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The following football-related facts have appeared on the
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Portal:Association football when added to the bottom of this list per the hidden editing instructions.
2004–2005
...that the men's tournament of
football at the 2004 Summer Olympics was played by "U-23" (under 23-years-old) player) teams, with up to three over-age players allowed per team? (5 July 2004)
...that
Leyton F.C. had to win a
High Court action in order to call itself the oldest
football club in
London ? (9 September 2004)
...that
soccer player
Paul Reaney was briefly a
car mechanic before signing with
Leeds United ? (9 December 2004)
...that
Nils Liedholm is the last surviving member of the famous
footballing Gre-No-Li trio? (8 March 2005)
...that
Nat Lofthouse was the
England football team's highest goalscorer of all-time for eight years? (14 March 2005)
...that
Stan Mortensen scored a
hat-trick in the
1953 FA Cup Final at
Wembley , becoming the first player ever to do so? (16 March 2005)
...that
England
football captain
Eddie Hapgood was forced by diplomats to give a
Nazi salute before a match with
Germany in 1938? (17 March 2005)
...that the
England football squad for the
1986 World Cup in
Mexico contained two players called
Gary Stevens ? (25 March 2005)
...that
Ray Wilson , who was the eldest member of
England's victorious
1966 World Cup team, became an
undertaker after he retired from
football ? (4 April 2005)
...that although
England centre forward
Geoff Hurst had scored a
hat-trick and was therefore entitled to keep the match ball, it was
German striker
Helmut Haller who took it home after the
1966 World Cup final? (10 April 2005)
...that the
French
footballer
Lucien Laurent scored the first ever
World Cup goal, against
Mexico in 1930? (19 April 2005)
...that former
England
footballer
Mick Channon is now a successful
horse trainer ? (4 June 2005)
...that
Mick Mills was made captain of the
England national football team which started the
1982 World Cup because
Kevin Keegan was unable to play through injury? (10 June 2005)
...that
Alan Mullery became the first
England
association football player to be sent off in a full international match during the
1968 European Championship semi-final against
Yugoslavia ? (14 June 2005)
...that
Norwegian
football
commentator
Bjørge Lillelien famously taunted
Margaret Thatcher after
Norway 's victory over
England in 1981? (24 June 2005)
...that
Chris Woods cost
Queens Park Rangers 250,000
pounds from
Nottingham Forest in 1979 even though he had never played a
League game before his transfer? (2 July 2005)
...that the
German
prisoners of war built part of the
Stade de Gerland
stadium in
Lyon ,
France , after the
First World War ? (1 August 2005)
...that the
Liga Indonesia is the top
football league in
Indonesia ? (9 August 2005)
...that although
Archibald Leitch was the foremost
football
stadium
architect in the
United Kingdom in the early
20th century , only two of his works have been
listed for preservation? (23 August 2005)
...that, before
Wayne Rooney made his debut in February 2003,
England 's youngest ever football player was
James F. M. Prinsep , who had held the
record for more than 123 years? (2 September 2005)
...that the first ever
golden goal was scored in the
Cromwell Cup final at
Bramall Lane ,
Sheffield in
1868 , giving
Sheffield Wednesday a 1–0 victory? (23 September 2005)
...that in
1930 , the
footballer
Gerard Keizer played for both
Arsenal and
Ajax Amsterdam simultaneously, flying between
England and the
Netherlands to play in matches? (4 October 2005)
...that
footballer
Alan Taylor scored two goals in the quarter final, two goals in the semi final and two goals in the
final of the
1975 FA Cup as his club
West Ham United won the competition? (1 December 2005)
...that
César Sampaio is a former
Brazilian
football player who played offensive midfielder for
Palmeiras and the
Brazilian national team ? (2 December 2005)
...that the former English
football player
Eric Brook is the all-time record goalscorer for
Manchester City F.C. with 178 goals? (27 December 2005)
...that
Dimba was the top goalscorer of the 2003
Brazilian
football championship? (29 December 2005)
...the
Stadion Graz-Liebenau in
Austria was renamed after controversy over
Arnold Schwarzenegger 's decisions in recent
death penalty cases in
California ? (30 December 2005)
2006
...that
Deportivo Táchira Fútbol Club is the
Venezuelan
soccer club with the most appearances in the
Copa Libertadores ? (17 January 2006)
...that a 1906 football match between a team of youngsters from
Kraków and the troupe of
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show is one of the milestones in the
history of football in Poland ? (20 March 2006)
...that the
Agony of Doha is a term used by fans of the
Japanese national football team to refer to the
1994 FIFA World Cup
qualification match where Japan lost its World Cup place to
South Korea ? (16 May 2006)
...that
Garry Parker ran the full length of the pitch at
Wembley Stadium to score a goal for
Nottingham Forest in the final of the
Simod Cup against
Everton in 1989, which Forest won 4–3? (21 May 2006)
...that
Dutch football manager
Clemens Westerhof is credited with turning the
Nigerian national team into a perennial powerhouse in African football, having guided them to victory in the
1992 African Cup of Nations as well as their first
FIFA World Cup participation in 1994? (23 May 2006)
...that the first professional
football team,
The Zulus , was established in
Sheffield ,
England in 1879? (21 July 2006)
...that the
English
footballer
David Layne scored 58 goals in 81 games for
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. before he was jailed for his involvement in the
British betting scandal of 1964 ? (6 August 2006)
...that the
Gay Football Supporters Network recently voted
Steven Gerrard top of their annual "Lust List" for the second year running? (31 August 2006)
...that
Charlie Williams , one of the first black
football players in Britain after the
Second World War and later Britain's first well-known black
comedian , responded to
heckling by saying: "If you don't shut up, I'll come and move in next door to you"? (14 September 2006)
...that the rules of
Swedish football played in the late
19th century were a mix of
association football rules and the
rugby football rules because of a misunderstanding? (28 September 2006)
...that
Sheffield Wednesday Ladies F.C. were formed at the Star Inn
public house in
Rotherham in 1971 following a charity match between men and women at the pub?(28 September 2006)
...that
Swedish
goalkeeper
Karl Svensson was given his nickname Rio-Kalle after two heroic matches in the
1950 FIFA World Cup that were actually played in
São Paulo and not in
Rio de Janeiro ? (18 October 2006)
... that
English lower-league
football team
Bristol Rovers once beat the
Netherlands national football team 3–2? (12 November 2006)
...that
West Ham Stadium in
London holds the record for the lowest ever attendance of a
football match in
The Football League , despite its
capacity of 120,000? (6 December 2006)
...that
Göteborgs BK , founded in
1875 , is the oldest
football
club in
Sweden known by name, also played
Swedish football , a local variant? (20 December 2006)
...that the
cope given to the
Rt. Revd. David Urquhart upon his inauguration as the ninth
Bishop of Birmingham in November 2006 featured the emblems of
