It has been established that football has been around for more than two millennia, making it one of the oldest sports that humans have ever known. Ancient Greece, Rome, and some regions of Central America are thought to have been its originators, so any devotee of the game would be delighted to be enlightened about some of its most amazing facts.
The English are given credit for establishing the initial set of laws that have formed the basis of the game of football as we know it today.
1) The Only Footballers to Have Scored Goals in Every Minute of the Game
It is often tricky to find the back of the net in the opening stages of a soccer match, as it usually becomes much easier to score towards the end of the game. A standard football match lasts for 90 minutes, split into two 45-minute periods.
2) Player Transfer Fees Paid in Footballs
It is a fascinating piece of information that Angel Di Maria, a renowned Argentinian footballer, was exchanged between two of his country’s football teams for a total of 35 soccer balls.
3) Most Expensive Transfer Fees Ever Paid
When he moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the French club gave an eye-popping £ 198 million, which is around Rs 1,675 crore in today’s currency. Isn’t that amazing?
4) First Ever International Football Match
On November 30th, 1872, the first soccer game approved by FIFA was held between England and Scotland. A crowd of 4,000 people witnessed the match, which ended in a tie of 0-0.
5) The Only Football Team Brazil Never Defeated
It is unquestionable that Brazil is the greatest in football, however, there is still a single country which has never been defeated by them. Norway has confronted Brazil four times, and achieved victory twice, in addition to tying twice.
6) The Invention of Football
Have you ever heard that the most popular sport in the world originated in China, a country whose team is ranked seventy-fifth on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking? It is believed that football was invented in 476 BC in China, and it was called Cuju.
7) Change Your Shirt
Currently, there is no regulation regarding the colour of the uniforms worn by football players, which is a change from the past when such rules were in place (Leckey and Leclercq, 2012, p. 280). This alteration was made because the pre-existing rule regularly caused misunderstandings when corner kicks were taken, and it was hard to differentiate the goalkeeper from the other players (Leckey and Leclercq, 2012, p. 280).
8) The Largest Football Tournament
In 1999, over 35,000 competitors took part in the Bangkok League Seven-a-Side Contest, which is one of the most remarkable football facts on the planet. This is one of those noteworthy facts.
9) Highest Scoring Game Ever
On October 31, 2002, soccer fans around the world saw one of the strangest matches to ever occur, as a team took drastic actions in protest, with a dramatic effect on the contest.
SO l’Emyrne deliberately forfeited the match to A S Adema to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with a prior refereeing call. The score ended up being 149 – 0, with SO l’Emyrne making 149 own goals.
10) Who Came up With the Name “Soccer”?
It is a fact that England was the originator of the term soccer more than three decades ago, but they no longer employ it. Consequently, you must decide who is responsible for the misunderstanding between football and soccer in the United States and Canada.
11) Same Size of the Ball
Despite the fact that football has been around for more than a hundred years, people were shocked to discover that the size of the football has remained consistent for the past one hundred and twenty years. The shape and size of the football have never been modified and its circumference is still 28 inches.
12) We Have Been Saying It All Wrong!
As documented in the book “The Soccer Book: The Sport, The Teams, The Tactics, The Cup”, the surface or playing space in football is often referred to as a “pitch” rather than a “field”. This term has become increasingly popular in other sports as well.
13) Most Red Cards in a Match
An unbelievable event in Argentine football happened in the fifth division in 2011 when Claypole and Victoriano Arenas, who had a strong rivalry, clashed, resulting in the dismissal of two players before the interval. This sparked a series of unforeseen effects.
14) Oldest Professional Football Player
Even though football is known to be taxing both mentally and physically, and the goalkeeper is the only player that must remain on the field for the duration of the game, there are some players who go against this notion with their superior ability.
15) Longest Unbeaten Streak Every Recorded
Achieving success in the realm of football is one thing, but going an entire period of time without a single loss is an altogether different feat. The least recognized fact in the football universe is that from 1986 to 1989, a certain team didn’t experience a single defeat.
16) The Home of Current Generation Footballs
It is a stunning revelation that Pakistan is responsible for the manufacture of two-thirds of all footballs worldwide. This is an incredibly extraordinary fact to know. Most people would suppose that high-tech soccer balls would be produced in a very industrialized district, but in truth, they are created in Pakistan.
17) World’s Most Played Sport
Despite the fact that 210 countries have registered with FIFA and compete in football, only 100 of them have their own basketball leagues or squads. Basketball is still popular, as 195 countries play the sport, but only 100 have their own leagues or national teams.
18) Playing Two Matches in a Single Day
In the 90s when there was a lack of money, Mark Hughes, a player from Manchester United, and a Welsh celebrity had to participate in two football matches in a single day. When Hughes was bought by Bayern Munchen after leaving Manchester United, he still had to play a game with his new club and a game with the Welsh National Team in a qualifying event on the same day.
