Four more days to go till the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 kicks off. Let’s get ready for the biggest sports tournament in the world with some facts about the game that aren’t all that commonly known.
- Football is the biggest sport in the world today and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is the most watched sports tournament world over.
- Football is the only ball game in the world where you can’t maneuver the ball with your hands.
- The football industry makes more money than any other sport played in the world.
- According to a report by Forbes, football clubs are the most valuable sports franchises in the world. FC Barcelona, Manchester and Real Madrid are often at the top.
- Apart from the US where the game is called ‘soccer, everywhere else in the world, it’s called football.
- The word football does not mean playing with the feet, it means the game is played on the feet and not on horseback.
- Football fans are very serious about their favourite sport. It’s been reported that a French fan once shot another fan who supported the rival team twice: One shot for each goal made by the rival team.
- It’s not known when Football actually started, but it’s believed to have started some 3,000 years ago in China where the balls were produced by sewing clothes together and filling them with rubble. In the Middle Ages, Europe made its balls from inflated pig bladders.
- Modern day footballs are made with a number of synthetic leather layers and its bladders are made with buty or latex.
- Modern day football was founded in 1863 by the British who formulated the rules.
- FIFA was formed on May 21, 1904 with the goal to govern association football internationally.
- After the Olympics did not permit professional footballers to participate in the games, FIFA established the World Cup. The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uraguay; 13 teams competed and Uruguay won.
- The decision to hold the first ever World Cup in Uruguay did not go down very well with Europe. This resulted in European countries like Sweden, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Italy and Germany boycotting the tournament. Only Yugoslavia, Romania, Belgium and France played that year.
- Till date, there are only seven countries that have won the World Cup. These teams are Spain, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Uruguay, England and Argentina.
- The World Cup is held every four years since it was started in 1930, except for the 12-year break during World War II and after it.
- Brazil is the only country in the World Cup that has won more finals that anyone else.
Do you have any other interesting football facts to share? Do let us know in our comments section.
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