Aston Villa and
Birmingham City , the two most prominent football teams of the city? (23 December 2006)
2007
...that
Les Taylor only captained
Watford in the
1984
FA Cup final because regular captain
Wilf Rostron was suspended? (22 January 2007)
...that
Torbjörn Nilsson is considered to be one of the greatest
Swedish
footballers of all time, despite only having played 28 matches for the
national team ? (7 February 2007)
...that the fourth
Nordic Football Championship tournament was started in
1937 but did not end until eleven years later as it was interrupted by the
Second World War ? (28 February 2007)
...that
Harry Kent worked both as a manufacturer of
munitions and as a
pub landlord whilst managing
Watford F.C. ? (13 March 2007)
...that
Peter Knowles , a popular
English
football player, voluntarily ended his football career at the age of 24, after becoming a
Jehovah's Witness ? (19 March 2007)
...that when
Archie Goodall scored for
Northern Ireland in their 9–1 loss to
Scotland , he became the oldest
footballer to score an international goal in the 19th century? (2 April 2007)
...that
footballer
Francis Lee earned his nickname Lee One Pen by setting an English record for the most
penalties scored in a single season? (17 April 2007)
...that
Uruguayan
footballer
Víctor Rodríguez Andrade helped found
Uruguayan Basketball Federation team 25 de Agosto? (19 April 2007)
...that
Pankaj Gupta was one of the earliest
Indian sports administrators involved in
football ,
hockey and
cricket ? (21 April 2007)
...that 1927
Italian football champions
Torino F.C. were stripped of their title for
match fixing ? (21 April 2007)
...that
Jacqui Oatley is the first female
football
commentator in the history of
BBC football programme
Match of the Day ? (24 April 2007)
...that
Alex Stevenson is the only
footballer to play for both the
Republic of Ireland and
Rangers F.C. ? (25 April 2007)
...that
English
cricketer and
footballer
Arthur Milton was the last surviving person to have played
Test cricket for the
England cricket team and international football for the
England football team ? (1 May 2007)
...that the
football
stadium
Nya Gamla Ullevi which is under construction in
Gothenburg ,
Sweden , is only the second
Swedish top league stadium built since 1966? (8 May 2007)
..that in 2003, aged 70, former
English Football League and international
soccer referee
Pat Partridge took over as
linesman in a
non-league match he was watching, after the original linesman took over from the injured referee? (18 May 2007)
...that
footballer
David Weir scored
Manchester City 's first ever
FA Cup goal? (1 June 2007)
...that
Itzik Zohar scored
Israel 's first international
goal in
football after gaining full admittance to
UEFA ? (5 June 2007)
...that the
1902 British Home Championship
football tournament was won by
Scotland in a replay after the deciding match was marred by
the deaths of 25 spectators when a stand collapsed at
Ibrox Park ? (6 June 2007)
...that
footballer
George Wynn was
Manchester City 's leading goalscorer in three consecutive seasons? (8 June 2007)
...that
Dutch amateur
football club
IJsselmeervogels received the Dutch Sports Team of the Year Award in 1975, for reaching the semi-final of the
KNVB Cup ? (10 June 2007)
...that
football players Billy and
John McPhail are the only brothers to have both scored
hat-tricks for
Celtic F.C. against their
Old Firm rivals,
Rangers F.C. ? (21 June 2007)
...that the
football song
Hampden in the sun celebrates the record scoreline of the 1957
Scottish League Cup final? (28 June 2007)
...that
Scottish footballer
Billy McPhail launched a legal case claiming that heading heavy
leather footballs contributed to him developing
Alzheimer's disease ? (28 June 2007)
...that money donated in 1905 by the fans at
Celtic Park football stadium in
Glasgow, Scotland was given to the mother of international Scottish
footballer
Barney Battles, Jr. while Battles was still in the womb? (1 July 2007)
...that
Stoke City F.C. is the second-oldest
English football league club, as it was founded in 1863? (6 July 2006)
...that on the same day
Arbroath beat Bon Accord 36–0 in the Scottish Cup that 18 miles away in Dundee,
Dundee Harp had beaten Aberdeen Rovers 35–0? (19 July 2007)
...that
Eddy Brown , an English
football player who had originally planned to take
Holy Orders , was well known for his
goal celebrations as early as the 1950s? (23 July 2007)
...that the famous black-and-white striped shirts of
Italian
football club
Juventus were based on the kit of English
Notts County , replacing the club's initial pink and black colours in 1903? (1 August 2007)
...that
Russian émigré
Jerzy Bulanow captained the
Poland national football team through the 1920s and early 1930s? (5 August 2007)
...that the
football (soccer) stadium at
Tehelné pole , in
Bratislava , was the largest in the former
Czechoslovakia ?(10 August 2007)
...that
Tommy Sale scored 282 goals during 14 years at the
English
Football club
Stoke City F.C. ? (10 August 2007)
...that
Bob McGrory managed the
English
football team
Stoke City for a period of 17 years, having previously played for the club for 14 years? (20 August 2007)
...that the first
Italian
football (soccer) club,
Torino Football and Cricket Club , was founded by
Edoardo Bosio in 1887? (21 August 2007)
...that
Alex Leake was offered a
£ 10 bribe by
Manchester City player
Billy Meredith to
throw the final match of the
1904–1905 season? (29 August 2007)
...that the
England national football team is to train on the
football pitch of the
Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College , as it is the only one identical to one in Russia on which they are due to play in October 2007? (28 September 2007)
...that despite being organised on
St. Andrew's Day , the
first official international football match did not result in a home win? (28 September 2007)
...that
Harry Newbould was the first-ever manager of
Derby County F.C. ? (29 September 2007)
...that
Sam Ormerod was the first manager to gain
promotion to the
First Division , the highest level of
English football , with
Manchester City F.C. ? (5 October 2007)
...that
Wilf Wild was the first
Manchester City manager to win the
League Championship ? (13 October 2007)
...that the
Portuguese football champion has been one of
S.L. Benfica ,
F.C. Porto or
Sporting Clube de Portugal on 78 out of 86 occasions? (17 October 2007)
...that
English
football
referee
Matt Messias once urged a
Portsmouth
defender not to kick an opposing player during a match against
Newcastle United because "the
devil was trying to get him
sent off "? (23 October 2007)
...that
Niek Loohuis is now a Dutch
First Division
football (soccer) player, despite having been declared unfit and removed from
FC Twente 's youth academy at age 18? (19 November 2007)
...that
football referees in England officiate at
eleven different levels according to ability, activity and age? (24 November 2007)
...that
football (soccer) player
Law Adam of
Grasshopper-Club Zürich played for
Switzerland against
Austria in
1929 , but played for his native
Netherlands against
Switzerland a year later? (1 December 2007)
...that the
Galatasaray S.K. has origins from the
Ottoman Empire era? (4 December 2007)
...that former
Hampshire
wicketkeeper
Adi Aymes went on to manage
football club
Fleet Town F.C. , and is the current fitness coach of
Havant and Waterlooville ? (8 December 2007)
...that
English football
referee
