How to Make a Paper Football

Co-authored by Coco Sato

Last Updated: December 9, 2024

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You might not be able to play football in the office or classroom, but you can probably get away with tossing around a paper football—its unique triangular alternative. And you can make a paper football right from your desk in just a minute! Just portion and fold your paper and then create your football by folding a series of small triangles together.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Cutting and Folding Your Paper

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1
Fold an 8.5 by 11 inch (22 by 28 cm) piece paper in half lengthwise and then unfold it. A piece of paper 8.5 by 11 inches (22 by 28 cm), or A4 or American Letter size, works just as well. Either fold the right side of the paper to the left, or the left side of the paper to the right. Make sure the edges of the paper match up so that you create a neat vertical crease down its center. Unfold the paper once you've made a defined crease.
- Pinch the crease with your fingernail or use a creasing tool and run them along it to make it more firm.
- To make the crease even firmer, you can unfold the 2 halves, turn the paper over, and fold them again. This will create a defined crease along both sides of the paper.
2
Cut or tear the sheet along the vertical crease. Use scissors to cut along the vertical crease. You can also tear the paper in half by holding the left and right sides and gently pulling them in opposite directions. Either way, the end result should be 2 tall strips of paper that are 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide and 11 inches (28 cm) tall.^{[1]
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- You will only need to 1 strip to create 1 paper football. If you like, you can use the other to create another football later.
- Use scissors to cut your paper into 2 pieces whenever possible.
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3
Fold 1 of the strips in half lengthwise. Start by folding the top left corner about halfway down toward the bottom left corner. Afterwards, bring the top right corner down to the same halfway point toward the bottom right corner. Pull both corners down to their respective opposing corners.
- After lining up the corners, press the crease down with your fingernail or use a creasing tool such as a bone folder along the crease.
- Place the half horizontally in front of you when you're finished—the piece should now be half as wide and twice as thick.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Creating the Inside of the Football

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This fold should form a triangle. The left side of the triangle should run parallel to the width of the horizontal paper. The top edge of the triangle should run perpendicular to the left side of the triangle.^{[2]
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The left and top sides of the triangle should form a 90-degree angle, creating a right-angled triangle (the other two angles should be 45 degrees each).
2
Flip the triangle toward the left side of the paper. Use the thumb and index finger of your right hand to grab the triangle by its top right corner. Hold down the bottom left corner of the triangle with your free hand as you begin to flip the triangle to the left. Move your fingers out of the way at the halfway point of the flip and create another thicker triangle.
- Press down on the top and right creases of the new triangle.
3
Continue folding triangles along the paper until you've reached the end. Move toward the left side of the paper, pressing down on the creases of your new triangles as you go.^{[3]
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- Give the last creases a good rub once you're left with 1 triangle.
4
Undo the last 2 folds of the paper. With the point of the triangle facing up, pull the first fold downward to make a square. Now, pull the second fold outward from the square.
- The end result should be a square (or rectangle) attached to a right-angled triangle.
5
Fold the right-angled triangle downward. Afterwards, you should have 2 connected right-angled triangles that form a larger one.
- Don't worry if it's not a perfect triangle—it takes practice to get it right.
With the tip of the paper facing downward, draw a line 1 inch (2.5 cm) to mark off the corner piece. Use a pair of scissors to make a cut parallel to the height of the triangle (the line from the bottom corner straight upward). You can also tear off the extra paper with your hands.

Another option is to fold the right tip of the triangle toward the height so you don't have to remove any paper.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Shaping and Coloring Your Football

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1
Tuck the right side of the new triangle into the pocket on the left. Hold the 2 outer sides of the left small triangle with your thumb and forefinger. Gently squeeze it to widen the opening. With the point of your paper facing downward, take the tip of the small triangle on the right and tuck it into the pocket that is created by the left.^{[5]
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- At the end of this step, your larger right-angled triangle (created from 2 smaller triangles) should now be the same size as the smaller ones but with double the thickness.
Smooth down the creases of the triangle until you have a flat paper football. Now that it's ready, you can start being a champion paper football player.
3
Decorate the paper football if you want to get creative. If you'd like to give your paper football a personalized touch, use a marker or pen to draw stitch marks and other defining features of a football.
- Brown markers make a great color for football leather, and white or gray works well for the stitches.

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Question

How do I make the fold curvy when making a paper football?

Coco Sato
Origamist and Contemporary Artist
Coco Sato is an Origamist and Contemporary Artist based in Brighton, UK. She is an award-winning contemporary artist specializing in origami and geometric sculptures. With a multidisciplinary practice encompassing sculpture, performance, psychology, and geometry, she explores shifting perspectives through the intricate art of origami. Coco’s work bridges cultures by combining traditional Japanese aesthetics with contemporary concepts, inviting audiences to reconsider their relationship with the world.

Coco Sato

Origamist and Contemporary Artist

Expert Answer

Making curves on your paper football takes a little creativity, but it’s totally doable! To create those rounded shapes, you can try lightly dampening the paper by using a spray bottle to mist it gently—just enough to make the paper a bit more pliable without soaking it. This gives you control and helps the paper bend smoothly instead of folding sharply. Start with a tiny amount of water and see how the paper reacts; too much can make it soggy or prone to tearing. Once the paper is slightly damp, you can mold it into curves by pressing and shaping it with your fingers or rolling it over a rounded surface, like a pen or your palm. The key is to work slowly and evenly so the paper doesn’t crease unintentionally. Let it dry in place to hold its curved shape, and you’ll end up with a unique paper football that has a sleek, rounded look!

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What are the rules of paper football?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Paper football is simple. You flick the football across the table and try to get it to stop partway over the edge of the table to score a touchdown. If the football goes all the way over the edge of the table, “kick off” by placing the paper football on your palm and hitting your fingers on the underside edge of the table to launch it. If you score a touchdown, kick a field goal by flicking the football between the other player’s hands, which are held with the thumbs together in the shape of goal posts.

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How do you make a paper football goal?

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In a typical paper football game, the goal is made with one of the players’ hands. Have them place their hands together, palms out, with their thumbs touching to form a goal shape. Alternatively, you can make a goal out of toilet paper rolls. Tape a flat piece of paper or cardstock over the top of one roll, then tape 2 more rolls on the ends of the flat piece to make the goal posts.

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Tips

Always use scissors when you can—you'll get better creases and smoother throws when playing games of paper football.

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If you don't have the right size of paper for the job, you can cut off the extra pieces or make a smaller football

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To make a thicker football, don't rip the paper in half after folding it lengthwise. This means you'll only get 1 football for every 1 sheet of paper.

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