Do you watch soccer (football) ?
Historical Surprises
- The first World Cup trophy was stolen in 1983 and never recovered - Brazil's original Jules Rimet trophy vanished without a trace.
- Soccer balls were originally brown until 1967. The white ball was introduced to help viewers see it better on black-and-white TVs.
- The fastest red card in soccer history was given just 2 seconds into a match (Cross Farm Park Celtic vs. Taunton East Reach Wanderers, 2000).
Record Breakers
- The longest soccer match ever played lasted 169 hours - that's over a week of continuous play! (Belgium, 2009)
- Pele scored 1,279 goals in 1,363 games - a record that still stands today.
- The highest scoring game in history ended 149-0 (AS Adema vs. SO l'Emyrne, 2002) - because one team deliberately scored own goals in protest.
Strange Rules & Traditions
- It's technically legal to play soccer without a shirt, but you'll get carded for removing it during celebration.
- Until 1912, goalkeepers were allowed to handle the ball anywhere on their half of the pitch.
- The very first soccer game played by FIFA rules had no crossbars - just tape between posts.
Mind-Blowing Statistics
- The chance of a perfect bracket prediction for a 32-team World Cup is 1 in 131,204,632,320.
- Soccer cleats can help players reach speeds over 20 mph during sprints.
- The average soccer player runs about 7 miles during a 90-minute match.
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