Gary Willard once had to be given a police safety escort off the
pitch after
sending off three home team players in a single game? (14 December 2007)
...that the
Hungarian politician and
Nazi collaborator
Andor Jaross was also president of the
football (soccer) club
Ferencvárosi TC ? (21 December 2007)
...that footballer
Roy Cheetham was the first
Manchester City player to be used as a
substitute ? (29 December 2007)
2008
...that a
steam -powered
portable engine drove the
dynamo for the first
floodlit
football match in the UK in 1878? (7 January 2008)
...that
football (soccer)
midfielder
Evan Berger was nominated for an informal
Australia Day award by his
local council for representing
Australia in the
national under-20 team ? (10 January 2008)
...that
Tommy Fleming was inducted into the
National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005, one of five soccer players unanimously selected to represent overlooked players from before the 1950s? (16 January 2008)
...that
football
manager
Yvon Pouliquen led two clubs to victory in the
French Cup Final and
relegation from
the top division in consecutive seasons? (18 January 2008)
...that
Tommy Johnson holds the record for the most goals scored by a
Manchester City player in a single season? (18 January 2008)
...that
Frank Loughran played for
the Socceroos at the
1956 Summer Olympics in
Melbourne , scoring a goal in the first game his adopted country of
Australia ever played in Olympic
soccer ? (22 January 2008)
...that
footballer
John Hewitt scored the fastest recorded goal in
Scottish Cup history, timed at 9.6 seconds? (26 January 2008)
...that
Mretebi Tbilisi was the first openly professional
football club to be founded in the
Soviet Union ? (31 January 2008)
...that
Association Footballer
Billy Mosforth was a leading exponent of the screw shot, which allows players to bend the ball's trajectory? (1 February 2008)
...that
Billy Mercer became
caretaker assistant manager of
Sheffield Wednesday in October 2006, having previously played for rivals
Sheffield United ? (9 February 2008)
...that
John Percival , when
headmaster of
Rugby School , gained the
nickname "Percival of the knees" because he was concerned about "impurity" and insisted that boys secure their
football shorts below the knee with elastic? (12 February 2008)
...that the
rivalry between
Leeds United and
Manchester United
football clubs has its roots in the 15th century
English
civil war , the
Wars of the Roses ? (14 February 2008)
...that
William Bambridge , the father of
England
Football international
Charles Bambridge was a member of the
Te Waimate mission ,
New Zealand who became official photographer to
Queen Victoria ? (15 February 2008)
...that the
England national football team has only had fifteen
managers since the position was made a full-time post in 1946? (19 February 2008)
...that former
England under-21
goalkeeper
Lee Grant has been described by
Owls manager
Brian Laws as "probably the most outstanding keeper" in
the Championship ? (20 February 2008)
...that
Ellyse Perry played both
cricket and
soccer for
Australia at the age of sixteen? (20 February 2008)
...that the
Premier League 's
proposal to play some matches outside England has been condemned by the
Football Supporters' Federation as "outrageous
desecration of the national game"? (21 February 2008)
...that in 1916,
footballer
Bob Benson volunteered to replace an absent
Arsenal team-mate just before a game, only to collapse and die during the match? (23 February 2008)
...that
Bradford City Football Club blamed their
FA Cup exit in the
1919–20 season on a pre-game trip to
Fry's chocolate works ? (25 February 2008)
...that the
1976 Football League Cup win made
Tony Book the first to so as both a player and
manager ? (29 February 2008)
...that
Stockport County
physio
Rodger Wylde formed a
rock group with player Tom Bennett whilst treating his broken leg? (3 March 2008)
...that former
Arsenal and
Sheffield Wednesday
footballer
Brian Hornsby trekked to
Machu Picchu with musician
Tony Hadley in aid of
Action Medical Research ? (4 March 2008)
...that former
football player and manager
Alan Brown quit
Huddersfield Town and became a
policeman for two and a half years before rejoining the club? (8 March 2008)
...that
Scottish
footballer
Kevin Bremner scored for five different teams in
the Football League during the
1982–83 season ? (8 March 2008)
...that after retiring, former
Premier League
footballer
Adrian Whitbread worked in four different clubs as assistant coach for
Martin Allen ? (15 March 2008)
...that footballer
Henry Martin scored on his début against
Liverpool and again the next day against their neighbours
Everton ? (2 April 2008)
...that the four youngest players for
England's football team are
Wayne Rooney ,
Theo Walcott ,
James Prinsep and
Thurston Rostron ? (9 April 2008)
...that at 15 years and 156 days,
Albert Geldard became the youngest player to appear in
The Football League in 1929? (25 April 2008}
...that
Julian Sturgis , the novelist, poet,
librettist and lyricist was the first
American to play for
the winning team in an English
FA Cup Final in
1873 ? (28 April 2008)
...that in
Claude Ashton 's only international appearance for the
English national football team , he
captained the squad? (5 May 2008)
... that
English
football full back
Alfred Bower was the last
amateur player to captain the
English national team in 1927? (7 May 2008)
... that
Bradford City
footballers
Geoff Smith and
George Mulholland each played more than 200 consecutive appearances for the club during the 1950s? (7 May 2008)
... that
Albert Kidd scored two
goals in the last 10 minutes of the
1985–86
Scottish football season to deny
Hearts the
championship , despite having not scored in the whole season until then? (10 May 2008)
... that
association footballers
Jimmy Willis and
Steve Finnan are the only players to have scored in the top five divisions of
English league football ? (13 May 2008)
... that
Sam Cowan is the only
footballer to have represented
Manchester City in three
FA Cup finals? (14 May 2008)
... that brothers and
England
football
defenders
Arthur Melmoth Walters and
Percy Melmoth Walters were known as "
Morning " and "
Afternoon " in allusion to their initials? (16 May 2008)
... that the game between
FC Bayern Munich and
1860 Munich on
23 April
1945 in the
Gauliga Bayern , ending 3–2, was the last official
football game played in
Nazi Germany ? (20 May 2008)
... that
Len Boyd , captain of
Birmingham City F.C. in the 1950s, once played four games with a
fractured leg? (24 May 2008)
... that
Aston Villa 's
Bob Chatt scored an
FA Cup Final goal 30 seconds after kick-off? (25 May 2008)
... that the
Webster ruling is a legal
precedent clarified by the
Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2008, which extends to professional
footballers in
Europe the same
contractual
freedom of movement as workers in other industries? (30 May 2008)
... that the
Gibraltar Football Association had their
UEFA
membership application blocked by Spain due to their
claim on the territory ? (30 May 2008)
... that
Georgian
footballer
Georgi Kiknadze won five consecutive
league championships with
Dinamo Tbilisi ? (31 May 2008)
... that
Poole Stadium , a former
football ground now used for
greyhound racing and
speedway , was the venue for the
2004 Speedway World Cup final? (31 May 2008)
... that
twin brothers
David and
Peter Jackson played together for seven clubs in
English football ? (1 June 2008)
