The LEGO Football (Soccer) subtheme was the first sport featured in the Sports theme and was released in 2000. Football sets play principle involved minifigures on fixed positions that were mounted on flexible stands in the center of small pits on the field. With this play concept, two large football fields for team matches and several small training setups with fewer figures were released.
2001 LEGO Sets
2001 marked the global debut of BIONICLE, a story-driven theme that blended mechanical building with rich mythology, becoming one of LEGO’s most successful original lines. LEGO Harry Potter launched alongside The Sorcerer’s Stone film, beginning a long-running partnership with the Wizarding World franchise. Other new releases included Alpha Team and the action-oriented Racers theme. LEGO also introduced Serious Play for business training and Jack Stone for younger builders. Life on Mars was launched and discontinued within the same year, while LEGO expanded its global retail presence with new brand stores in Europe and the U.S.