Could this be attributed to the soccer betting craze that has hit the country and the continent as a whole? Or is it simply, in the famous words of the legend Pele, because it is "a beautiful game"?
But without any shroud of doubt, football is by far the most popular game to be played on planet earth, and these are why.
2. Football is the most played and most watched and most popular sport on earth, with over a billion fans watching the football World Cup on television.
3. The maximum number of goals scored by one player in a single Football match was 16, by Stephan Stanis of France, playing for Racing Club de Lens in December 1942.
4. Based on video evidence, one of the fastest ever scored goal was in 2.8 seconds by Ricardo Olivera (Uruguay) in December 1998.
5. The very first game of basketball was played with a soccer ball.
6. The highest scoring game was clocked 149-0. Stade Olympique de L’emyrne, a team from Madagascar scored their own goals. They did it as a form of protest for the unfair decision by referee in the previous game.
7. Ronaldinho came into the limelight when he scored 23 goals in a 23-0 game.
8. Celestine Babayaro, Nigerian born Chelsea player injured his legs while celebrating his debut goal in a pre-season match.
9. Luigi Riva broke a spectator’s arm with his powerful shot.
10. In 1964, a referee’s call during a football match in Peru caused a riot that killed over 300 people.
11. In 1998, lightening killed an entire football team. The catastrophe occurred in Congo during a match between the villages of Bena Tshadi and nearby Basangana.
12. The ball used in professional football has remained exactly the same size and shape for 120 years - 28inches in circumference.
13. More than 80% of the world’s footballs are manufactured in Pakistan.
14. The first live coverage of a football match was shown on television in 1937. It was a practice match Arsenal played at Highbury stadium.
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