... that the
1966–68 Liga Leumit season was played over two years in an effort to rid
Israeli football of corruption and violence, which included riots on the field? (1 June 2008)
... that goalkeeper
Bob Roberts was the first
West Bromwich Albion player to win an international
cap ? (4 June 2008)
... that the
Eimsbütteler TV , a German
football club, failed to advance in the
national championship finals in 1934 and 1935 despite beating the later champion,
FC Schalke 04 , in both years? (6 June 2008)
... that in the
1996
football match between England and Scotland ,
Uri Geller claimed that he caused
Scotland's
Gary McAllister to miss a
penalty by the
power of his mind ? (7 June 2008)
... in 1885,
Jimmy Forrest was the first
professional
footballer to appear for the
England national football team ? (8 June 2008)
... that when
Hibernian F.C. applied to join the Scottish Football Association , the
SFA told them that the SFA were catering for
Scotsmen , not
Irishmen ? (9 June 2008)
... that the
Franconian derby between
1. FC Nürnberg and
SpVgg Greuther Fürth is the most played
football match in
Germany with over 250 games between the two sides? (19 June 2008)
... that
Fred Forman scored two
goals in
England's 13–2 win over
Ireland in 1899—the highest-scoring match involving England in
international football history ? (23 June 2008)
... that with the inception of the
Gauliga Ostmark in 1938, clubs from outside of
Vienna were for the first time permitted to take part in
Austria 's premier
football division? (28 June 2008)
... that
Welsh
footballer
Roy Clarke played in three different divisions of the
Football League in three consecutive matches? (30 June 2008)
... that
Bert Freeman was the top scorer in the English
Football League in three seasons before 1914? (1 July 2008)
... that
Jimmy Speirs won the
Military Medal while serving with the
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders , six years after his goal helped
Bradford City win the
1911 FA Cup Final ? (4 July 2008)
... that
Hibernian Park hosted the first
football international match played in
Edinburgh ,
Scotland ? (6 July 2008)
... that, at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall,
Teddy Davison was considered the smallest
goalkeeper to play for the
England national football team ? (9 July 2008)
... that
English
footballer
Tom Holford played professionally until he was 46, making him the sixth oldest player to have appeared in a
Football League match? (11 July 2008)
... that the
football game between
Offenburger FV and the
SC Freiburg on
28 March
1920 lasted for over three hours? (22 July 2008)
... that
Eastbourne Borough is the fifth
football club for which
Jean-Michel Sigere and
Simon Wormull have played together? (20 August 2008)
... that following
Neil Dewar ’s
transfer from the club, a
Manchester United director was forced to resign due to his daughter
eloping with the player? (21 August 2008)
... that
England's
Tom Brittleton is the oldest
footballer ever to play a competitive match for
Sheffield Wednesday ? (23 August 2008)
... that
mathematician
Harald Bohr , brother of
Niels Bohr , won a silver medal in
football at the
1908 Summer Olympics ? (26 August 2008)
... that when 15-year-old
Jordon Mutch was first selected to play for
Birmingham City F.C. , he had to be withdrawn only hours before the match because of
child protection regulations? (2 September 2008)
... that the
2008 Congo football riots were sparked by accusations of
witchcraft ? (21 September 2008)
... that
Brazilian
footballer
Bobô won the 1988
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A before playing three games for the
Brazil national team in 1989? (22 September 2008)
... that
goalkeeper
Peter Litchfield donated the man of the match award from his
Football League debut to
motor neurone disease in memory of former teammate Mel Holden? (22 September 2008)
... that
Curtis Woodhouse was a professional boxer whilst still playing professional football for
Rushden & Diamonds ? (23 September 2008)
... that victory in the
1904 FA Cup Final gave
Manchester City F.C. their first major honour? (25 September 2008)
... that
Jack Hillman was responsible for the earliest recorded case of
match fixing in
football ? (26 September 2008)
... that new
Manchester City F.C. chairman
Khaldoon Al Mubarak was also the man who negotiated the
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 's inclusion in the
2009 Formula One season ? (26 September 2008)
... that English
footballer
Fred Geary scored the first goal at the opening of
Everton 's new
Goodison Park stadium in August 1892? (26 September 2008)
... that
Hapoel Tayibe was the first ever
Arab football club to play in the top division in
Israel ? (2 October 2008)
... that
Reuben Noble-Lazarus became the youngest
footballer in
the Football League when he came on as a substitute in
Barnsley 's 3–0 defeat to
Ipswich Town in 2008? (7 October 2008)
...that English
footballer
Glen Thomas came close to losing an eye in 1996 when he stumbled into a tree during a training session and was hit in the face by a branch? (10 October 2008)
.. that
South African
Jean-Michel d'Avray played
football in
England and
Holland before becoming the last ever
National Soccer League Coach of the Year in
Australia ? (12 October 2008)
... that during the
World War II , English
footballer
Jimmy Boswell served in the same army unit as four other future
Gillingham F.C. players? (14 October 2008)
... that
footballer
Peter Stringfellow suffered a dramatic decline in form, which ultimately ended his professional career, after being involved in a car crash in which a team-mate died? (15 October 2008)
... that
Norwegian
football goalkeeper
Jon Knudsen made his national team debut one month before turning 34? (22 October 2008)
... that
Joe Wilson scored
West Bromwich Albion 's first goal in
The Football League ? (24 October 2008}
... that
Manchester United gave
Stockport County a freezer full of
ice cream in exchange for the transfer of
footballer
Hugh McLenahan in May 1927? (1 November 2008)
... that
Franz Burgmeier became the first
Liechtensteiner to play
football in England after being signed on the advice of a
club chairman's twelve-year-old grandson? (9 November 2008)
... that, though there is no evidence for it,
Louis Rocca is credited with having coined the name
Manchester United ? (11 November 2008)
... that before becoming a full-time professional
footballer at the age of 21,
Mike Bickle worked as a
milkman ? (12 November 2008)
... that the
football rivalry between
ASV Herzogenaurach and
FC Herzogenaurach can be traced back to the rivalry between the clubs' sponsors,
Adidas and
Puma ? (14 November 2008)
... that football player
Michael Liddle made his international debut for
Republic of Ireland under-19s although he was born in
London ,
England ? (20 November 2008)
... that
footballer
Tommy Magee is the only
West Bromwich Albion player to have won both a
League Championship medal and an
FA Cup winners' medal with the club? (25 November 2008)
... that the
German company
Jako threatened to sue the
Football Association of Ireland when referee
Anthony Buttimer refused to allow
Sligo Rovers to wear their
kit in a
League of Ireland match? (29 November 2008)
... that
1. FC Nürnberg reached every
final of the
Bavarian under 19 football championship from 1967 to 1994? (2 December 2008)
... that
Ian Chapman was the first former pupil of
The Football Association 's School of Excellence to play in
