68 Fun Facts about Soccer [Free Fact Cards]

Are you ready to kick around some fun facts about one of the most popular games in the world? That’s right, we’re talking about soccer, also known as football in many places. It’s a game played with a round ball, two goals, and lots of running and teamwork. So, lace up your cleats, and let’s dribble through some cool facts about soccer!

Did you know that people have been playing soccer-like games for thousands of years? It’s true! The version of soccer we know today started in England, but games where players kicked a ball around have been around for ages, all over the world.

Soccer is a simple game, and that’s why it’s so popular. You only need a ball and something to make goals with, like two rocks or jackets. You can play it almost anywhere, from a park to a beach or even in your backyard. No fancy equipment is needed – just your feet and a ball!

And here’s a fun soccer fact: soccer is played in almost every country! It brings people together, no matter where they’re from. There are big competitions like the World Cup, where teams from different countries compete to be the best in the world. It’s like a giant party for soccer lovers!

Ready to score some more knowledge? Awesome! Whether it’s the rules of the game, famous players, or amazing soccer moments, there’s so much to explore. Let’s keep the ball rolling and discover all the exciting parts of this globally loved sport. Let’s play score with these fun facts about soccer.

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Best Facts About Soccer

1. When a soccer team gets three major trophies in a single season, it’s called a treble.
2. The only Olympic gold medals Uruguay has ever won are for soccer at both the 1924 and 1928 Olympics.
3. In China, the first soccer balls were made from sewn clothing that was filled with rubble. 
4. The defender stops the attacks of the competing team.
5. Lightning has killed 11 soccer players.

6. The Brazilian soccer player Pelé holds the record for being the youngest goal scorer, the youngest hat-trick scorer, and the youngest hat-trick scorer in a World Cup final game. 
7.  Arthur Wharton is considered the first black professional soccer player in the world.
8. Each soccer team can have six substitutes.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of his generation.
10. Soccer was invented in China already 2,200 years ago. 

11. When a player is given their second yellow card in a match, it gets upgraded to a red card. The player must then leave the game.
12. The game was originally called “Tsu Chu” which means “kicking ball”.
13. Brazilian Pelé is the only soccer player to have won the World Cup three times.
14. Soccer players who aren’t goalkeepers can only use their hands during throw-ins, which occurs when the ball goes out of bounds.
15. A referee’s call in a soccer match between Peru and Argentina in 1964 led to a riot in which 300 fans were killed.

16. Soccer is played on a grassy field called a pitch. The field is rectangular and must be between 100 and 130 yards long and 50 to 100 yards wide.
17. On average, soccer players run as far as 7 miles (11 kilometers) in a single match.
18. The word “Soccer” originated as a slang abbreviation of the word “association” and is credited to late nineteenth-century English soccer player, Charles Wreford-Brown
19. The biggest recorded loss in football history was 149-0, and all the goals were scored in protest.
20. The offside rule was made to prevent soccer players from goal-hanging or waiting near the goalpost to score unfairly.

21. Average players usually run at about six miles per hour. It is like running on a basketball court 350 times in 90 minutes.
22. The most expensive transfer in soccer history came when Paris St. Germain paid FC Barcelona $263 million to obtain Neymar Jr.
23. The so-called “football war” also known as “100 hours war” was a brief war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. The name is based on the fact that the war was waged after El Salvador lost a soccer match against Honduras during a World Cup qualifier game in Mexico leading to riots and deaths on both sides
24. A goalkeeper can only hold a soccer ball for a maximum of 6 seconds at a time.
25. There’s a soccer competition called RoboCup Soccer, wherein the players are robots instead of humans.

26. The referee uses a yellow card to warn the players, while a red card is for the dismissal of players.
27. The first live soccer game on television was in 1937.
28. Since 1896, soccer fields in Germany have been free of trees.
29. One of the critical players in soccer is the goalkeeper.
30. At 40 years old, Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the FIFA World Cup when Italy beat West Germany 3-1 at the 1982 World Cup finals.

31. Soccer players, except for the goalkeepers, are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms.
32. FIFA currently has 211 member states whereas the UN only recognizes 203 countries in the world.
33. The center line of the football stadium in Macapá, Brazil, is exactly on the equator line so that the competing teams in a match are always on different hemispheres.
34. The maximum number of players on a soccer team is 11.
35. Only eight countries have won the Soccer World Cup so far.

36. The shoes or cleats of soccer players have spikes underneath to prevent them from slipping when running on grass.
37. Soccer player Lee Todd received the fastest red card in soccer history. 
38. Women’s soccer started to become extremely popular in the 1990s.
39. A riot in a soccer match in Lima killed about 300 fans.
40. Ten percent of Iceland’s residents traveled to France when the country’s soccer team reached the quarter-final of the 2016 Euro Cup in France.

41. The 2022 World Soccer Championship will be held in Lusail (Qatar), a city that did not exist till recently.
42. FIFA Women’s World Cup began in 1991.
43. Only three years after the first football rules were laid down, hand play was forbidden.
44. More than 55% of soccer balls are made in Pakistan.
45. Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a founder and the first goalkeeper of the soccer club Portsmouth FC.

46. Brazilian soccer player Ronaldinho came to media attention at age 13 when he scored all 23 goals in a 23–0 victory against a local team.
47. The Premier League was founded in 1992.
48. The fastest goal in soccer history was scored in 2017 just 2.1 seconds after kick-off.
49. The word soccer comes from the slang word “association”. In earlier times, it was first called “socca.”
50. Soccer is more commonly referred to as football, but it’s not the same as American football, which is more similar to rugby.

51. Nettie Honeyball founded one of the earliest women’s soccer teams.
52. The Vatican has its soccer team however it is not a member of FIFA.
53. The number 10 is unofficially considered the kit number for the best player on a squad.
54. The first soccer game broadcasted on TV took place on September 16, 1937, and was a friendly match between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserve. 
55. One of the earliest forms of soccer is called Tsu Chu, an ancient Chinese military exercise that dates back to 200 to 300 BC.

56. Today most of the balls are made from layers of synthetic leather while the bladders inside the ball are made from latex or butyl.
57. The English Premier League is one of the most prestigious soccer competitions in the world.
58. In ancient times, people used a pig bladder as a soccer ball.
59. American Charles Goodyear invented the first modern soccer ball in 1855.
60. A goal scored directly from a corner kick is called an Olympic goal “Olimpico.”

61. Penalty shoot-outs weren’t introduced into soccer until 1970.
62. The winners of the last women’s FIFA World Cup were awarded $4 million in prize money.
63. Joseph Hudson came up with the first whistle used in a soccer match.
64. More than 240 million people from over 200 countries play soccer.
65. The most goals scored by one side in a Soccer World Cup match is 10. It happened during the 1982 World Cup in Spain between Hungary and El Salvador.

66. Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo opened a museum in 2013 that was dedicated only to himself.
67. The most own goals scored in a single soccer game was 149 by Madagascar’s Stade Olympique de L’Emyrne in October 2002 as a protest against the referee’s decision.
68. The official nickname of the Australian national soccer team is “the Socceroos”.

Do you have even more interesting facts about soccer? Share them with us in the comments! Also, don’t forget to grab your free moon fact cards to add to your collection!