The USA, Mexico, and Canada will be hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This is the foremost soccer event in the world!
It’s going to be a festival of colors and tactics as the world watches to see who becomes the next champion of the world in the beautiful game.
Wondering why the sport is so popular? Here are some facts to help you understand!
51 Fun Facts About Soccer
Here are fifty-five cool facts about soccer that you must know!
Fact 1
We’ll start from the top – “Soccer” is coined from “Association football” which is the real name of the sport.
Fact 2
Soccer is one of several football codes. “Code” is the term used to describe the various forms of the sport. Other football codes are American football, rugby, Gaelic football, and so on.
Fact 3
Soccer is called football outside of North America. In fact, you risk offending people when you call it soccer or football, depending on where in the world you are.
Fact 4
Soccer as we know it began in England in the 19th century when a group known as the FA came together to coin the Laws of the Game, which is what is still in use today.
Fact 5
FIFA is the governing body of the sport worldwide. It is an acronym for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. It was formed in 1904 in Paris, France.
Fact 6
FIFA organizes the World Cup, which is a soccer tournament where the best 48 teams in the world compete. As stated in the intro, the USA, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 edition.
Fact 7
Brazil is considered the best national soccer team in the world because they have five FIFA World Cup trophies to their name. Their last win was in 2002, however.
Fact 8
Al-Ahly of Egypt is the most successful club in soccer history. They have 121 trophies in their history.
Fact 9
Soccer is the lowest-scoring sport in the world. Also, games can end goalless (0 – 0) and as a tie (0 – 0; 1 – 1; 2 – 2 and so on).
Fact 10
A player is said to have “completed” the sport if they win all five major trophies that the sport allows them to compete for in their career. The trophies are:
- The FIFA World Cup
- Continental Cup (A trophy particular to countries from the same continent)
- League title (This can be from any league in the world)
- Domestic cup title (This can be from any country in the world)
- Club Continental trophy (Usually referred to as “Champions League” on almost all continents)
A player like this is akin to a tennis grand slam champion.
Fact 11
Only six players in history have “completed” football. They are:
- Lionel Messi
- Zinedine Zidane
- Ronaldinho
- Franz Beckenbauer
- Gerd Müller
- Rivaldo
Fact 12
Soccer is a low-scoring sport but the record for the most goals scored in a soccer game stands at 149 – 0. This match was played between two teams in Madagascar.
Fact 13
Brazilian football legend Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly called Pelé, is the record holder for scoring the most goals as a professional soccer player. His record is 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.
Fact 14
A brace is the term used to describe a player scoring two goals in a game. A hat trick is used to define when a player scores three goals in a game.
Fact 15
The largest attendance for a soccer game was 199,854 people. This crowd was recorded as attending the 1950 World Cup match between Brazil and Uruguay at Maracanã Stadium.
Fact 16
The oldest football club in the world is Sheffield Football Club, founded in 1857.
Fact 17
The oldest PROFESSIONAL soccer club is Notts County FC, founded in 1862.
Fact 18
A practice match was the first match to be shown on television. It was an Arsenal practice match in 1937.
Fact 19
In other sports, players get drafted but in soccer, players get transferred with their former club getting an amount of money for the transfer.
Fact 20
The first soccer player to be involved in a £1 transfer was Trevor Francis, between Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest in 1979.
Fact 21
It took until 1975 for a football transfer to cost a million in any currency. The player who signed for that amount was Giuseppe Savoldi, who moved to Napoli that year.
Fact 22
The first soccer player to be sold for over £10 million was Jean-Pierre Papin, who transferred to AC Milan in 1992.
Fact 23
The first soccer player to be sold for over £100 million was Paul Pogba when he returned to Manchester United from Juventus in 2016.
Fact 24
The most expensive soccer transfer was Neymar’s move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million in 2017.
Fact 25
The current laws of the game were first implemented in a match on 19 December 1863.
Fact 26
The IFAB – International Football Association Board – is an independent board that is the custodian of the Rules of the Game.
Fact 27
FIFA took charge of a women’s soccer game for the first time in 1993.
Fact 28
Zlatan Ibrahimović is the first soccer player to score in every minute of a game.
Fact 29
The youngest professional soccer player ever is Mauricio Baldivieso, who played in the Bolivian league at just 12 years old. The oldest is Isaak Hayik, who played as a goalkeeper at 73 years old.
Fact 30
Soccer was standardized in Britain, so the first clubs and teams were formed there. However, Boston, USA, was the first location outside Britain to have a soccer club. The club’s name is Oneida Football Club.
Fact 31
Soccer players earn lots of money right now but it took until 1961 for a player to earn more than £100.
Fact 32
The first soccer player to earn over £100 a week was Johnny Haynes.
Fact 33
The Ballon d’Or is the biggest individual award in the sport. All players want to win it because it means they were the best at one point in the sport.
Fact 34
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo won the award for 10 straight years between 2008 and 2017.
Fact 35
Lionel Messi is the player with the most Ballon d’Or titles in football history. He has eight awards. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five awards.
Fact 36
Soccer is the biggest sport in Africa.
Fact 37
Peter Shilton is the first player in history to hit 1,000 professional games.
Fact 38
The first soccer player to be sold in a transfer involving a player exchange was Willie Groves in 1893.
Fact 39
This is not a fun fact, but it’s an important one. Match fixing exists in football. This is when two clubs or sets of players collude to concoct an outcome in a match. FIFA continues to fight against it.
Fact 40
Continental awards for Player of the Year started in Europe (UEFA) first in 1956. North America (CONCACAF) was the last to adopt it in 2019.
Fact 41
The following players were the first to win their continental awards:
- African (CAF) Player of the Year – Salif Keita in 1970.
- Asian (AFC) Player of the Year – Behtash Fariba in 1994.
- Oceania Player of the Year – Wynton Rufer in 1989.
- South American (CONMEBOL) Player of the Year – Diego Maradona in 1979.
- North American (CONCACAF) Player of the Year – Raúl Jiménez in 2019.
- European (UEFA) Player of the Year – Stanley Matthews in 1956.
Fact 42
Pelé was the first to be named World Player of the Year.
Fact 43
Lothar Matthäus was the first player to win the FIFA award for World Player of the Year.
Fact 44
Mia Hamm won the first FIFA award for Women’s Player of the Year.
Fact 45
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) is an independent body that records all football statistics.
Fact 46
USWNT (US Women’s National Team) has the most FIFA Women’s World Cup titles in history (4 wins).
Fact 47
Greenland cannot have a soccer team that is recognized by FIFA. This is because their climate cannot allow them to grow and maintain grass on which the sport is played professionally.
Fact 48
Until 1881, soccer had no referees. The players called fouls, offsides, and other calls themselves. It was a chaotic time.
Fact 49
This one is another not-so-fun fact.
Soccer is responsible for the most fan injuries and deaths of any sport.
Fact 50
Pelé was so great that he stopped a war. In 1969, Nigerians fought a civil war. They called a ceasefire for three days just to watch Pelé play soccer in the country. No other sport can boast of figures that powerful.
Fact 51
Soccer is popular because of the British Empire’s colonial efforts in the 19th century.
Final thoughts
There you have it – 51 fun facts about soccer!
I believe you now fully understand why it is called “The Beautiful Game” and also why it is this popular in the world.
All you need to do is pick up a ball, gather some friends, and you can tap into the spirit of the game!
