Regarding Whether It Is Permissible to Play Ball Games on Shabbat

Greetings, According to the Sephardic custom, from the age of chinuch (six years and older), it is not permitted to play soccer on Shabbat (see Chazon Ovadia, Shabbat Vol. 3, pp. 697-701). According to the Ashkenazic custom, it is forbidden to play soccer on Shabbat on the ground or grass. Even on a paved surface, such as an asphalt or concrete field, it is forbidden. However, it is not forbidden to play on a paved surface inside the home (Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchatah, Vol. 1, Chapter 16, Section 6). In any event, after the age of bar mitzvah, it is certainly preferable to avoid even playing inside the home, for Shabbat, the delight of the days, was given for pleasure, a spiritual joy akin to the world to come, and anyone who honors it by walking in its ways is granted a heritage without distress (ibid., Section 1).

Blessings, Hillel Meirs