sub-series. It was first released on October 13, 1998, for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, in 2001 for the PlayStation, and in 2008 for iOS. The PC and PlayStation versions of the game, alongside the PlayStation 2 version of Backyard Basketball, were the only Backyard Sports titles released in Europe.
Backyard Soccer
- Model
- Backyard Sports.
- Date
- 1998.
- Genre
- association football video game.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Backyard Soccer, known in Europe as Backyard Football (PC) or Junior Sports Football (PlayStation) and in Australia as Junior Sports Soccer, is a children's association football video game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment; Infogrames published the PlayStation version. It is the second game in the Backyard Sports series, following Backyard Baseball, and the first installment of the Backyard Soccer sub-series. It was first released on October 13, 1998, for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, in 2001 for the PlayStation, and in 2008 for iOS. The PC and PlayStation versions of the game, alongside the PlayStation 2 version of Backyard Basketball, were the only Backyard Sports titles released in Europe.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Backyard Soccer. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q4839884 · wikipedia · Backyard Soccer
In this article
The object
The object
The game spawned two sequels, both of which would include players from Major League Soccer and the USWNT; the sequels were Backyard Soccer MLS Edition, released in 2000 and Backyard Soccer 2004, released in 2003. A remastered version of the game entitled Backyard Soccer '98 was released for Windows via Steam on November 27, 2024, becoming the second remaster in the Backyard Sports franchise after its 2024 reboot, following Backyard Baseball '97 the previous month and preceding four more remasters. A mobile port for the remaster was released on November 13, 2025.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Backyard Soccer • Developer — Humongous Entertainment • Publisher — Humongous Entertainment • Engine — SCUMM • Series — Backyard Sports • Released — Windows, MacintoshOctober 13, 1998 PlayStation iOSOctober 31, 2008 ' 98 remaster (Windows)November 27, 2024 ' 98 remaster (iOS, Android)November 13, 2025 • Genre — Sports • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Windows, Macintosh, PlayStation, iOS
Gameplay
Gameplay
Backyard Soccer is a 6-a-side soccer video game with hybrid youth and professional soccer rules. The game has five modes: "Pick-Up Game", "Friendly Match", "Practice Penalty Kicks", "Spectator" and "League Play". The PlayStation version also includes two additional modes: "Mini-League" and "Beach Tournament". In league play, the player takes a managerial role by selecting 8 players from a pool of 30 Backyard Kids. The team enters the "Backyard Soccer League", aiming to win promotion from the B Division to the A and then Premier Division. If in the top four by mid-season in any division, the player's team will be invited to the Off-The-Wall Indoor Invitational, an indoor soccer tournament. After winning the Premier Division, the player's team will be invited to represent the United States in the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups Tournament (a spoof of the FIFA World Cup). Regardless of the tournament's outcome, the player's team will be placed back in the Premier Division for another chance at the Cup.
2024 remaster
2024 remaster
Reviews of the 2024 remaster have been positive. Mark O'Callaghan of CBR, in particular, praised the remaster for retaining all of the original game's features as well as the addition of achievements, but he expressed concern that players who were unfamiliar with soccer may lose interest due to the game's lack of a proper tutorial.
History of the object
Dated record
History of the object
The full dated record · 2 entries
1998
Backyard Soccer published.
1998
Backyard Soccer is recorded as published in 1998.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
United States.
Country
Backyard Soccer is associated with United States.
Country
Reception
Backyard Soccer received moderate reviews. Its gameplay was criticized for the hard-to-use controls for the PC version and long loading time, while its graphics were praised on all platforms. Brad Cook of Allgame was critical to the controls for the PC version. PSX Nation gave the game a score of 49 out of 100.
Context
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Backyard Soccer stands. Developed by Humongous Entertainment. Issued for Microsoft Windows. Issued for Classic Mac OS. Backyard Soccer is recorded as video game. Classed in the genre association football video game. Associated with United States.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4839884: Backyard Soccer
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Backyard Soccer”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Backyard FootballWork
- Backyard Football '08Work
- Backyard Football 2007Work
- Backyard HockeyWork
- Bad Apple WarsWork
- Bad Day L.A.Work
- Bad Day on the MidwayWork
- Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinjaWork
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a copy of Backyard Soccer?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.