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)

Folk artists perform intangible culture heritage items during a celebration at a park in Chengshan Town to welcome Chinese new year, on Janaury 18, 2022 in Rongcheng, Shandong Province of China. (Photo by Yang Zhili/VCG via Getty Images)

A woman takes a dip in an ice hole to celebrate the Orthodox Epiphany in Leninskoye village, near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 19 January 2025. People believe that bathing in holy water on the Epiphany holiday strengthens the spirit and body. (Photo by Igor Kovalenko/EPA)

A Palestinian worker carries stalks at a sugar cane farm in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on October 19, 2020. (Photo by Said Khatib/AFP Photo)

A person takes a picture of the “Temple”, a 21-foot painted bronze sculpture from 2008, by British artist Damien Hirst, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in the Alpine resort of St. Moritz, Switzerland February 25, 2021. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

American model Hailey Bieber attends the Saint Laurent Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on September 27, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Rishikis from Japan's Sumo Kyokai, Daisuke Kitanowaka, right, and Akira Fukutsuumi pose for a photo call outside of London's Royal Albert Hall in London, Wednesday, December 4, 2024 where the UK's second ever official basho will take place in October of next year. (Photo by Thomas Krych/AP Photo)

New York Mets' Luisangel Acuña is introduced before a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, April 4, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)