The Football League ? (6 December 2008)
... that after retiring as a
footballer ,
Mike Trusson worked as the
marketing manager for a football-themed restaurant in
London ? (6 December 2008)
... that
footballer
Johnny Warsap was signed by
Gillingham F.C. after he played against the club for a team representing the
Royal Berkshire Regiment ? (7 December 2008)
... that the
Scotch Professors , a group of 19th-century
Scottish
footballers , are credited with inventing the
passing style of the modern game and spreading the sport globally? (23 December 2008)
... that in 1937,
Harry Osman was the last
footballer to score a goal on
Christmas Day at
Southampton 's
The Dell stadium? (25 December 2008)
2009
... that
Walter Galbraith selected an
Accrington Stanley team of eleven
Scots for an
English Football League match? (1 January 2009)
... that
footballer
Abe Hartley used to place a rolled-up
cigarette behind his ear prior to
kick-off and then smoke it in the
changing room at
half-time ? (2 January 2009)
... that
Willie McCartney was listed by the
Sunday Herald newspaper as the 22nd greatest
Scottish
football
manager of all time, even though he never won a major trophy? (7 January 2009)
... that German
football manager
Horst Buhtz led both
Dortmund and
Nürnberg to the
Bundesliga promotion playoffs, but was dismissed each time before the matches took place? (14 January 2009)
... that the
Brazilian team at the
1958 World Cup had not assigned
squad numbers in advance, and a 17-year old
Pelé was randomly assigned the number 10, which he wore for the rest of his career? (15 January 2009)
... that Scottish
footballer
Jim Baxter once taunted opponents in an international match by playing
keepie uppie during the game, and that he described his style as "treating the ball like a woman"? (15 January 2009)
... that
Bishop Auckland F.C. was the only
football club to
win the FA Amateur Cup in three consecutive seasons? (17 January 2009)
... that
goalkeeper
Jack Wheeler and his five
defenders set a
Football League record in the
1952–53 season by all playing in every league game for
Huddersfield Town ? (17 January 2009)
... that from 1936 to 1998, the
Germany national football team had just five
managers , each of whom won a major trophy, with
Helmut Schön (1964–1978) winning two? (18 January 2009)
... that the television series
Use It or Lose It documented the return of former
association footballers
Niall Quinn and
Ronnie Whelan to their respective youth teams? (3 February 2009)
... that in
1946 ,
Welsh international
footballer
Bert Turner became the first player to score for both sides in an
FA Cup Final ? (3 February 2009)
... that
Derek Forster became the youngest
Sunderland
footballer to have made a first team appearance when he was 15 years 185 days old? (4 February 2009)
... that
Bert Shelley made 448 appearances for
Southampton Football Club between 17 January 1920 and 16 April 1932, a club record that was broken by
Tommy Traynor in 1966? (9 February 2009)
... that
Christ Bongo was one of only three
Congolese
footballers to score in final qualifying for the
2002 FIFA World Cup ? (14 February 2009)
... that in 1945,
footballer
Doug McGibbon scored six goals in one match, one of which was timed at under five seconds from the second half kick-off? (18 February 2009)
... that the career of
association football player
Mark Maley was ended after he was accidentally shot in the eye by teammate
John Oster with an
air gun ? (23 February 2009)
... that former professional
footballer
Charlie Sillett was one of two
Royal Navy
gunners killed when the
Norwegian steamship
SS Corvus was sunk by a
torpedo launched from the
German
U-boat
U-1018 ? (4 March 2009)
... that
James Allan scored 12 goals in one match, when
Sunderland beat Castletown 23–0 in an
exhibition football game? (14 March 2009)
... that when
footballer
Morten Knutsen left
Odd Grenland due to persistent injury problems, he joined
FK Arendal , only to immediately sustain another injury? (21 March 2009)
... that the
Antelope Ground ,
Southampton was the first home of both
Hampshire County Cricket Club and of
Southampton Football Club ? (24 March 2009)
... that when
Bobby Folds joined
Gillingham F.C. in 1966, he became the club's first ever
apprentice -professional
footballer ? (27 March 2009)
... that
footballer
Bob Wilson was the last player to captain the original
Accrington Stanley club in a professional match? (30 March 2009)
... that
footballer
Chic Brodie ' s professional career ended when he collided with a dog on the playing field? (31 March 2009)
... that
Mick Rathbone , now
Everton F.C. 's head of sports medicine, was once simultaneously player,
physiotherapist and assistant manager of
Halifax Town A.F.C. ? (2 April 2009)
... that
Brian Statham shares his name with
an England international cricketer and was himself a talented schoolboy
cricketer , but opted to pursue a career in professional
football ? (4 April 2009)
... that in 1863,
Blackheath Proprietary School was one of the founder members of
The Football Association ? (5 April 2009)
... that in 1980,
Eamonn Collins became the youngest player to appear in a professional
football match in England, when he played for
Blackpool at the age of 14 years and 323 days? (5 April 2009)
... that former professional
footballer
Don Rossiter served as mayor of
Rochester, Kent , during the 1980s? (6 April 2009)
... that ex-professional
footballer
Julian Hails has a
BSc honours degree in mathematical studies and became a
mathematics teacher? (6 April 2009)
... that
Ritchie Hanlon became
manager of
St Albans City F.C. at the age of 29, three months after he retired as a player? (8 April 2009)
... that when
Ted Hough was signed by
Southampton Football Club , his "
transfer fee " was a
round of 52
pints of
beer ? (8 April 2009)
... that the only Football League match in which
Billy Jervis played was abandoned due to fading daylight after his team turned up late? (11 April 2009)
... that the
Essex derby
football match did not take place for 15 years? (12 April 2009)
... that
Archie Roe , who scored
South Shields F.C. 's first ever goal in
The Football League , was then signed by the team he had scored it against? (3 May 2009)
... that
footballer
Bud Houghton was born in
Madras to an
Anglo-Indian family who migrated to England in 1947 when
India gained independence from British rule? (17 May 2009)
... that
Gillingham Football Club 's supporters donated £2,500 in an attempt to fund a month's extension to
loanee
defender
Mick Bodley ' s contract? (26 May 2009)
... that in the
penalty shootout during the
London Senior Cup final 2009,
Serge Makofo was the only player to score for
Croydon Athletic ? (25 June 2009)
... that
Dean Holness , who starred in
football television drama
Dream Team and film
Mike Bassett: England Manager , played professional football for
Southend United ? (23 July 2009)
... that a branch of
Exeter City Supporters' Trust members helped finance
James Norwood ' s contract at the
football club, paying
£ 19 per month? (14 August 2009)
... that
Justin Fashanu was the first professional
association football player to
come out as gay (21 August 2009)
... that semi-professional
footballer
Gareth Risbridger holds a
UEFA 'B'
Pro Licence
coaching badge and is also a qualified
referee , as well as working as a
greenkeeper at Wycombe Heights Golf Club? (28 August 2009)
... that despite being born in
Harlow ,
England ,
Alex Stavrinou qualified to play for the
