Association Football, more known as Soccer, is a sport played by two teams with eleven players. It is considered one of the most famous sports worldwide since it is unique and engaging. The rules of this game are that players can use any part of their bodies except their hands and arms. That makes the game more exciting to watch. However, one player from each team is allowed to use their hands, and that is the goalkeeper.
The goalkeeper can use their hand to prevent the opposing team from scoring by defending the ball to go in the goal-line. Football or Soccer can be played by both men and women or even kids. That’s why many people love this sport. To give you more comprehensive insights about Soccer, here are five interesting facts you need to know:
51.3% of the world’s population watched the 2018 World Cup
There’s no doubt that Soccer is the world’s most favorite sport after 3.52 billion people from 200 countries tuned in to watch the 2018 World Cup. It is more than half the population of the world. In Asia, the estimated total of the audience who watched the game is around 1.6 billion. Interestingly enough, 18.4% of World Cup viewers in Russia were from China. Russia topped the overall viewer’s list with estimated viewers of 800,000. At the same time, many are surprised after the United States accounted for the second most ticket sales despite not qualifying for the game.
The most expensive soccer star costs more than half a billion dollars.
One of the most expensive move in Soccer’s history is when the Brazilian soccer player Neymar transferred from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017. He is 25 years old at that time when he transferred teams that cost 222 million euros or more than half a billion dollars. He had become the most expensive football player in history up to this date and is widely known as one of the best players in the world.
The soccer ball is more interesting than you think.
There’s a myth that says soccer balls until 1908 were made from inflated stomach tissues of executed Irish prisoners. However, that is not true. Soccer balls are usually made out of pig’s bladders but not now anymore. Today, soccer balls are made with mostly vulcanized rubber with 32 panels to represent Europe’s countries. Technically, the shape of soccer balls is not round. It is slightly oval and only creates an optical illusion of spherical shape due to its patterns.
Lightning killed a whole soccer team
All 11 soccer players from the Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC were killed by lightning after it struck the field during their match with Basangana. This tragic event killed an entire team of players aged between 20 to 35. However, the team that had been playing at home was unharmed by the catastrophe.
The soccer player who scored one of the greatest World Cup goals is only 17 years old.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento or widely known as “Pele,” was the youngest soccer player who scored at the World Cup during his match against Wales in the quarterfinals. FIFA labeled him as “the Greatest” for some reasons—the youngest and only soccer player to win the World Cup three times.
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