Kick Off 2

What a weekend in Cambridge! The SWOS World Cups (Amiga and PC) took place on Saturday and Sunday, and for an outsider who has not played Sensible Soccer since 1993, it was an absolute thrill to follow the action and cheer for Blazej! The matches were fast, incredibly skilled, unpredictable, and with a never-ending stream of clutch moments.

Blazej’s road to the Amiga title on Saturday was impressive, but never certain, with fantastic opponents on the verge of knocking him out throughout the day.

In an absolutely epic semi-final, Blazej was on the verge of being knocked out by legend Playaveli, who was playing with a rare level of determination and heart, but Blazej held his composure to force the equaliser in the first two games, so that two more games had to be played. Only in the last game did Blazej take the decisive lead, in a tense, dramatic match that will surely be remembered for years!

In the other semi-final, crom1, who impressed me immensely throughout the day, even as an outsider with next to no understanding of the game, was on top until an epic comeback in the second half of the last game, where the underdog thd79 scored three quick goals to turn a certain defeat into a sensational victory and qualification to the final!

And where the drama in the semis was insane, the final took it even further. Blazej was the heavy favourite, but the first two matches were a roller coaster. thd79 held the lead long into the second match and was on the way to a sensational win over Blazej and the World Cup title, but Blazej managed to turn it around with two goals to a one-goal lead, only for thd79 to score the equaliser in the 89th minute and force two more games!

The next two games saw Blazej play absolutely cinematic SWOS, with a string of sensational goals to clinch the title, while the spectators applauded him with awe and sympathised with thd79, who was so close to the title but failed at the finishing line, with the sobering observation from the crowd that “you have to beat Blazej in two games; four games is too much, he has learned your whole game by then!”

The whole thing was so exciting for us as spectators that we did not even notice the third-place real football match between England and France, and surely that 6–4 scoreline was just fiction. The SWOS World Cup was the real thing! The SWOS crowd finished the tournament just before midnight, for an epic day of Sensible Soccer.

On day two, Sunday, the PC SWOS World Cup took place, and it was remarkable to see the SWOS crowd turn the competition into another all-nighter, even as the real World Cup final between Spain and Argentina was taking place alongside the decisive games. This tournament again saw Blazej and Playaveli in an epic match, this time in the final!

Blazej won the first game 2–1, but Playaveli took a 1–0 lead in the second game, and it was absolutely exhilarating to follow the animated Playaveli cheering his every defensive action to hold the scoreline, while the chill but laser-focused Blazej chased a decisive goal, only for Playaveli to score on a counter in the second half and make the dream one step closer. Blazej bombarded Playaveli’s goal for an equaliser, hit the bar, but Playaveli held with superb defensive blocks and secured his fourth SWOS World Cup title!

Congrats to Blazej (Online, Amiga) on his tenth SWOS World Cup title, and to Playaveli on his fourth: absolutely fantastic performances from both! Congrats also to the whole SWOS crowd, who entertained us throughout the weekend and no doubt had ten times as much fun themselves playing in Cambridge!

Results: Amiga World Cup · PC World Cup.

If you missed the action, do yourself a favour and catch the streams: the Saturday Amiga World Cup and the Sunday PC World Cup. What a weekend of SWOS!

It’s coming home.

This weekend (18-19 July 2026), the official SWOS World Cup, Sensible Days 2026, is taking place near Cambridge, England, at Burwell House. For once the tournament is being held in the country where Sensible Software built the game we (politely) spent the early nineties arguing about in magazines, schoolyards and living rooms. Amiga on Saturday, PC on Sunday, original hardware, and a full weekend of Sensible World of Soccer at its spiritual home.

There are currently about 25 players signed up for the main tournaments, and the organisers say there is still room for late joiners: Amiga tournament and PC tournament.

If you cannot be there in person, you can follow the stream here: Watch Sensible Days 2026 live on YouTube.

And of course we have skin in the game: our “own” Blazej (Online profile, Amiga profile) is taking part! To be fair, he is probably the hot favourite to win! From all of us on the Kick Off 2 side of the fence: best of luck, Blazej! Go make some noise in Cambridge!

A short note on old friends.