Cyprus youth
football team through his father's
Cypriot heritage? (29 August 2009)
... that
Gus Hurdle rejected a chance to play international
football for
Barbados to help
Crawley Town in their relegation match against
Dorchester Town , saying it was the "bigger game"? (29 August 2009)
... that
Fred Hollands scored twice in
Southampton St Mary's biggest competitive victory in their 14–0
FA Cup win against
Newbury Town on 13 October 1894, which still remains a record win for Southampton? (30 August 2009)
... that semi-professional
football player
Nevin Saroya featured in the football-themed film
Mean Machine ? (1 September 2009)
.. that as a result of the
Okęcie Airport Incident in
1980 , four top players of the
Polish national football team were disqualified, and one of them never
capped for Poland again? (2 September 2009)
... that
Samuel Clucas was offered a
soccer
scholarship in the
United States after studying sports development at
Lincoln College ? (2 September 2009)
... that supporters invaded the
pitch on three occasions during a
football match between
West Ham United and
Millwall in 2009? (2 September 2009)
... that
English former
footballer
David Hamilton was
Wigan Athletic 's first ever full-time
scout ? (4 September 2009)
... that in the initial
Anglo-Italian Cup
footballtournaments , one point was awarded for every goal scored? (5 September 2009)
... that semi-professional
football player
Nevin Saroya featured in the football-themed film
Mean Machine ? (7 September 2009}
... that
Fred Griffiths , who played twice for the
Wales national football team , was killed in action during the
First World War ? (8 September 2009)
... that
Albert Pape scored a goal for
Manchester United against
Clapton Orient in 1925, despite only completing a
transfer from Orient to United an hour before kick-off? (10 September 2009)
... that in 1900,
Wilf Waller was the first
South African
footballer to play in the English
Football League ? (14 September 2009)
... that on the final day of the
1959–60 Football League season ,
Trevor Meredith scored the goal that won the
league title for
Burnley ? (14 September 2009)
... that
Claude Lambie scored
Burnley 's first-ever competitive
hat-trick ? (14 September 2009)
... that
World Cup winning
soccer player
José Andrade once played drums in a carnival band? (17 September 2009)
... that
footballer
Tony Hawksworth had only made three appearances for
Manchester United 's
reserve team when he made his
Football League debut, but never played another League match? (5 October 2009)
... that after
footballer
Barrie Thomas transferred from
Scunthorpe United to
Newcastle United in January 1962, attendances at Scunthorpe's home games dropped by 20%? (15 October 2009)
... that Englishman
Bob Bootland , who was the first foreigner to coach a
football club in India, arrived in the country on holiday and never left? (16 October 2009)
... that
Jayden Stockley made his debut in
the Football League for
Bournemouth whilst still a
student at
secondary school ? (20 October 2009)
... that despite making his national team debut in 1924,
footballer
James Mitchell remains the only player to represent
England while wearing
spectacles ? (30 October 2009)
... that
Les Cocker , a coach with the victorious
England team at the
1966 World Cup , received a winner's medal in June 2009, nearly 30 years after his death, following a campaign launched by his family? (30 October 2009)
... that
footballer
James Constable worked in an
undergarment lining factory while playing as a
semi-professional ? (30 October 2009)
... that
Peter Sanders began his career as a professional
association football player, switched to playing
rugby union , and has subsequently spent forty years running a
baseball club? (1 November 2009)
...that the
England amateur
footballer ,
Leonard Dawe , became a
crossword compiler for
The Daily Telegraph newspaper and in 1944 was interrogated on suspicion of
espionage in the run-up to the
D-Day landings? (3 November 2009)
... that former professional
footballer
Spike Rawlings , winner of the 1976 edition of TV talent show
Opportunity Knocks , began his entertainment career after being asked to provide the half-time entertainment during a game? (10 November 2009)
... that
footballer
Billy Ingham , whose nickname was "the Ginger
Pelé ", worked as a
bus driver after retiring? (12 November 2009)
... that
goalkeeper
Barrie Delf only made one appearance in
The Football League for
Southend United , having previously played as an
amateur ? (26 November 2009)
... that
Uruguayan
Isabelino Gradín won South American championships in both
football and
track and field athletics ? (1 December 2009)
... that
Penzance A.F.C. competed in ten of the first sixteen
finals of the
Cornwall Senior Cup , winning six of them? (5 December 2009)
... that footballer
Roger Helland in 2004 scored
Fredrikstad 's first goal in the
Norwegian Premier League in 20 years? (6 December 2009)
... that a
Glasgow -born railway engineer,
John Harley , was responsible for revolutionizing the way
Uruguay played
football ? (13 December 2009)
... that professional
footballer
Andy Bell spent nearly a decade with hometown club
Blackburn Rovers , without making a single first-team appearance? (19 December 2009)
... that at least seven members of the Scottish Argentine
Brown family have played international
football for
Argentina ? (23 December 2009)
... that
Uruguayan
footballer
Vladas Douksas ' father was a
Lithuanian
shopkeeper ? (25 December 2009)
... that after playing for over twenty clubs and enjoying only mild success, former professional footballer
Fred Eyre made his name as a businessman,
after dinner speaker , and author? (28 December 2009)
... that
Botswana international footballer
Donald Thobega was involved in the Test For Life campaign, which encourages supporters to get tested for
HIV and
AIDS ? (29 December 2009)
... that between 1970 and 1976, former Spanish-Argentine
footballer and
manager
Juan Carlos Touriño was part of three Spanish league championships and two Spanish cup-winning squads? (29 December 2009)
... that former footballer
Christopher Bryan scored the
Turks and Caicos Islands ' first ever international goal? (29 December 2009)
2010
... that the
Montserrat national football team has only
won two matches in their history , both victories coming against
Anguilla ? (4 January 2010)
... that semi-professional footballer
Dean Clark made over one hundred appearances for
Northwood F.C. ? (9 January 2010)
... that the
Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion is the administrative organisation responsible for monitoring the accounts of professional football clubs in
France ? (11 January 2010)
... that former
Northern Ireland footballer
Phil Hughes is the only
goalkeeper ever to have won international
caps while playing for
Bury ? (18 January 2010)
... that
John Haworth is the only
Burnley manager to date to have led the team to an
FA Cup victory? (28 January 2010)
... that
Bob Matthewson , an English
footballer and
referee , was recently portrayed in the 2009 film
The Damned United ? (29 January 2010)
... that prior to his death,
Jack Barnes was the oldest former
Football League player? (1 February 2010)
... that in
1920–21 ,
Burnley were crowned champions of
English football for the first time? (1 February 2010)
... that
Seattle Sounders FC won the
2009 U.S. Open Cup Final , becoming only the second
