Football was the first part of LEGO Sports, launched in 2000, and it ran until 2007. The players stand on springy bases fixed in the pitch. A player kicks the ball when flicked, so a match is played by pushing and releasing the figures, and the bigger sets set out a whole pitch for two teams.
2004 LEGO Sets
2004 was a pivotal recovery year following financial losses in 2003. LEGO updated its color palette, introducing light nougat for licensed minifigures and brighter grays and browns. The company partnered with Ferrari under LEGO Racers and launched Knights’ Kingdom II, a story-driven reimagining of Castle. QUATRO expanded the preschool range, while World City, Orient Expedition, Spider-Man, and Gravity Games concluded. These shifts, along with strategic licensing, began LEGO’s long-term turnaround.