80 Soccer Facts (That Will Amaze You Today)
Last updated on July 10th, 2023 at 11:18 am
Are you looking for interesting soccer facts? SoccerNovo has you covered! We’ve compiled 80 of the latest and greatest soccer facts that will blow your mind.
From the highest-paid player to the most defeated Premier League teams and everything in between, you’ll want to check these interesting soccer facts out!
General Soccer Facts
- Soccer was invented sometime between 206 B.C. – 220 A.D. in China.
- Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with an estimated 4 billion global fans.
- Soccer is played in over 200 countries around the globe.
- The first soccer balls in Europe were made from inflated pig bladders.
- The first soccer balls in China were made from sewn clothing with rubble inside.
- The maximum number of players on a soccer team is 11 (including the goalie).
- Soccer is the only major sport that doesn’t allow players (excluding goalies) to use their hands.
- The average soccer player runs 7 miles in a 90-minute match.
- Only 9 countries in the world use the term “soccer” over “football” to describe the game.
- Goalkeepers started wearing different colored jerseys in 1913.
- A goalkeeper has six seconds to get rid of the ball after he/she picks it up.
- The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by North American countries (USA, Canada and Mexico) in 16 different cities.
- US Youth Soccer registers nearly 3 million players every year.
International Soccer Facts
- The FIFA World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in the world.
- The most expensive transfer was set by Neymar Jr. when he went from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million or $263 million.
- In 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo signed a 2.5-year contract with Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) worth about a whopping $200M per season.
- The highest soccer jersey number for an official soccer competition was 121 worn by Thomas Oar.
- Pele received his nickname because he had six toes on each foot. “Pele” means “six feet” in Brazilian Portuguese.
- A lightning strike in 1998 killed an entire soccer team from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Pele has the most goals in soccer history with 1,279.
- Referees were not used in official soccer games until 1881. Players were responsible for making the calls on the pitch.
- The fastest red card given in soccer history is 2 seconds. In 2000, Lee Todd of Cross Farm Park Celtic swore about the volume of the whistle.
- Red and yellow cards were first introduced in the 1970 World Cup.
- The “old school” black and white soccer ball had 32 shapes which stood for the 32 European nations.
- The oldest professional club in the world is Sheffield FC which was founded in 1857 and still exists today.
- Approximately 70% of the world’s soccer balls are made in Sialkot, Pakistan.
- The country of Greenland has never had a team recognized by FIFA.
- The Olympics has an age limit of 23 but they have an exception where only three players can be older.
- The first televised game happened in 1937 when Arsenal took on England.
- Turkey eliminated Spain from the 1954 World Cup by drawing straws.
- Cristiano Ronaldo built a museum dedicated to himself. It’s called the CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo Museum.
- Russian soccer player, Oleg Salenko, holds the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup match with five.
- Marc Burrows has the fastest recorded goal scored in a professional match. It took him only 2.56 seconds to score in 2004.
- The World Cup was made out of paper mache up until 1950.
- European teams have reached the final of every World Cup tournament except in 1930 and 1950.
- Qatar is the first Arabian country to host a World Cup.
- Since 2011, Lebron James has had a 2% minority stake in Liverpool. He exchanged his shares in 2022 for part-ownership of FSG. It is estimated the value is worth £35 million in profit.
- Soccer is an Olympic Games sport and has been since 1900 for men and 1996 for women.
- The highest-scoring soccer match on record was 149-0, which occurred in 2002 in Madagascar. The losing side, Stade Olympique, staged a protest in the match. In reality, this wasn’t a ‘real match’.
- The longest soccer match on record was played in England with Stockport and Doncaster Rovers. The match lasted three hours and 23 minutes.
- In 2022, Kylian Mbappe was the highest paid soccer player in the world. He was only 23 years old.
- The most successful national team in international competition is Brazil, who have won the World Cup a record five times.
- Uruguay won the first World Cup in 1930.
- Miroslav Klose of Germany has the most World Cup goals of all-time.
- The most goals scored in a single season in the Spanish La Liga is 50, by Lionel Messi of Barcelona in 2011-2012.
- Manchester United has the most titles (13) in the Premier League.
- Everton is the most defeated team in Premier League history. West Ham United and Aston Villa are second and third most defeated respectively.
- Alan Shearer and Andy Cole hold the record for most goals (34) in a single 42-game season.
- Mohamed Salah holds the record for most goals (32) in a single 38-game season.
- Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney have the most missed (11) penalties of all-time.
MLS Facts
- The Major League Soccer (MLS) was founded in 1993 and there were only 10 teams.
- The first MLS season started in 1996 with D.C. United defeating L.A. Galaxy for the championship.
- There are currently 29 teams in the MLS.
- In 2007, MLS expanded to include teams from Canada.
- The United States agreed to start a professional soccer league if FIFA awarded the World Cup to be hosted in the states.
- There were thirty-seven MLS players playing in the 2022 World Cup.
- Chris Wondolowski has the most goals (171) in MLS history.
- Landon Donovan has the most assists (136) in MLS history. He’s also second all-time in scoring.
- Carlos Vela has the most goals (34) in a single MLS season.
- The New England Revolution has the most points in a single season. They totaled 73 points in the 2021 season.
- The highest single scoring game in MLS history is 11 in 1998 between L.A. Galaxy (7 goals) and Colorado Rapids (4 goals).
- L.A. Galaxy has the longest winning streak of all-time. From September 7, 1997 to May 17, 1998, they won 15 matches in a row.
- In 2022, the highest paid MLS player is Chicago Fire FC’s Xherdan Shaqiri with an annual salary of $8,153,000.
- In 2022, the average MLS salary for a player is $312,470.
- MLS is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
- MLS NEXT was created in 2020 to complete the pathway from youth soccer to the professional-level.
- The most successful MLS team is the Los Angeles Galaxy, who have won the MLS Cup a record 5 times.
- The most attended MLS match was between Charlotte FC and Atlanta United in 2022. This was Charlotte’s inaugural season. A crowd of 73,019 watched the match.
- The highest transfer fee paid for an MLS player was $16 million, which was paid by Atlanta United for Thiago Almada in 2022.
Women’s Facts
- Since 1991, U.S. National Women’s Soccer has won four titles and a runner up in eight of the World Cups.
- The University of North Carolina (UNC) has won 16 national championships in women’s soccer.
- The Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) was formed in 2001. Eight teams participated and two years later it was dissolved.
- The first recorded women’s soccer match took place in 1895 in Scotland.
- The highest attendance for a women’s soccer match was 91,553 when Barcelona played Real Madrid in 2022. The previous record was held when USA took on China in the 1999 World Cup Final.
- The highest transfer fee paid for a female soccer player is £470,000, which was paid by Barcelona for Keira Walsh in 2022.
- The 1991 Women’s World Cup was only 80-minute matches. They added 10 more minutes to make it the same as men’s in subsequent years.
- Before the 1999 World Cup finals in the U.S., Jennifer Lopez shot scenes for her music video “Let’s Get Loud.”
- China was supposed to host the 2003 Women’s World Cup but it had to be moved to the U.S. because of the SARS outbreak.
- Carli Lloyd is the highest-paid female soccer player in the world with an annual salary of $518,000.
- The current top-tier professional women’s soccer league in the United States is the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which was founded in 2012.