Ping Pong and Football: A Timeless Connection Between Table Tennis and Soccer
Fan Zhendong and Zinédine Zidane recently shared a table in China, highlighting the unique connection between table tennis and football. 
Every four years, the FIFA World Cup captures global attention with its focus on football. But while billions watch athletes chase a ball across the pitch, another smaller, lighter sphere has quietly accompanied them for decades—not on the grass, but among the trophies, in team hotels, training grounds, and locker rooms. 
As the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) celebrates its 100th anniversary amidst one of the world’s largest sporting events, it’s worth remembering that the relationship between table tennis and football is almost as old as both sports’ histories of producing global stars. From legends like Maradona, Eusébio, George Best, and Abedi Pelé picking up paddles to today’s stars like Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams engaging in friendly rallies during breaks, the ping pong table has long been a space for footballers to continue their competitive spirit off the field. 
Deep Roots in Elite Clubs
Beyond viral videos, this connection runs deeper than novelty. Bayern Munich exemplifies this: the club not only has players who enjoy casual games but also boasts a competitive table tennis department, FCBTT, which won the German age group and regional league championships in 2025. At Bayern, table tennis is not just an afterthought; it holds a formal place within the club. 
This culture is evident at the highest levels. In 2015, Bayern stars Thomas Müller and Philipp Lahm played a doubles exhibition match in Beijing against two table tennis greats—long-time world number one Wang Hao and then-world number one Ding Ning. Lahm admitted afterward that their opponents were not taking it too seriously, or the result would have been different, while Müller called the experience an ‘education’ in how much spin a ball can generate. Two different sports worlds, united by a shared table.
Borussia Dortmund also has its own story. Marco Reus, a self-proclaimed table tennis enthusiast, faced off against commentator and trick shot expert Adam Bobrow in a filmed match in 2023, supported by BVB. When German table tennis legend Timo Boll retired after a career spanning seven Olympics in 2025, his next move was to join BVB. In August 2025, he became the club’s first non-football player brand ambassador—finally wearing the yellow and black after being a lifelong fan. BVB’s own statement was clear: ‘Combining grand football with petite table tennis holds great significance here.’ 
A Two-Way Street
It’s not just footballers heading to the table. Some of our sport’s biggest names also have football deeply embedded in their lives. Olympic champion Fan Zhendong is a Real Madrid fan. He visited Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in 2024 and watched a Real Madrid match live; when the club publicly congratulated him on his Olympic gold, the news quickly went viral in China. For Timo Boll, he has cheered for Dortmund at venues in Shanghai and Beijing, often catching live streams during breaks, and his passion for the club eventually led him to watch the ‘German Clásico’—Bayern Munich vs. Dortmund—with his friend and then-world number one Fan Zhendong.
A recent vivid example of table tennis’ significance to football came during the Paris 2024 Olympics. Zinédine Zidane, the 1998 World Cup winner and one of football’s greatest players, appeared at the Stade de la Porte de Paris to support Félix Lebrun’s round of 16 match and later cheered on Alexis Lebrun. The stadium’s 6,500 spectators created a roar reminiscent of football terraces rather than a table tennis arena. Félix’s reaction was simple: ‘It’s great that such a legend came to see me.’ Zidane later visited the Olympic Village, allowing the French table tennis team to meet him—a moment that encapsulated the significance of those two weeks for the sport. This was not Zidane’s only intersection with the table tennis world. In 2025, he met Olympic champion Fan Zhendong in China, and the two shared a rally, proving that even football’s elite have a unique fondness for the small ball. This serves as a reminder that sports have their own gravity, and table tennis—when played at that level, in front of such audiences—can draw people in, whether or not they have ever picked up a paddle. 
A Warm Cross-Sport Connection
Perhaps nothing better illustrates this cross-sport connection than the story of an Egyptian prodigy and one of the world’s most famous footballers. In 2019, 11-year-old Hana Goda, fresh off winning the Egyptian national championship, jokingly challenged Mohamed Salah on social media. Salah initially joked about letting his young daughter play first before adding, ‘Okay, I accept the challenge.’ The exchange quickly went viral in Egypt. Goda later confirmed that the match never happened, but the moment stayed with her. ‘That was one of the first things that brought me into the public eye,’ she recalled. Now 18, she is ranked in the top 20 in the world and is one of the most promising players in women’s table tennis. 
The link between football and table tennis is older than social media, viral videos, and even modern sports science. Before gaming consoles, social media, and advanced recovery techniques, the ping pong table became a standard fixture in training grounds, team hotels, and sports clubs across Europe and South America. They were inexpensive, competitive, fun, and easy to set up indoors, naturally becoming the go-to choice for footballers to gather for some off-field action. 
Fun is important, but science is also valued. Elite football clubs increasingly see table tennis as a genuine form of cross-training, not just a way to pass the time. The speed of the sport sharpens reaction times, directly transferable to the pitch; the hand-eye coordination needed for smashing is applicable to the timing of shooting or saving. Chelsea legend Petr Cech used a table tennis robot to train his reaction speed at the goal line, while Liverpool’s in-house table tennis championship has been a team tradition for years.
Because table tennis is a low-impact sport, it also serves as an ideal form of active recovery and rehabilitation, allowing players to stay active without the high-intensity physical demands of football. The England national team has long been keen on this, with players frequently picking up paddles during pre-match training camps, including a well-known challenge against international player Liam Pitchford, which unsurprisingly proved who the professionals were. The outcome is always the same: the footballers want another game.
A Name’s Tale
Sometimes, the connection between table tennis and football runs deeper than locker room rallies or sideline appearances—it can be traced back to names themselves. Zhang Jike, one of the most celebrated table tennis players of all time and the fastest player to achieve a career Grand Slam, was named after Zico, the Brazilian football legend known as ‘White Pelé’. His father, Zhang Chuanming, was a fan of the Brazilian icon and thus named his son after him, initially hoping he would follow the same path. However, the father eventually decided to steer his son toward table tennis because the training system was more systematic and the development path clearer.
Croatian legend and seven-time Olympian Zoran Primorac captured this bond in a moment that has become one of the ITTF’s favorite clips: as a rally ended, he instinctively flicked the ball up with his foot, moving as fluidly as if he were playing football—the reflexes of table tennis and the instincts of football seamlessly blending in an instant. The two sports are constantly meeting—in training halls and locker rooms, at the Olympics and on social media—because those who love one can always find something familiar in the other. As the 2026 World Cup rages on, in the team hotel of one of the competing nations, there is almost certainly a table set up and a paddle being picked up. As always.