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Ten of the best football apps and games | Technology | The Guardian

Football: bloody hell! After a summer of Fifa shenanigans, it’s good to be back in the swing of the club season.

Jose Mourinho is scowling and firing his blamecannon; Arsenal have a dodgy keeper; Sunderland are making my school team (1997-98 season: played one, lost one, scored two, let in 14) look like Barcelona; mascots are giving children nightmares… It’s like the beautiful game never went away.

If you love football in 2015, your smartphone or tablet can be the perfect companion to your passion, whether it’s checking scores, tweaking your fantasy team or pitting your wits against virtual opponents in games.

With tens of thousands of apps to choose from, which are the Champions League contenders? Here’s a handpicked selection covering iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Prices are correct at the time of writing, and “IAP” means they use in-app purchases.

Forza Football.

Forza Football (Free + IAP)
iOS / Android
There are dozens of apps promising live scores, but Forza Football is the top dog. You start by choosing competitions and teams to follow – in England, that includes the FA Women’s Premier League and as far down the men’s game as the Northern and Southern Premier Leagues – but can add individual matches that you want to get push notifications about as they play, too. The iOS version has an Apple Watch companion app.




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New Star Soccer (Free + IAP)
iOS / Android / Windows Phone

Years after it first launched for mobile devices, there still aren’t enough superlatives for New Star Soccer, which despite its basic looks is the best pocket-sized football game available. It puts you in the boots of a novice pro: passing, heading and shooting your way to the big time, while stocking up on boots, bling and even racehorses. Its swipe’n’tap controls work beautifully, making it the kind of game you’ll miss tube stops for – and, indeed, sleep.

Stats Zone by FourFourTwo.

Stats Zone by FourFourTwo (Free)
iOS / Android

This is a spin-off from FourFourTwo magazine, and is the knowledgeable football anorak’s choice for keeping up to date with the key leagues and teams. It taps Opta’s database of match statistics, so rather than simply checking scores, you can dig deeper into individual player performances. Whether you want to beef up your pub-punditry skills or get an extra edge in your fantasy football career, this is a genuine rabbit-hole of an app.

Sky Go and BT Sport (Free w/ subscriptions)
iOS / Android

It may be cheating to have two apps in one entry, but these two sit together as the official ways for football fans in England to watch live Premier League games on their mobile devices. And yes, some may quibble over whether they’re “best” – their middling app store ratings reflect users’ anger when they encounter bugs or crashes while watching. Even so, when they do work, the ability to tune in live on a smartphone or tablet rather than be tethered to your home television is welcome.

Onefootball.

Onefootball (Free + IAP)
iOS / Android / Windows Phone

Originally called The Football App, this has been one of the most popular ways for fans to get their news, scores and statistics for years now. That popularity is justified: from push notifications and minute-by-minute commentaries to one-to-one and group messaging features to chat to (or taunt) friends, it’s well thought out and neatly designed. Like rivals, Onefootball is exploring how to add smartwatch features, while its level of detail from global to local leagues is impressive.

Corner.

Corner (Free)
iOS / Android

Corner may sound like a bit of a niche: it helps you find a nearby pub in the UK that’s showing football matches on TV. But since writing about it when it first launched in 2014, it’s one of the apps I’ve regularly fired up when out and about with an hour or two to kill. It’s fast and easy to choose a match, see which nearby pubs are showing it and find your way to them: complete with a filter if you only want those serving food, offering Wi-Fi and/or with beer gardens.




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Football Manager Classic 2015 (£14.99)
iOS / Android

There are actually now two versions of the Football Manager game for mobile devices: Football Manager Handheld 2015 is also excellent, and available for smartphones as well as tablets. But it’s Football Manager Classic for tablets that has more depth: 117 leagues – including the English Conference South so I can play as my local team Bishop’s Stortford FC – and a massive player database are complemented by a TV-style match engine. As with the Classic mode in recent Football Manager PC games, this is tuned for players to blast through seasons if they want to, with an assistant to take some tasks off your hands. Perfect for people whose FM habit has waned due to life pressures.

Ultimate Fan Live.

Ultimate Fan Live (Free + IAP)
iOS / Android

Which fantasy football app you use will probably depend on which fantasy football tournament you play with friends: from the Telegraph to the official Premier League game, they all have mobile presences. But UFL offers a really interesting spin on the format, best experienced by signing up and creating a league with your own friends. The key here is that it’s live: you choose two players before a match, then earn points for all their actions – Opta, again, provides the data – making judicious use of “power-up cards” to boost their totals.

Fanatix.

Fanatix (Free)
iOS

Goal replays on Vine are the not-so-hidden secret of the football world in 2015: if a game is being televised somewhere, chances are every goal will have an unlicensed six-second clip on Vine within a couple of minutes. Fanatix offers a slightly different take on football video-sharing though: its clips loop just like Vines do (albeit with a longer eight-second length) but it’s more focused on news, from clips of freshly-transferred players to training-ground snippets. Highlights last for 24 hours at a time.

Flick Kick Football.

Flick Kick Football (Free + IAP)
iOS / Android

In theory, this is a casual football action game, but once the bug bites, your gameplay habits will be anything but casual. The game is all about scoring goals with flicks of your fingers, avoiding burly defenders and goalkeepers. The flicking mechanic is perfectly tuned, complete with aftertouch. A variety of modes, from hitting bullseye targets to scoring against the clock, keeps it interesting, and there is even an online multiplayer option for short, sharp matches testing your skills against real opponents.

On the bench …

Choosing just 10 football apps is a challenge. Honourable mentions go to news apps like Team Stream and 850 Sports, what-to-watch-next app Live Football on TV, and football-themed food and drink discounts app Green Card Pubs, which just missed the cut.

There are plenty of other good football games too: Top Eleven 2015 for a more social spin on football management, Tiki Taka Soccer channeling classic Sensible Soccer with a touchscreen twist, for example. Championship Manager: All-Stars has just been released, and FIFA 16 is on the way in September.

Finally, there’s the Guardian’s own app, with its news, minute-by-minute reports and the ability to set your team and get goal alerts by push notification. Taking up a slot above would have felt unfair to other developers, but as a reader, football is probably the thing I use the app most for.

What other football apps do you think should have been promoted to this lineup? The comments section is open for your recommendations.

This content was originally published here.

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