Are you interested in learning more you can talk about soccer? Here are 15 interesting facts about Football that you probably did not know prior.
A father who played soccer, I was born into the world of football at the age of four years old. I attended my first football training session with a professional team in my town.
I’ve always had a passion for the sport, and it’s one of the best sports ever played.
Facts About Football
The most well-known game in the world.
Over 265 million people are playing across the globe and around 4 billion are watching the sport at least once a week it is without a doubt, making it the most-watched sport on the planet.
It was first discovered in China about 476 B.C
At present, it is unlikely that football may have its origins in China as the national team of China is currently placed at just 86th within the FIFA World Ranking.
However, most experts agree that the sport’s origins were developed in the 476th century BC in China and were called Cuju. There were numerous variations of ball games played in Ancient Greece and the Mayan Empire and England in later times.
Also, read Soccer Facts
Over 3.5 billion people tune in to the FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event that is watched by the most people and the amount of viewers who watched the most recent World Cup is set to less than 3.5 billion that was a record.
An estimated one billion people were watching this FIFA World Cup final between France and Croatia in which France was the winner.
Sheffield F.C. is the oldest football club in the world.
Sheffield F.C is the oldest professional football club in the world, and it was established in 1857. Currently, the club plays within Division One of the Northern Premier League Division One South East.
A football match lasts 90 minutes plus stoppage time.
A professional match is usually 90 minutes long and is divided into two 45 minutes and stoppage time. The stoppage-time can vary between 1-5 minutes, based on the severity of injuries and breaks during each game.
The fastest goal scored took just 2.4 seconds
Nawaf Al-Abed scored in just 2.4 seconds. It is considered to be the fastest goal ever scored. There are many instances of players who scored in 5 seconds of scoring.
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A majority of soccers manufactured in Pakistan
Sialkot situated in Pakistan is renowned for its production of the balls for the FIFA World Cup since 1982. Some of the finest balls are produced by hand-stitching in Pakistan. For instance, Adidas balls are produced here and other high-end balls.
Only eight countries have been able to win the World Cup
The Fifa World Cup has been running every four years since 1930. However, despite 21 tournaments held since the first tournament in Uruguay, only eight nations have been crowned winners.
Brazil has been a winner of it the FIFA World Cup 5 times making Brazil the most successful team in the world ever.
Also, read 15 Interesting Facts about Argentina
Americans and Canadians refer to it as soccer.
If an American is discussing football, they’re typically speaking of American Football, which is one of the most-loved games in the United States.
Football in Canada references Canadian football which is quite like that of the American version. Canadians along with Americans can be the one and only people worldwide who refer to it as soccer instead of football.
There are different versions of football.
The most well-known version is actually called Association Football but is almost always referred to as soccer, or football among Americans and Canadians The term was first coined in England.
Other variants of the game include futsal, football and beach football.
Footballers can be issued red and yellow cards.
A player may be handed the yellow or red one by the judge when they do not follow the rules of the game. It could, for instance it is a rough hit or a remark that is inappropriate in front of the officials.
If a player gets two yellow cards during the same match the player will receive the red card and will be removed from the field.
The first-ever international soccer match was played in 1872.
The first international football match was played on Hamilton Crescent where Scotland played against England. The match took place on the 30th of November 1872. And a total of 114 matches were played between Scotland and England from that point on.
The world’s largest soccer arena is in North Korea
The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang is the largest venue globally. It has the capacity of 150,000 spectators. Some reports suggest the stadium can only hold the capacity of 114,000 which is still the biggest stadium in the world.
The highest number of people ever seen was the Maracana Stadium in 1950 where the stadium was packed with 199,854 fans who watched Uruguay against Brazil. The attendance currently stands at 78,838.
It’s perhaps an of the shocking facts about football due to the totalitarian rule of North Korea and its nearly unheard of existence on the world football scene.
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Kazuyoshi Miura is considered to be the oldest professional athlete.
The Japanese football player and idol Kazuyoshi Miura, who is also referred to as Kazu is the current oldest professional soccer player of all time. He’s 52 and has broken the legendary Sir Stanley Mathews’s previous record at age 50.
Kazuyoshi Miura plays for Kazuyoshi Miura’s Japanese club in Japan Yokohama FC.
Premier League is ranked as the top football league
The three major leagues include Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, and the English Premier League. There is always debate among supporters over which league is the best, but at the time being, most fans are paying attention to the English Premier League which gives the most competitive advantage.
Other important leagues that are played in Europe include The German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivise, and Ligue 1 in France. The top football league in the United States is called Major League Soccer or MLS.
