FIFA World Cup 2014 is just round the corner. Gear yourselves up with these 15 interesting facts about Football!
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Football originated in China around 476 B.C.
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The record number of World Cup career goals is 15 by Brazilian forward Ronaldo.
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India withdrew from the 1950 World Cup. They did it because of FIFA regulations that players had to wear football boots and would not be allowed to play barefoot.
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The fewest number of fans to watch a World Cup Football game was 300 in Uruguay in 1930.
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Sir Viv Richards is the only person to have played both World Cup Football and World Cup Cricket. He played football for Antigua in 1974 World cup qualifiers.
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In 1966, the World Cup trophy was stolen and later found by dog days before the tournament began.
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Antonio Carbajal has the record for playing the most number of World Cups. He represented Mexico in 5 world cups in 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962 and 1968.
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Football is the most played and most watched sport on earth. Football is the most popular sport in the world. Over one billion fans watch World Cup Football on television.
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The maximum number of goals scored by one player in a single Football match was 16. It was scored by Stephan Stanis (France) playing for Racing Club de Lens in December 1942.
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Based on video evidence, one of the fastest ever scored was in 2.8 seconds by Ricardo Olivera (Uruguay) in December 1998.
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The World’s First Football Club was the English Sheffield Football Club. It was founded in 1857 by Colonel Nathaniel Cresswick and Major William Priest, two British Army officers.
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In 1964, a referee’s call during a football match in Peru caused a riot that killed over 300 people.
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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.
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The ball used in professional football has remained exactly the same size and shape for 120 years – 28inches in circumference.
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More than 80% of the world’s footballs are manufactured in Pakistan.
