How to build your own football goal

• 1 crossbar: 2400 x 70 x 45 mm 
• 2 posts: 1600 x 70 x 45 mm
• 2 side sections/top struts: 600 x 45 x 45 mm
• 2 side sections/bottom struts: 1000 x 45 x 45 mm
• 2 rear support posts: 1700 x 45 x 45 mm
• 1 base strut: 2310 x 54 x 34 mm
• 4 wood screws/Spax for the frame: 6 x 100 mm
• 8 wood screws/Spax for the side sections: 6 x 100 mm
• 52 wood screws/Spax for fastening the brackets, hinges and floor anchors: 4 x 35 mm
• 2 metal brackets (stainless steel or galvanised steel) for frame stabilisation: 140 x 140 x 20 mm (3 or 5 mm thick)
• 4 folding hinges (stainless steel or galvanised steel): 60 x 60 mm
• 2 wooden dowels: 10 x 40 mm
• 60-65 screw hooks: 3.3 x 50 mm (16 mm width)
• 1 football net: for 160 x 240 cm goal size, preferably in white
• 4 angle connectors/metal brackets (bracket for floor anchors): 90 x 90 x 65 mm
• 4 floor anchors (tent pegs): 30 cm long
• Wood glue
• Wood protection oil

• A chainsaw, such as the STIHL MSA 70 C-B
• Lawn mowers or an iMOW® robotic mower
• Cordless screwdriver and bits to fit the screws
• Cordless drill and wood drill, 5 and 10 mm diameter
• Multi-grinder, 150 grit sandpaper
• Hook screwdriver
• Rubber mallet
• Workbench
• Trestle
• Tape measure
• Set square / carpenter’s square 
• Pencil
• Paint brush
• ECO marker, white
• Ball pump

Working with high-performance power tools is fun and allows you to broaden your skills, which is great if you can rely on effective and safe protective clothing.

Always wear personal protective equipment when working with a garden pruner. This includes, for example, safety glasses, gloves and more. Find out more in the owners manuals for your product. Before using your power tool for the first time, fully familiarise yourself with it and ensure that it is in flawless condition before each use.

On request, your STIHL dealer will be happy to prepare your power tool for its first job, and will also advise you on models and sizes of protective clothing that you can try on at your leisure. Please remember that personal protective equipment is no substitute for safe working.

First, use a chainsaw, such as the STIHL MSA 70 C-B, to cut the crossbar for the goal and the two posts to fit. Then saw the upper and lower side struts to size. The next step is to adjust the rear support posts and the bottom strut to the correct length.

Now bevel the top and bottom side struts at the ends at a 15-degree angle. Do the same with the top and bottom of the rear support posts.

Sand all wooden parts thoroughly with the multi-grinder so that the goal does not have any sharp edges or splinters. Then treat all the wooden parts individually with wood protection oil and allow them to dry according to the instructions on the packaging.

Pre-drill the holes first to avoid splinters. Now screw the slats to the two posts from above with two wood screws each. To secure the posts, they are also screwed in place diagonally from bottom to top with a long wood screw.

The posts are then stabilised with metal brackets, whereby a metal bracket is always screwed to the inside of the goal frame with 4 wood screws. Also screw the upper and lower side struts to the rear support posts with two wood screws each. All parts are flush with each other with the bevels and form an open trapeze.

Now attach the hinges for the side sections to the bottom ends of the inside of the goal posts and screw the side sections to them tight.

Now you can open both side sections and set up the DIY football goal. Place the floor strut flush with the rear of the side wall.

Draw the outline of the bottom strut on the inside of the support post. Use the 10 mm drill bit to drill a hole in the middle of the outline to accommodate a wooden dowel – to around half the thickness of the support post. Repeat on the other side of the bottom strut.

Now clamp the floor strut into the workbench such that one end only protrudes slightly and draw 2 intersecting lines onto the cut end using a set square and a pencil. At the intersection of the lines, use a 10 mm drill bit to drill a hole for the free (not glued) side of the wooden dowel; this hold should be slightly more than half the length of the dowel.

Now glue wooden dowels to the two ends of the floor strut. You have already drilled the appropriate holes for this in step 7.

Fit the floor anchor brackets (angled connectors) on the outside at the bottom of the front posts and the rear support posts. Also attach the floor strut to the right and left of the rear support posts with the wooden dowels to build your own football goal.

Hang the net loosely over the goal, turn the screw hooks at a spacing of approx. 20 cm on all the struts of the goal, and hang the net to complete your DIY football goal.

Before the football goal is put into use, you should prepare the lawn and mow it to a cutting height of approx. 3 cm with a lawn mower, for example with a STIHL RMA 443 C. For particularly precise mowing results, the fully automatic iMOW® robotic lawnmower takes care of mowing for you. Place the goal in its final position and secure it with the floor anchors that you hammer into the floor.

Now all you have to do is mark the goal line with ECO marker and, if necessary, inflate the ball with a ball pump. Done!

A wooden football goal requires more maintenance and is less robust than an aluminium or steel goal.

However, it has the advantage of being more resource-efficient and sustainable. You can also use wood scraps – if available – to save money.

Both a purchased and a home-built football goal are suitable for the garden. You can choose between goals of a wide range of sizes, as well as between mobile and securely anchored doors.

The children’s football goal in our example is 1.6 metres high and 2.4 metres wide. You can also use other sizes, such as the youth football goal size 5 x 2 meters.

An official football goal, like the one used in professional sports, is 2.44 metres high and 7.32 metres wide.