The Nintendo Switch offers the ultimate portability for gamers on the move, and if you love football, there are plenty of games to get stuck in to. Our list of the best Nintendo Switch football games has a mix of realism and arcade football (rules optional), games with a storyline, and games where management is the focus.
The best football games also go down really well with friends, and there is plenty of competition to be had with party play, which comes so naturally on Switch.
The best Nintendo Switch football games are:
1. Nintendo Switch Sports
The legacy of legendary Wii Sports is alive and well with Nintendo Switch Sports, and using the leg strap accessory, football comes home. This mode makes full use of motion control with the joy-cons, which can even work up a sweat from your living room.
You can choose from arcade 1v1, 4v4 and a penalty shoot-out football, and there is nothing more satisfying than timing a sweet volley and the ball firing (literally) into the back of the net. If you don’t fancy a workout, you can play sitting down using the buttons on your joy-cons, too.
The bonus? As well as football, you can enjoy six other sports on Nintendo Switch Sports, including tennis, golf and bowling. While it might not rank among the best Switch exclusives, it’s a great pick for football fans and sports fans in general.
2. Football Manager 2024 Touch
Football Manager 2024 Touch allows you to take control of a real football club and lead them to glory. The series is renowned for being one of the most in-depth management sims out there, and while FM Touch for Nintendo Switch is slightly watered down compared to the mainline series, it’s still incredibly detailed. Transfers, match tactics, training sessions, and more are all decided by you.
Porting Football Manager 2024 to the Nintendo Switch – especially in this slimmer Touch format – is an absolute masterstroke from developer Sports Interactive. It serves hardcore fans of FM by providing an on-the-go version that’s more detailed than the mobile version, while also providing a nice introduction to the series for newbies.
When it comes to picking where you want to start your management journey, the world is your oyster. You can go straight for a wealthy club with a big budget like PSG or Manchester City to get a head start on building your dream team, or give yourself even more of a challenge with a lower league club that you have to gradually grow and improve season by season. Whichever option you pick, Football Manager is one of the most addictive gaming experiences out there, and FM 2024 Touch allows you to take that experience anywhere.
3. EA FC 24
The FIFA series has long been the most popular for football game fans, but with EA FC 24, it gets a huge rebrand. While the name is different, the promise of total authenticity remains – there are hundreds of licensed teams and thousands of real players.
Also with the name change comes an actually updated gameplay engine for the Switch version of FC 24 – previous FIFA titles have been criticized for simply reusing the exact same engine over and over again, meaning the gameplay would feel identical year after year. While this Switch port still lacks many of the features of the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC versions, it’s still a great experience.
When it comes to game modes, Ultimate Team is the top dog. However, you could always kick back with Career Mode, or show off your skills in FC 24’s street football mode Volta.
4. Rocket League
Rocket League’s minimalist approach to football makes it perfectly at home on Nintendo Switch.
Human players are replaced with rocket-powered cars, and the simple objective is to get the massive ball in the net more times than your opposition. Rules of football? Gone. Physics? Ignored. Fun? Loads. Getting to grips with its simple controls is much easier in docked mode than in handheld, but either way, it won’t be long before you’re boosting your way to goals in five-minute matches.
Rocket League is best played online with a massive, cross-platform pool of global players across the Rocket League ranks, but when you’re travelling and stuck with no internet connection, you can play against the CPU offline, too. There are thousands of customisation combinations too so you can build the best cars, and with Rocket League’s cross-progression, you can bring your whole inventory from another platform to your Switch, by linking your Epic Games account.
5. Mario Strikers: Battle League
The Strikers series of Mario games could be one of the most underrated in Nintendo’s line up. You’d think a game which lets you bring together a squad of Toad, Mario, Waluigi and Bowser and play might not be that good of a football game, but the gameplay itself is superb, if a little chaotic. Rules are abandoned in Strikers, so there’s no pesky ref to interfere as you batter your way through your opponents. Like Smash Brothers, items can also add a bit of spice to your matches, so keep an eye out.
Mario Strikers: Battle League is at its very best in online competitive play. There’s ranked and casual gameplay, and the new Strikers Club lets you build your own football club and invite others to team up and dominate the leaderboards.
The big caveat with the latest iteration of Mario Strikers, is the lack of depth for players who don’t want to play competitively online. There’s so much missing content compared to past titles, and playing solo against the CPU in the cup can get tiresome, so stick to online or party play if you want to get the most life out of Mario Strikers: Battle League, which can be very fun.
6. Retro Goal
Retro Goal is a mobile game which has made its way to Nintendo Switch, and the old skool 16-bit style looks fantastic. Our favourite part about Retro Goal gameplay is defence being handled entirely by the CPU, so you can focus on the best part of football: attacking and scoring goals.
You’ll not only play the beautiful game, but you’ll get a bit of influence in management too, taking care of transfers, upgrading facilities and making sure your superstars get new contracts. Not too much of a commitment, and exactly the kind of pick-up-and-play football game that you’d expect on a mobile, ported to Switch.
7. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Hidden in a game you might have missed, there’s an over the top, arcade-style football game which is bound to be a hit at your next gathering. Up to 8 players can enjoy 4v4 football in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Each of the selectable 32 characters has one of three playing styles, so you can zoom past your opposition with Princess Peach, or smash into them using Bowser. It’s cartoon football with all the best Nintendo and Sega characters – what’s not to love?
As well as football, there are over 30 sports to enjoy (from classic track and field to skateboarding and boxing), and a bonus 20-chapter story mode which takes you back to an 8-bit Tokyo ‘64 Olympics. These officially-licenced Olympic compilations are always a must-buy on Nintendo consoles, and absolutely perfect for party games with friends or playing online. They’re kid-friendly, too!
8. Soccer Story
It wouldn’t be a ‘best Nintendo Switch games’ article without an RPG, and Soccer Story drops football right at the heart of adventure. The open world, single-player campaign is full of quests and puzzles, all aided by your magical football. Your quest? Restore football to the world after its recent demise at the hands of Soccer Inc.!
Along with other Nintendo Switch football games on this list, the football minigame itself doesn’t represent a mind-blowing simulation, because you’ll come up against teams of OAPs, sharks, toddlers, and ninjas in your quest to bring football back to your town. This quirky game is a welcome break from the intensity of football simulation, without removing the beautiful game altogether.
Now you’ve got the lowdown on the best Nintendo Switch football games available, we suggest you go and enjoy a kick around with friends. If you’re looking for something different, perhaps our picks of the best Nintendo Switch games will have something for you. Have fun!