Kick Off 2 and Sensible Soccer were never really just two football games. On the Amiga they were a personality test. One camp loved Dino Dini’s loose ball, nervous control and “master the physics or die trying” school of football. The other loved Sensible’s tiny players, smooth flow, rich career mode, and the sense that you were conducting a glorious Subbuteo riot. Magazines egged it on. Friendships were tested. Entire evenings were lost to the question of which one was “proper” football.

Thirty-odd years later, both communities are still playing competitively, still gathering for World Cups, still keeping original hardware alive, and the old rivalry feels less like a grudge and more like shared heritage. At heart we share the same thing: a love serious enough to keep these golden-age games alive.

That point is being made rather nicely right now in a Wyld Retro “best retro football game” bracket on Facebook, where a field of classics has been knocked out one by one until the final came down to the only matchup that ever really mattered: Sensible Soccer versus Kick Off 2. The vote is still open until Monday, so if you have a favourite, go weigh in!

So this weekend, while SWOS is coming home to Cambridge, consider this a wave from the other side of the pitch. Different game, same love of the era. We are cheering you on, and especially you, Blazej! Enjoy Sensible Days!

Big news from Italy today: Active Soccer 3, the arcade football game created by our very own Gianluca Troiano, officially launches on Steam today, July 13, 2026, leaving early access as the full 1.0 release. The game is developed and published by Gianluca’s own studio, The Fox Software.

To Kick Off 2 players, Gianluca needs no introduction. He is a three-time Kick Off 2 World Champion, and not just any three: he took gold at Groningen 2003, Milan 2004 and Cologne 2005, three World Cups in a row, adding a silver and two bronze medals along the way. Few people on this planet understand fast arcade football the way Gianluca does, and for many years he has been pouring exactly that understanding into the Active Soccer series.

Active Soccer 3 carries the spirit of the 16-bit era classics into the modern age: fast-paced, easy to learn and hard to master, playable with up to 4 players on the same screen. Beyond the arcade action there is a full career mode with more than 30 leagues and over 1,000 clubs, a transfer market, a competition designer for building your own tournaments, and matches in all kinds of weather, day and night. And as a special treat for Amiga hearts: the soundtrack is by none other than Chris Hülsbeck (Turrican, anyone?). You can get a taste of both the action and the music in the launch trailer below.

You can find Active Soccer 3 on its Steam page, follow Gianluca’s updates on X, and visit The Fox Software homepage for the studio’s full catalogue.

Huge congratulations to Gianluca on the launch, from all of us who have chased him around a Kick Off 2 pitch over the years. See you on the pitch!

As announced a little while ago, the 24th Kick Off 2 World Cup will take place in Lillestrøm/Oslo on November 14-15, 2026.

Jørn and Chris will be our most esteemed hosts this year, and they have arranged for the World Cup to take place at the Oslo SpillExp 2026 (Oslo GamesExpo). This seems like an exciting departure from our usual more private settings, and not only will it give the visitors at the Expo a chance to spectate the most marvellous game in existence in its best setting, but it will also give us all a chance to speak with the local vikings and see what they really think about us still playing this daft old game, in a World Cup no less! Now, if we could also arrange for Robert to introduce big screen matches throughout the event on loudspeakers, I am sure we could really make a bit of an impression on the locals :D

The official registration page is online as of May 26, 2026, and we already have 12 registrants (as of July 2026), with surely many more to come soon. The World Cup usually has about 30 to 40 participants, and no matter how many will come this year, no doubt we will have a blast!

The information hub in the KOA forum for the Oslo World Cup is here: KOA forum information hub

To any potential newcomers (or old-timers) who might consider attending the Oslo World Cup this year, please rest assured that you are more than welcome no matter your skill level or experience. The World Cup is not only a competition, but also the main social event of our community. It is open for everybody, and it is probably the best way for newcomers to get involved and experience the Amiga and Kick Off 2 magic in real life these days, in a time when not quite so many people still have an Amiga hooked up for casual kitchen tournaments at a moment’s notice. Of course, if you do wish to practice a bit before going, then there is no better place to start than joining us in the online Kick Off 2 app and begin chasing some Milestones!

A big thank you to Jørn and Chris for hosting! And see you all in November in Oslo!