Major League Soccer expansion team to do so their inaugural season? (2 February 2010)
... that the phrase "
doing a Leeds " has become synonymous in
English football with the pitfalls of financial mismanagement of football clubs, after the demise of Premier League team
Leeds United ? (4 February 2010)
... that former
Burnley chairman Bob Lord described coach
Billy Dougall , who worked for the football club for 23 years, as the finest servant a club could have? (6 February 2010)
... that
Scotland international football defender
Alex McLintock played as a
goalkeeper during his time at
Burnley ? (8 February 2010)
... that
Wales
wartime international footballer
Taffy Davies spent his entire 20-year professional career at
Watford Football Club ? (16 February 2010)
... that former
Welsh international
footballer
Wayne Jones was forced to retire at the age of 24 when it was discovered that he had a previously undiagnosed
arthritic condition? (17 February 2010)
... that in September 1924,
Jack Fowler scored five goals in a
football match for
Swansea Town against
Charlton Athletic , which remains the club record for most goals in a match? (18 February 2010)
... that
Stewart Scullion played alongside
Pelé and
Bobby Moore in the
1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup , scoring their team's only goal of the tournament? (19 February 2010)
... that
David Wilson was
Nelson F.C. 's first
manager in
the Football League ? (25 February 2010)
... that in 1929,
Wales international
footballer
Moses Russell was threatened with a pistol during a
pitch invasion whilst on a tour of Canada? (25 February 2010)
... that
Frank Allen worked as a
coal miner before becoming a professional footballer at the age of 24? (25 February 2010)
... that
Bangladeshi football goalkeeper
Biplob Bhattacharjee made his international debut at the age of 18? (26 February 2010)
... that in 2007,
Fiji international goalkeeper
Simione Tamanisau was prevented from playing in a
FIFA World Cup qualifying match by the
New Zealand authorities? (27 February 2010)
... that
Tom Walley managed
Watford 's 1982
FA Youth Cup winning team, which included
John Barnes ,
Nigel Gibbs and
Neil Price ? (27 February 2010)
... that former professional footballer
Tony Larkin helped to establish Britain's first football academy for
visually impaired players? (27 February 2010)
... that former football official
Lencie Fred was the first
Vanuatuan to be included on the
FIFA list of
referees ? (28 February 2010)
... that several
French international footballers have played for
FC Versailles 78 , including
Thierry Henry ,
Jérôme Rothen and
Hatem Ben Arfa ? (2 March 2010)
... that in the
1885–86 season ,
West Bromwich Albion became the first team from the
English Midlands to reach the
FA Cup Final ? (3 March 2010)
... that
Seattle Sounders FC has seven
recognized supporter groups and that in 2009 they amassed the largest average attendance in the
Major League Soccer with 30,943 fans? (5 March 2010)
... that
Thomas Herbst , the current manager of
Tennis Borussia Berlin , won the
1981 FIFA World Youth Championship before making his professional footballing debut for
FC Bayern Munich ? (18 March 2010)
... that the
Birmingham Charity Cup , a Victorian football trophy, featured engravings of a football match and of "the poor and sick succoured by the heavenly spirit"? (19 March 2010)
... that
Swiss athlete
Georges de Regibus introduced
association football to
Bulgaria in 1894 as a sports teacher in
Varna ? (21 March 2010)
... that despite being an Australian,
Walter Cornock played both professional
football and first-class
cricket for English teams? (24 March 2010)
... that when
West Bromwich Albion won a
Birmingham Senior Cup match 26–0 in the
1882–83 season , every player except the goalkeeper scored at least once? (24 March 2010)
... that
Darlington F.C. lost in both the second and the third rounds of the
FA Cup in the
1999–2000 season ? (4 April 2010)
... that
footballer
Sid Storey , who played for
York City from 1947 to 1956, drove the
open top bus that paraded the York team after winning the
1983–84
Fourth Division
championship ? (8 April 2010)
... that in 1876
Llewelyn Kenrick , founder of the
Football Association of Wales , organised and played in
Wales '
first international match ? (9 April 2010)
... that footballer
Arthur Bate scored a
hat-trick on his league debut for
Nelson , yet finished on the losing team in the match? (13 April 2010)
... that in 1914, English footballer
Tom Bamford played in the only
Burnley team to win the
FA Cup to date? (14 April 2010)
... that the
Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadion in
Hanover is home to three different kinds of
football , hosting the
Hannover Spartans ,
Arminia Hannover and the
German rugby union team ? (15 April 2010)
... that
English footballer
Reg Attwell was selected to represent
the Football League in 1949? (15 April 2010)
... that
A.F.C. Aldermaston , a
non-league football club from
Berkshire , has been dubbed the "worst English football team in history" after losing 40 consecutive matches? (18 April 2010)
... that
Nelson F.C. won the
Football League Third Division North in the
1922–23 season ? (19 April 2010)
... that
footballer
Arthur Wolstenholme was the first player to score four goals in a
Third Division North match? (22 April 2010)
... that
Tommy Cheetham had a trial for the
England national football team while playing in the
Third Division in his first season as a professional? (24 April 2010)
... that in a 16-year career, English
footballer
Bob Hutchinson played for 14 different clubs? (26 April 2010)
... that English
footballer
Brian Punter did not receive his 1953
FA Youth Cup runners-up medal until some 56 years later? (27 April 2010)
... that
Chesterfield
centre-forward
Walter Ponting was deprived of an apparently certain goal when the ball deflated and failed to cross the line? (28 April 2010)
... that
footballer
Barry Hutchinson scored in each of the seven games that
Weymouth played in January 1965? (4 May 2010)
... that when transferred from
Lincoln City to
Leicester City for £27,500 in 1954, English
footballer
Andy Graver was said to be "afraid of the responsibility of living up to such a big price tag"? (12 May 2010)
... that
Arnaud Gonzalez was a member of the France team that won the
UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in 1996? (15 May 2010)
... that the
World Cup Sculpture , celebrating England's
1966 FIFA World Cup Final victory, was criticised for not looking like the players involved? (18 May 2010)
... that
Sellas Tetteh ' s
Ghana under-20 team was the first African team to win the
FIFA U-20 World Cup , in 2009? (19 May 2010)
... that
Lincoln City was the first club to reach
100 seasons in
the Football League without ever playing in the top division? (19 May 2010)
... that in England's
Premier League football competition, 14 players from 10 different clubs have won the
Golden Boot award, given to the season's top scorer? (28 May 2010)
... that professional footballer
James Caine 's son
Brian also played professionally? (31 May 2010)
... that the
Motherwell v Hibernian football match on 5 May 2010 , which ended in a 6–6 draw, is the highest scoring match in
Scottish Premier League history? (16 June 2010)
... that footballer
Michael Basham played in the
Swansea City team that won the
1994 Football League Trophy Final ? (17 June 2010)
... that Kerry-Ann Booth, the girlfriend of
footballer
Greg Young , did not see him on the losing side of a game for
