16/02/2025
**10 Mind-Blowing Football Facts You Didn’t Know!**
1. **Longest Goal in History**
Goalkeeper Asmir Begović holds the record for the longest goal in professional football—an astonishing 105-yard (96m) strike in 2013. It took just 13 seconds after kick-off!
2. **Football’s Unusual Origins**
Medieval footballs were made from pig bladders wrapped in leather. Some even used cow stomachs as makeshift balls!
3. **World’s Oldest Club**
Sheffield FC, founded in England in 1857, is the world’s oldest professional football club still in existence.
4. **First-Ever Live Match Broadcast**
The BBC aired the first live football broadcast in 1937, featuring Arsenal vs. Arsenal Reserves—an early glimpse into the future of televised football.
5. **Fastest Red Card Ever**
Lee Todd was sent off just **2 seconds** into a game! His offense? Exclaiming, “F*** me, that was loud,” right after the referee’s whistle.
6. **The Origin of ‘Soccer’**
The word “soccer” comes from “association football” (shortened to “assoc”) and was originally an English term before being widely adopted in the U.S.
7. **Brazil’s Unmatched World Cup Record**
Brazil is the only nation to have played in **every** FIFA World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1930.
8. **Shortest Football Match Ever**
In 1979, a Barbados game lasted just **3 seconds** due to a penalty shootout decision after an abandoned match.
9. **A Dog Became a Goalkeeper?**
During a 1970 match in Brazil, a dog ran onto the pitch and stopped a ball from crossing the goal line, denying a crucial goal!
10. **Most Ridiculous Scoreline**
In 2002, Madagascar’s AS Adema won **149-0** after their opponents deliberately scored own goals in protest against a referee’s decision.