Game of drones: Singapore Poly students strike hard and true in flying soccer arena

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The TL;DR: Ever wished your football could fly? A group of Singapore Polytechnic (SP) classmates formed the school’s first competitive drone soccer team in 2024. Since then, they have won five out of seven competitions.

In drone soccer, strikers score goals by flying their drones through hoops, while defenders block them.

SINGAPORE – The high-pitched whir of propellers fills the air as nearly a dozen drones hover inside the arena.

Within the inflatable “cage”, the spherical drones zip past one another to get through the opposing team’s hoop, colliding as they block opponents, and sometimes crashing to the ground.

On both sides of the arena, five players steer the flying “soccer balls” using controllers similar to those of video game consoles.

Welcome to drone soccer – a game where the aircraft acts as the ball. Like regular football, the “strikers” aim to score as many goals as possible – by flying the drones through the hoops within three minutes. The “defenders” from the opposing team try to block them from scoring.

Unlike most sports, a player’s gender does not matter and there can be mixed teams.

The first drone soccer competition took place in Singapore in December 2023. Currently, there are at least 15 drone soccer teams.

Singapore Polytechnic’s seven-member Team 1, two of whom are reserve players, has emerged as a top contender. It has won five out of seven school- and national-level competitions that they’ve taken part in.

The team recently came in second at the Drone Odyssey Challenge in Singapore on July 22, narrowly losing 20-22 to Republic Polytechnic in the final match.

Singapore Polytechnic’s Team 1 won first place at last year’s Drone Odyssey Challenge. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CLAUDIA LEE

From aviation buffs to drone soccer players

The idea to form SP’s first competitive drone soccer team was proposed in July 2024 by 19-year-old Zhu Zixuan’s aviation lecturer. The second-year aerospace electronics student invited four of his course mates and two other aeronautical engineering students to form the team that month.

Although none of the others had heard of the sport then, the aviation enthusiasts were eager to try a new way to fly.

Mr Zhu said the team’s shared love of planes and drones stems from a fascination with physics and engineering. He discovered this passion after receiving a toy drone as a birthday gift.

Mr Zhu Zixuan (centre) celebrates with his team after scoring a goal during a match. ST PHOTO: ALEXA DENISE UY

“I was a nerdy kid – the kind who took apart appliances and learned their ins and outs,” he added.

For 20-year-old Lucas Khor, also a second-year aerospace electronics student, his aviation dream took shape when he played a pilot flight simulation game on Roblox as a child. Hoping to be a pilot one day, he took up drone sports like first-person view aircraft racing.

The team meets in school twice a week in the evening, after their lessons or internship work, to train for competitions. Each session typically lasts two to three hours, and up to four hours as competitions draw near.

Training involves flying the drones and navigating them around obstacles, simulating competition conditions.

The drones are owned by the school, but they can be costly and have a “short lifespan”, said Mr Khor. Over the past year, the team has replaced four drones, which cost the school about $700 to $800 in total.

Aiming high while having fun

In anticipation of a match, strikers like SP’s Miss Claudia Lee train their accuracy and precision, while defenders like Mr Khor focus on keeping the drones stable and “recovering” quickly after they are hit.

Teamwork and communication are vital in drone soccer, unlike most drone sports where participants fly solo, said Miss Lee, 21, another second-year aerospace electronics student.

Beyond striking and defending, teammates must devise and communicate strategic movements as the game progresses. At times, a hectic match can get loud as players shout their instructions.

Strikers Zhu Zixuan and Claudia Lee (right) stand in front of the “cage”, where a match takes place. ST PHOTO: ALEXA DENISE UY

Still, the team’s ultimate goal is having fun. Mr Zhu said: “(During a match), we get to let loose and try our best. We don’t think too much about having to win.”

“It’s about having fun in a room full of your friends,” he added, referring to his team and the competitors from other schools.

Sometimes, collisions result in smashed drones and broken parts. Between matches, the team replaces any damaged propellers and charges batteries.

Mr Khor said anyone who is good with a controller could learn the sport. “Any gamer could do well, but there’s still a learning curve,” he noted.

Their coach and teammate, Mr Phyo Thiha Oo, a second-year aeronautical engineering student who is also a member of the national drone soccer team, said the sport is still budding in Singapore, with an estimated 200 active players.

He hopes the next team of players in SP will qualify for the 2026 Federation of International Dronesoccer Assocation World Cup.

SP Team 1 posing around the arena after a match. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CLAUDIA LEE

Before the Team 1 members graduate next year, they hope to pass on their skills to the next generation and experiment with other aircraft, such as Class 40 drones that are double in diameter to the 20cm-wide Class 20 drones they use for competitions.

Said Mr Zhu: “Drone flying is such a niche skill, and I’m glad everyone had the opportunity to pick it up. (By learning it), everyone in this room has obtained something special.”

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