1. It's called "football" in practically every country on earth except for the United States and Canada who call it Soccer.
2. Football players run an average of 10 kilometers during every game.
Most of the running is done without the ball, because the average player is in possesion of the ball for only about 2% of the total distance that they run.
They accelerate about 40 to 60 different times in a single game and change direction approximately every five seconds.
3. India pulled out of the 1950 World Cup because they were not allowed to play barefoot.
4. The highest scoring footbal game was 149-0 in Madagascar in 2002. It was actually a form of protest by Stade Olympique de L'emyrne (SOE) and the players actually started a free-for-all scoring spree (scoring themselves) while their opponents just stood by and watched.
The coach was suspended as well as the captain and many other players.
5. A bolt of lightning killed an entire football team during a match in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1998.
It happened in the Kasai region and although all the 11-man team were killed and 30 other people suffered burn injuries, the opposing team was completely unharmed.
6. The Jules Rimet Trophy (popularly called the World Cup) made of solid gold was stolen in 1966 while on display at Central Hall in Westminster, London. The trophy was found several days later by a dog.
The one won by Brazil for keeps in 1970 was stolen in 1983 and it has never been recovered.
7. There are 32 panels on a traditional Soccer ball, one for each country in Europe.
8. Brazilian football legend, Pele, was born with six fingers on each foot.
9. Soccer balls are actually slightly oval in shape. But the checkered board pattern creates an illusion of a perfect sphere.
10. Queen Elizabeth II, dressed in disguise, was a frequent participant in pick-up football matches near Buckingham Palace when she was a teenager in the late 1930's and early 1940's.
She was a natural athlete.
11. Football was illegal in Mississippi until 1991.
12. Michael Laudrup was part of the Barcelona team when they won against Real Madrid 5-0.
He was also part of the Real Madrid team when they won 5-0 against Barcelona.
13. In 1945 during a game between Dynamo Moscow and Arsenal F.C heavy fog came down and disrupted the game.The referee made the decision to go on with the game despite the very poor visibility.
Then all hell was let loose because a great deal of foul-play were commited without any detection.
An Arsenal player who had earlier been sent-off the pitch promptly came back in and resumed play.
The Russians, not to be outdone, were playing with as many as 15 players on the field.
It was total chaos which was finally compounded when the Arsenal goalkeeper ran into the goalpoast and knocked himself out.
