45 Interesting Facts About Football History

football facts and history, facts about football players

45 Interesting Facts About Football History- Football is the game of love, passion, equity and happiness. Anyone irrespective of their background, their skin tone or even their ethnicity can play football. Football is the most loved and most played sport on the earth. Football fans remain eager to know football facts and history facts about football players.

Factually, football is the most popular sport on the planet. Its fame has such measures that roughly more than 1 Billion people on planet watch the football world cup on television. This game has no variations ever since its created, although it has evolved quite a bit. You have a ball, a team and you just have to score. This game comprises of speed, agility, strength and skills.

Being the most popular sport, football also has some of the craziest and Die-Hard fans that love, live and breath football. And they go heads over heels for their favorite teams or supported clubs. They know everything about their favorite teams and wanna know everything associated with football facts and history.

So, let’s take a look at the 45 Interesting Facts About Football History:

1. Many believe the origin of football to be in England but Football was actually first played in China in 476 BC and was known as “Cuju”. However, the pitch and goalposts were designed by British Professionals.

2. Football is the most popular, most loved, most watched and most played sport on the earth.

3. The total length of football field is 100 yards.

4. In 1937, a football match was broadcasted for the first time in Television. It was a match between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves.

5. Football is called “Soccer” in America and Canada only. Elsewhere in the world it is known only as football.

6. The word Soccer was created in England. Its a short version of “Association Football” which was later shortened to “Assoc Football” and during 19th century, it was famous to add “err” sound to shortened words, so it became soccer.

7. Many football matches were given the name “The Death Match” during the world war 2 as they were conspired and controlled by Germany.

8. Footballers has to run a long way during every game. Players run an average of 9.65 Km during every game.

9. Arthur Wharton was the first professional Black footballer. He was a goalkeeper for his team Rotterham United.

10. The maximum number of goals scored by one player in a single Football match was 16. Stephen Stanis of France playing for his club Racing Club De Lens in 1942.

11. Pakistan is the biggest manufacturer of footballs. About 80% of world’s footballs are manufactured over there.

12. The first Basketball game was played with a football (soccer ball).

13. The fastest goal ever scored in football was in 2.8 seconds by Ricardo Olivera of Uruguay in December 1998, there is a video evidence to that also.

14. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is the first player to score a goal in every minute of the game.

15. The Rungrado May Day Stadium in North Korea is the largest football stadium in the world.

16. The maximum number of goals scored by a single player in a match is 16.

17. Until 1913, goalkeepers did not had to wear different colored shirts from their teammates.

18. Oliver Kahn of Germany is the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Ball during the World Cup 2002.

19.  In May 24, 1964, a referee’s call during a football match in Peru caused a riot that killed over 300 people.

20. There is a weird case of lightning killing whole team. This happened in Congo in 1998 in a match between the villages of Bena Tshadi and Basangana. Basangana team remained unharmed though.

21. European teams have always managed to reach the World Cup finals except the finals of 1930 and 1950.

22. The highest number of goals scored in a game are 149. Stade Olympique de L’emyrne, a team from Madagascar lost to AS Adema 149-0. They scored their own goals as a form of protest against the referee unfair decision in the previous match which cost them the title.

23. Lee Todd became the player to receive the fastest red card in history of football. He received the red card within two seconds.

24. English Sheffield Football Club was the world’s first football club. It was founded in 1857 by Colonel Nathaniel Cresswick and Major William Priest, two British Army officers.

25. The shape and size of the ball used in Professional football has not changed in 120 years. It has remained the same size and shape – 28 inches in Circumference.

26. Neil Armstrong wanted to take a football to the moon – but NASA refused it saying its un-American.

27. Bryce Brites is a 20-month-old baby and is the world youngest professional football player.

28. Greenland is restricted from joining FIFA federation because not enough grass grows there for a football field.

29. Pele is the youngest player to have won the world cup at 17 years, 249 days. Whereas, Dino Zoff is the oldest player to win the world cup at the age of 40 years and 133 days.

30. The largest football was played in 1999 for the Second Bangkok league seven-a-side competition and saw 5,098 teams participating with over 35,000 players participating. Can’t neglect this while talking about football facts and history.

31. Brazilian legend Ronaldinho came into limelight when he was only 13 years and his younger team won 23-0. He scored all 23 goals.

32. Pele was the first player to call football “The Beautiful Game”.


34. Asmir Begovic scored the longest goal in football history. In a game against Southampton he scored from a distance of 97.5 yards.

35. The most consecutive wins by a football team. ASEC Abidjan of Cote d’Ivoire was unbeaten for 108 games between 1989 and 1994.

36. A Portuguese player Fernando Peyroteo who played from 1930-1950 had the world’s greatest goals-to-game ratio of over 1.6 as compared to Lionel Messi’s goals-per-game ratio of 0.82 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 0.69.

37. El Salvador lost a match against Honduras in 1969 and declared a war on them. The war was named as ‘Football War’, ‘Soccer War’ and ‘100 Hour War’.

38. The most number of red cards given in a single game is 20. 20 red cards were issued in the game between General Cabellero and Sportivo Ameliana.

39. The football hall of fame is situated in Canton, Ohio.

40. FIFA has more member countries than United Nations (UN).

41. Worldwide, there are 27 professional football clubs that take a Beatles song as their nickname – Spanish Club Villarreal being the most famous (the Yellow Submarine).

42. Neymar Jr. (Barcelona-Paris Saint Germain) is the world’s most expensive football player.

43. The record for the fastest hatrick goes to Alex Torr who completed his hatrick in mind-boggling 70 seconds.

44. Guiseppe Meazza’s shorts fell off as he was taking a penalty shot for Italy in the World Cup semi finals of 1983.

45. The longest penalty shootout happened between two Namibian Cup teams KK Palace and Civics where the shootout went on to 48 kicks. The final score was 17-16 where Palace won.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.