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)

The players of Denmark huddle prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier match between Denmark and Sweden at Viborg Stadion on September 4, 2018 in Viborg, Denmark. (Photo by Lars Ronbog/FrontZoneSport via Getty Images)

A traditional large puppet figure known as “Ondel-ondel”, wearing a face mask, performs on a sidewalk of the main road, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 4, 2021. (Photo by Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)

Young couples compete in Rock' n'Roll & Co, an all- Russian acrobatic rock' n'roll competition in Kazan, Russia on November 4, 2017. Acrobatic rock’n’roll is a discipline for couples combining energetic dancing with acrobatic moves. (Photo by Yegor Aleyev/TASS via Getty Images)

The homemade Airbus A320 jet plane made by Chinese farmer Zhu Yue is being built at an open space in Kaiyuan city, northeast China's Liaoning province on February 4, 2018. (Photo by Imaginechina/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Kevin Jay and Nigel Cox perform some light painting on the beach at Frinton-on-Sea in Essex, UK using colour changing LED light wands during a 25-second exposure on March 4, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Jay/Picture Exclusive)

Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Hezly Rivera does a flip before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, Wednesday, September 4, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jeffrey McWhorter/AP Photo)

Tommy Liberto, known as Mr. Christmas Tree, crosses Seventh Avenue while visiting New York for the tenth year from Bel Air, Md., Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)