19) Dominated by Europe
In the past ninety years, European countries have appeared in every single FIFA World Cup final with the exception of the inaugural championship in 1930. That year, Uruguay and Argentina, both from South America, faced off in the final and Uruguay emerged victorious with a 4-2 score.
20) Who Call It Soccer?
In the majority of the world, when people talk about football, they refer to what is known as soccer. However, the United States and Canada are the exceptions, as they have their own versions of the game. In America, it is known as American football and in Canada, it is referred to as Canadian football.
21) Most Goals Scored by a Single Player in an Official Match
No other person has been able to replicate Stephan Stanis’ feat of scoring 16 goals for Racing Club de Lens in December 1942, and this record has endured since then.
22) First Live Telecast of A Football Match
In 1937, the inaugural live football game was broadcasted by the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC). This was just one year after the BBC started providing television services and the event featured a match between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves at Highbury Stadium.
23) First Balck Football Player
The precise circumstance of Arthur Wharton’s status as the first black footballer who played professionally in either England or the world remains uncertain. He was a goalkeeper and competed for nine teams including the world’s oldest football organisation, Sheffield FC.
24) Brazil’s Number 1 Professional Football Fan
Claudio Riberio has been an enthusiastic supporter of professional football since the 1978 FIFA World Cup and has not skipped a single World Cup since then. He has attended a total of 11 FIFA World Cups, with Brazil hosting the 2014 edition.
25) Pele the Legend
When he was only 11, Pele was identified by scouts and started playing professional soccer when he was 16. He made his debut in the FIFA World Cup in 1958 (when he had just turned 17) and scored six goals, which helped Brazil to secure their first ever World Cup victory.
26) Asteroids Named After Football Players
It is an incredible feat that five different footballers have had asteroids given their names! Here is a compilation of these individuals:
27) Most Goals by a Goalkeeper
The number of goals scored by Brazilian footballer Rogerio Ceni is more than 100 goals more than that of the player who is in second place in terms of worldwide goals. This is an incredibly remarkable fact about football.
28) Oldest Football Club in the World
On October 24th, 1857, Sheffield Football Club, more commonly known as Sheffield F.C., was founded and became the oldest professional football club in the world. Even after 163 years, it is still active and functioning.
29) World’s Most Popular Sports
In June of 2018, the estimated global population was 7.5 billion people. A survey conducted by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) back in 2001 found that 240 million people from across the globe participated in football on a regular basis.
30) Football Club With Most Letters
NAC Breda, a soccer team from the Netherlands, was created in 1916. Its acronym stands for “Never Give Up Always Persevere Pleasant By Entertainment And Useful By Relaxation Combination Breda”. Are you curious to learn some amusing facts about football?
31) Average Distance Covered by a Footballer
Specialists agree that football is one of the most arduous sports around. Even though the goalkeepers are an exception, players usually walk around 7 miles (11.2 kilometres) during the match. Moreover, they only get a 15-minute respite during the half-time interval (not including additional stoppage time).
32) Longest Penalty Shootout
In 2005, the Namibian Cup was decided by an astonishing 48 penalty kicks between KK Palace and Civics, and this event has been registered in the Guinness World Records.
33) Fastest Goal Scored In Football
The commentator just announced that the score is 1-0 and that the match had recently started, speaking seven and a half words in three seconds. This beat the 3.5 second record set by English footballer Colin Cowperthwaite in 1979 when he scored a goal versus Kettering.
34) Most Watched Sporting Event Finale
An enormous 1.12 billion people viewed the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia, both on TV and the Internet. If people who watched it at outdoor locations or through the web are accounted for, the figure would be drastically larger.
35) How Many Countries Have Won the World Cup?
A total of 21 World Cup Tournaments have been held over the years and only eight teams have managed to lay their hands on the Football World Cup Trophy. This implies that a whopping 210 countries that are affiliated with FIFA partake in football tournaments, making it a rather impressive statistic. Isn’t it?
36) Biggest Football Stadium
World’s Most Watched Sports Tournament
37) World’s Most Watched Sports Tournament
It would be thrilling to include the spectators who didn’t watch the game on television but experienced the match on digital platforms, in public, or in pubs and eateries, as a part of the 30.9 crore people who followed the game, to accurately depict how many people viewed the game.
38) The Match That Brought Ronaldinho Into Limelight
The Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho is viewed as one of the best players in history. He achieved immense success in the sport, despite his humble beginnings. At the age of 13, his hometown team scored an astounding 23-0 victory.
39) Most Goals in World Cup
Participating as a member of a team that takes part in the World Cup is a privilege, but getting the most goals is regarded as even more remarkable. The German athlete Miroslav Klose holds the achievement of netting the most goals in World Cups.
40) Significance of a Football
On December 21st, 1891, the first ever game of Basketball was played with a football. Do you know this incredible fact about football? Please let us know your opinion on the significance of football in the comments section.
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