Bubble ball

One of the 12 activities you could get with Go Yellow, from €17 per person. Like all of them, you do not find out this is the one until between 48 and 24 hours beforehand.

What is bubble ball?

The Bubble ball is about as unusual as an afternoon out gets: everyone playing is inside an inflatable bubble. The whole thing happens inside a giant inflatable ball, trying to score against the other team or just rolling into each other without stopping. Nobody keeps a straight face for long.

To enjoy it you do not have to be any good or a football fan. All it takes is comfortable clothes and the intention of enjoying yourself. Healthy competition, a lot of good humour and one of the odder sports of recent years.

It works well for birthdays, stag and hen dos and team building, and it works for adults and for children. It is the right thing for working off the week with the people you like most.

Activity at a glance

How bubble ball is played

First, after the instructors have explained how it works, the group splits into two teams, one at each end of the pitch, each player inside their own inflatable ball.

Then the ball goes down in the centre circle and the game starts. Both teams charge, collide and fight over it. The aim is to get it into the other team’s goal, or defend your own by any means available.

The match is played in two halves of a length that depends on the group. And the balls are not heavy (3 to 5 kg) , though it does take it out of you.

The bubbles are a metre and a half across for adults and 1.20 m for children. Those sizes are what keeps everyone safe and the game enjoyable.

The final score is beside the point, because along the way there is a great deal of adrenaline and a great deal of laughing.

What is included?

The bubbles, 3 to 5 kg depending on the player’s age
Bib, knee pads and approved protection
A qualified instructor
Hire of the pitch
Balls and goals
Sports clothes and trainers are recommended

Duration

This activity lasts about 1 hour, plus 20 minutes to explain how it works and get everyone into the bubbles.

How much bubble ball costs

This activity costs €35 per person and includes the experience, the kit and photos and video of the session.

Where to play bubble ball

There are pitches for zorbing or bubble football in Bizkaia

You can also play in Gipuzkoa

And we have added zorbing pitches in Álava to what we offer.

Bubble ball in Bilbao and Bizkaia

If you are after somewhere to play bubble ball in Bilbao, you have come to the right place. Get in touch through the form or by email. All we need is a date and how many of you there are, and we will set the game up in Bilbao or anywhere in Bizkaia.

Forget about the organising and leave it to us: you and your group just turn up and play, whether it is one round or several.

Bubble ball in San Sebastián

If you fancy playing bubble ball in San Sebastián, we can sort it out. Get in touch through the form or by email.

All we need is a date and how many of you there are.

Season

This one runs all year round, on outdoor and indoor pitches, so the weather is never a reason to call it off.

Where bubble football came from

This one started in Norway in 2011 and did so more or less by accident. It took off in the middle of 2014, when a video went viral in a matter of days.

It had a difficult start: there were safety problems and a certain amount of risk, and it was not looked on kindly.

Today you can play it without a second thought, thanks to better materials and a better understanding of the game.

Bubble ball, buble ball, bubbleball, zorbing or bobble ball

People write to us calling this activity all sorts of things:

Bubble ball,
buble ball,
bubbleball
bobble ball

The correct name is bubble ball, from bubble and ball, because the thing looks like a soap bubble.

It is also called bubble football, bubble soccer or zorb football. Same bubble, but with a ball and two goals, making for a rather unusual football match.

And then there is zorbing. In zorbing the person inside the ball is rolled down a steep slope to pick up speed on the way down.

Which one is yours?