As Russia puts the finishing touches to the carefully manicured fields that will host the World Cup from next week, people around the globe are playing soccer on a surprising variety of makeshift pitches. Off the coast of an island in southern Thailand, they play on a floating platform; in the mountains of northern Italy, they kick about in the snow – images captured by Reuters photographers around the world. Here: Local residents play soccer on the top floor of a parking garage in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 4, 2018. (Photo by Darren Whiteside/Reuters)

Russian Olympic Committee's goaltender Mariia Sorokina (foreground L) and teammate Veronika Korzhakova (foreground R) attempt to stop a shot by Switzerland's Phoebe Staenz (R) during the women's preliminary round group A match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games ice hockey competition between players of Russia's Olympic Committee and Switzerland, at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing on February 4, 2022. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Reuters)

Some two thousand runners dressed as Santa Claus make their way through Clapham Common during The London Santa Dash, to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, Britain December 4, 2016. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Hannah Prock, of Austria, prepares to start the luge women's singles run 1 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, February 7, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold of Norway in the finish during the women´s biathlon pursuit during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at National Biathlon Centre on February 13, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Hannah Mckay/Reuters)

Speed Team’s Joan Font and co-driver Themis Lopez attempt to retrieve their vehicle after it was stuck in water during stage 9 of Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on January 10, 2023. (Photo by Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)

Kathleen Darling, wife of disabled veteran Caleb Darling, celebrates a shot during a sled hockey game on March 29, 2012 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Denver Broncos cheerleaders perform in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on December 31, 2023. (Photo by Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports)