As the FIFA 2014 has begun and there are about a
billion football-crazy fans who will schedule their lives
around the matches. After all, football is the most popular
game in the world. While the players will thrill you with
goals, kicks and more, MensXP presents you with 30
interesting facts about one of the most loved sports in the
world.
1. Football originated in China around 476 B.C.
2. Football is the most played and most watched sport on
earth.
3. Football is the most popular sport in the world. Over one
billion fans watch World Cup Football on television.
4. The largest Football tournament saw no less than 5,098
teams. They competed in 1999 for the second Bangkok
League Seven-a-Side Competition. Over 35,000 players
participated.
5. The maximum number of goals scored by one player in
a single Football match was 16. It was scored by Stephan
Stanis (France) playing for Racing Club de Lens in
December 1942.
6. Based on video evidence, one of the fastest ever scored
was in 2.8 seconds by Ricardo Olivera (Uruguay) in
December 1998.
7. Football goalies didn't have to wear different coloured
shirts from their teammates until 1913.
8. Football players run an average of 9.65 kms during
every game.
9. The very first game of basketball was played with a
soccer ball.
10. The World's First Football Club was the English
Sheffield Football Club. It was founded in 1857 by Colonel
Nathaniel Cresswick and Major William Priest, two British
Army officers.
11. European Teams have reached every World Cup final,
except for the finals of 1930 and 1950.
12. The highest scoring game was clocked 149-0. Stade
Olympique de L’emyrne, a team from Madagascar scored
their own goals. They did it as a form of protest for the
unfair decision by referee in the previous game.
13. Ronaldinho came into limelight when scored 23 goals in
a 23-0 game when he was only
14. Celestine Babayaro, Nigerian born Chelsea player
injured his legs while celebrating his debut goal in a pre-
season match, while Luigi Riva broke a spectator’s arm
with his powerful shot.
15. The first black football player was Arthur Wharton in
the 1800s.
16. Pele was the first to call football “the beautiful game”.
17. Only Americans and Canadians call football “soccer”.
18. England came up with the word “soccer”. It’s a
shortened version of “Association Football” that was
changed to “Assoc Football”. This was changed to
“Soccer”. In 19th century England, it was popular to add
the “-er” sound to shortened words.
19. In 1964, a referee’s call during a football match in Peru
caused a riot that killed over 300 people.
20. In 1998, lightening killed an entire football team. The
catastrophe occurred in Congo during a match between
the villages of Bena Tshadi and nearby Basangana.
21. ASEC Abidjan of Cote d’Ivoire was unbeaten for 108
games between 1989 and 1994.
22. The Portuguese boast of scoring the world's greatest
goals to game ratio of 1.77. The team has found the net an
incredible 331 times in just 187 games for Sporting Lisbon
between 1937 and 1949 (compared to Messi's 0.82 for
Barcelona).
23. Worldwide, there are 27 professional football clubs that
take a Beatles song as their nickname - Villarreal in Spain
being the most famous (the Yellow Submarines).
24. Neil Armstrong originally wanted to take a football to
the moon - but NASA deemed it to be un-American.
25. The ball used in professional football has remained
exactly the same size and shape for 120 years - 28inches
in circumference.
26. More than 80% of the world’s footballs are
manufactured in Pakistan.
27. The first live coverage of a football match was shown
on television in 1937. It was a practice match Arsenal
played at Highbury stadium.
28. A total of 20 red cards were shown in a match played
between Sportivo Ameliano and General Caballero in
Paraguay.
29. In 1978, Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson
was fired for swearing at a lady.
30. Ryan Giggs' (of Manchester United) dad was a
professional Rugby League player. Really that of celestine Babayaro got me really laughing.

I dunno what to comment sef,,, moSt of the facts make sense , d odas ,, still tryna make sense from them

Nice 1

That neil amstrong own got me so angry with america *grrrrrrrh*

That's so amazing !

Good to know

The first ever Real Madrid gola was scored by James McArthur an English man.