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The short answer
A soccer bag has one job that matters: separating the muddy cleats from everything else. Wet cleats packed in with clothes ruins the clothes and keeps the cleats wet, which rots the upper. After that, get the size right for the child — an adult team bag on a nine-year-old drags on the ground.
Everything else a soccer bag claims to do is secondary. There are bags with eight compartments and a ventilated this and a moisture-wicking that, and none of it matters as much as whether the cleats have somewhere of their own to go.
Start here
Pick by your kid’s level
The right answer changes with the level, not just the shoe size. Find your kid’s bracket and start there.
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The shoe compartment is the whole point
Three things happen when cleats go in with everything else, and all three are avoidable:
The clothes get ruined. Mud and turf crumb transfer onto everything, and a white jersey does not recover.
The cleats stay wet. Enclosed in a bag with damp fabric, a cleat does not dry, and permanent damp is what rots stitching and grows the smell.
The turf crumb spreads through the house. Anyone whose kid trains on artificial turf knows this one.
A bag with a dedicated footwear compartment solves all three for no extra money, because nearly every soccer-specific bag has one. It is simply worth checking before you buy a generic backpack.
And it is worth pairing with the actual fix: take the cleats out of the bag when you get home. A shoe compartment stops them ruining the clothes; it does not dry them. See how to clean soccer cleats.
Size: the mistake everybody makes
Soccer bags are mostly sold to adults, and the default team bag is sized for one. On a nine-year-old that means a bag reaching below their hips, swinging as they walk, and dragging on the ground when they put it down.
Age
Bag
Why
U6–U8
A small backpack, or any bag with a shoe pocket
They own four items. Capacity is not the constraint.
U9–U12
A junior-sized soccer backpack
Big enough for the kit, small enough to carry properly
U13+
A full-size team backpack
Now carrying an away kit, a change of clothes, and a ball
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen.
Nike's Academy Team backpack is the sensible junior size; the Academy 23 is the larger one. adidas's Tiro comes in a genuine kids' size, and the adult Tiro is considerably bigger than it looks online. Check which you are ordering.
Does it need to carry the ball?
A real decision, and it goes both ways.
Yes if your kid is expected to bring their own ball to training, which many clubs require. Carrying a ball under one arm along with a bag is genuinely annoying for a child, and a bag that holds it frees a hand.
No if the club supplies balls. The ball compartment eats into the main space, and with a ball in, a full kit is a squeeze. adidas's Tiro is the ball-carrying pick; Nike's Academy bags are the better choice if you do not need it.
What should actually be in the bag
A standing list is worth having, because it turns the pre-game scramble into a check:
Cleats, in their own compartment
Shin guards — and a cheap spare pair living permanently in the bag, which is the single most useful thing you can add
Socks, plus a spare pair
A full water bottle
A plastic bag for whatever comes off wet
A ball, if the club expects one
For a keeper, add gloves — and see how to wash goalie gloves, because gloves left damp in a bag are how a gear bag starts to smell.
The smell, and how to prevent it
A soccer bag smells because damp things live in it between sessions. The fix is not a scented spray, it is emptying it.
Unpack it the day of, not the day before the next session: cleats out to dry, socks and jersey into the wash, keeper gloves out to air. A bag that gets emptied after every session does not develop a smell in the first place, and a bag that has already developed one needs washing rather than masking — most fabric bags survive a cool machine wash.
1. Nike
Nike Academy Team Soccer Backpack
The right basic kit bag: it separates the cleats, it fits a child, and it does not cost a fortune.
Best for
The default kit bag, U8+
Levels
U7–U8 rec · U9–U10 · U11–U12 · U13+ travel & club
How it fits
Check the stated capacity against your kid's size — a bag that reaches below their hips will drag on the ground.
What we like
Separating muddy cleats from everything else is the single feature that matters in a soccer bag, and this does it
Sized so a nine-year-old can actually carry it, which the adult team bags are not
Plain enough to double as a school bag
Where it falls short
No dedicated external ball holder, so the ball goes in the main compartment or under your arm
Shoulder straps are lightly padded and dig in once fully loaded
Manufacturer’s published specs
Designed to carry shoes, cleats, shin guards and water (Nike)
Separate compartments for footwear and kit
Standard backpack sizing
These are the manufacturer’s own claims, not measurements we took.
Not special, but a separate shoe compartment is worth insisting on — muddy cleats packed in with clothes ruins the clothes, keeps the cleats damp, and spreads turf crumb through the house. Beyond that, any well-sized backpack does the job.
What size soccer bag for a 10 year old?+
A junior-sized soccer backpack — big enough for cleats, guards, socks and a water bottle, small enough to sit properly on their back. The common mistake is buying an adult team bag, which reaches below a ten-year-old's hips and drags on the ground.
What should be in a youth soccer bag?+
Cleats in their own compartment, shin guards plus a cheap spare pair that lives in the bag permanently, socks plus a spare, a full water bottle, and a plastic bag for whatever comes off wet. Add a ball if the club expects each player to bring one, and gloves for a keeper.
Should a soccer bag carry the ball?+
Only if your kid is expected to bring their own to training. Carrying a ball under one arm along with a bag is genuinely awkward for a child, so a ball compartment helps — but it eats into the main space, and with a ball in, a full kit is a squeeze.
How do you stop a soccer bag from smelling?+
Empty it the day of the session rather than the day before the next one: cleats out to dry, socks and jersey into the wash, keeper gloves out to air. A bag that gets emptied every time does not develop a smell. One that already has needs washing rather than masking.
Sources
adidas — kids' soccer — Verified current availability of the adidas models named here, plus adidas's published material and construction claims.
Nike — kids' soccer cleats and shoes — Verified that each Nike model named on this page is currently sold, and the source for Nike's own published upper, plate and surface descriptions.
