FAI Launches Drone Soccer: The World’s First Head-to-Head Air Sport
Photo credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA
Can you imagine having your drone and hit other drones on the air without any kind of penalization? For me it sounds freaking fun. And maybe to you, too. Welcome to Drone Soccer — a new, high-speed competition where drones take center stage in a futuristic version of football played in the sky. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) has officially recognized Drone Soccer as its first-ever team air sport, marking a big leap for competitive drone flying.
A Team Sport Takes Flight
For years, air sports have included impressive team disciplines like Formation Skydiving or synchronized aerobatics. But Drone Soccer is something entirely different. For the first time, two teams go head-to-head in real time, with each side trying to outscore the other by flying drones through a hovering goal ring.
Photo credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA
The action happens fast. Matches are played in three-minute sets, with five players per side (or three in smaller classes). Each drone is enclosed in a spherical cage, glowing with team colors, and piloted remotely from the sidelines. One drone serves as the striker, attempting to score by flying through the opponent’s goal ring, while defenders guard their own airspace and try to block incoming attacks.
And yes, just like in soccer, teams can make substitutions — swapping pilots between sets to adapt to the game’s flow.
Antonis Papadopoulos, President of the FAI’s Aeromodelling Commission, described it as “a completely new kind of competition for air sports.” Teams will have to manage not just strategy and piloting skills, but also personalities and chemistry, since coordination is everything when you’re battling in three dimensions.
How Drone Soccer Works
Each match consists of three sets, and the first team to win two sets takes the match. Goals are scored when the striker flies through the opponent’s hoop, which is just slightly larger than the drone itself — meaning precision is key.
If a set ends in a tie, things get even more interesting: a penalty shoot-out decides the winner. The striker has ten seconds to make a shot while a defender tries to block it. Still tied? A sudden-death round begins — first drone through the hoop wins.
It’s fast, it’s tactical, and it’s pure adrenaline for both pilots and spectators.
From Korea to the World
Drone Soccer started in South Korea back in 2016 as a fun, team-oriented way to enjoy drone flying. The idea caught on fast, and by 2019, it had become an officially recognized air sport under FAI rules. The first Drone Soccer World Cup took place in South Korea in 2023, and now the inaugural FAI World Drone Soccer Championship is set to happen in Shanghai, China, from November 15 to 18, 2025. In just a week!
Photo credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA
The game’s combination of lights, motion, and strategy makes it one of the most spectator-friendly drone events ever created — part e-sport, part aviation, and part pure sci-fi fun.
DroneXL’s Take
Let’s be honest — this looks like an absolute blast. Drone Soccer combines the thrill of flying with the camaraderie of a team sport and the energy of a live match. It’s like Rocket League met the DJI FPV Avata, and decided to throw a party in midair.
If you’ve ever flown drones competitively or even casually, you know how much focus and control it takes just to hover perfectly — now imagine doing that while weaving past opponents and trying to score a goal the size of a dinner plate.
Drone Soccer might just be the most exciting way to bring new pilots into the drone world. It’s fun, fast, and wildly futuristic — and honestly, I can’t wait to see the day when local drone soccer leagues pop up everywhere. Because let’s face it — flying drones is great. But flying drones as part of a team, under bright lights, with fans cheering? That’s next-level fun.
Photo credit: Yong-chan NAM / KAMA