Halifax Town for the first four years of their relationship? (17 June 2010)
... that
footballer
Stephen Brackstone had an operation to remove his appendix after being taken to hospital following his substitution in a game for
York City in December 2002? (19 June 2010)
... that
Seth Burkett is the only British
footballer to currently play professionally in Brazil? (22 June 2010)
... that current
Arsenal F.C. reserve player
Emmanuel Frimpong began his international career with
Ghana before switching to
England and then back to Ghana? (22 June 2010)
... that before becoming a professional
footballer ,
Bob Jefferson had deserted from the
Royal Navy ? (24 June 2010)
... that in his two
Football League appearances, goalkeeper
James Mangham conceded a total of ten goals? (4 July 2010)
... that after
104 years of existence,
Hull City was promoted to play in the English
Premier League for the first time in their history in 2008? (9 July 2010)
... that
Paul the Octopus predicts
Spain winning the
World Cup today, while
Mani the Parakeet tips a victory by the
Netherlands ? (11 July 2010)
... that despite being
Watford's top scorer as they won the
Southern League in
1914–15 , professional
footballer
George Edmonds continued working as a
printer ? (15 July 2010)
... that on 28 August 1920,
Peter Ronald scored
Watford Football Club 's first ever
Football League goal? (17 July 2010)
... that the
football club Ulf-Sandnes altered its name to
Sandnes Ulf to accommodate the merger partner
Sandnes FK ? (17 July 2010)
... that
footballer
Andy Leaning was named
man of the match following
York City 's 3–1
extra time defeat at
Liverpool in the
FA Cup fifth round in 1986, with his performance being described as "heroic"? (20 July 2010)
... that after
Norwegian
soccer club
Stord Sunnhordland FK was discontinued, the chairman of the owners called it "a club without soul"? (21 July 2010)
... that
Fulham player
Maurice Cook scored the first ever goal in the
Football League Cup ? (23 July 2010)
... that in an attempt to "beef him up",
Watford manager
Graham Taylor placed a then 17-year-old
Nigel Gibbs on a steak and
Guinness diet? (23 July 2010)
... that at 15 years and 314 days,
Glyn Pardoe was the youngest footballer ever to play for
Manchester City when he made his debut in 1962? (25 July 2010)
... that the
football club
Stålkameratene were expelled from their
league in 1997 , only to score 153 league goals the next year? (26 July 2010)
... that
Len Dunderdale finished the
1938–39 season as
Watford Football Club 's top scorer, despite joining
Leeds United during the season? (27 July 2010)
... that the
soccer club
Tornado Måløy FK has two home fields? (30 July 2010)
... that the
Capello Index is a rating system for
footballers that evaluates 500 actions that a player might make during a game? (30 July 2010)
... that
Koji Gyotoku is the coach of the
Bhutan national football team ? (3 August 2010)
... that
Willie Irvine was the English
Football League First Division 's top goalscorer in the
1965–66 season ? (5 August 2010)
... that the
Groruddalen BK
football team finished third in
their league in 2007 and had the
league top scorer , but lost their coach and all players save two, facing relegation and liquidation in 2008? (9 August 2010)
... that the last goal at the
Stade Grimonprez-Jooris in
Lille was scored in May 2004 by
Matt Moussilou , before the stadium closed after serving as
Lille OSC 's home for almost 30 years? (9 August 2010)
... that the defunct
Yugoslavia national under-20 football team still hold the
FIFA U-20 World Cup scoring record they set in
1987 with an average of 2.44 goals per game? (12 August 2010)
... that more than 440 players have lived at
La Masia , but only 10% have made it into the
FC Barcelona first team? (13 August 2010)
... that
Clifford Grossmark , chairman of
Gillingham F.C. from 1961 until 1983, was widely known in football circles as simply "The Doctor"? (14 August 2010)
... that the English
football club
Trawden Forest never lost a home game in the
FA Cup ? (16 August 2010)
... that
Croatian footballer
Stojan Osojnak played for
Dinamo Zagreb in the club's first-ever match, a friendly against the
Yugoslav Air Force team in June 1945? (18 August 2010)
... that from 2010,
reserve teams in
Norwegian
association football were barred from using more than three players aged over 21? (19 August 2010)
... that during English
footballer
Freddie Bunce 's only season with
Highlands Park FC , they won South Africa's 1964
National Football League ? (21 August 2010)
... that players from the
FK Sørøy Glimt
football team were
caught in a
doping case, a rare occurrence in
Northern Norwegian football? (21 August 2010)
... that
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club broke their transfer record, paying £5,000 to sign
Johnny McNichol , who at the time had not played a single game in
the Football League ? (23 August 2010)
... that
Terry Byrne was the only person to accompany
David Beckham to the
changing room after his red card in the
1998 World Cup , and later became his personal manager? (24 August 2010)
... that the
FC Barcelona Museum attracts 1.2 million yearly visitors, making it the second most visited museum in Barcelona, only surpassed by the
Museu Picasso ? (25 August 2010)
... that although
Rangers won the
1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final , they were banned from competing the following year because their fans started a
riot ? (26 August 2010)
... that the sports club
Skeid , with a former
top-level
football team, has also won the Norwegian league in
bandy ? (31 August 2010)
... that when
Luis Figo was taking a corner in a
football match against FC Barcelona, the
Boixos Nois threw a pig's head after him? (1 September 2010)
... that retired
footballer
Fred Else arranged to have his
wedding on a Saturday morning so that he was free to play for
Preston North End
reserves in the afternoon? (2 September 2010)
... that Welsh half-back
Jack Newnes was the only
footballer ever to be
capped at international level while playing for
Nelson ? (5 September 2010)
... that
Nathan Redmond became
Birmingham City Football Club 's second-youngest player ever when he made his first-team debut in August 2010 at the age of 16 years and 173 days? (5 September 2010)
... that
association football club
Bradford City 's first game at
Wembley Stadium in their 93-year history was the
1996 Football League Second Division play-off Final ? (11 September 2010)
... that
Seattle Sounders FC will be defending their U.S. Open Cup title in their home stadium,
Qwest Field , in the
2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final against the
Columbus Crew ? (16 September 2010)
... that former professional
footballer
George Catleugh suffered a broken leg on two different occasions? (18 September 2010)
... that after keeping a
clean sheet in an
FA Cup match against defending champions
Manchester United ,
Bournemouth
goalkeeper
Ian Leigh was rewarded with a lifetime supply of pizzas from a local Italian restaurant? (19 September 2010)
... that even after returning to
association football as a professional at age 30,
Bulgarian player
Nikolay Bozhov has continued to manage his late father's
ironmonger 's business? (24 September 2010)
... that English
footballer
Graham Lovett was forced to retire at the age of 26, after being involved in two serious
road traffic collisions in less than three years? (28 September 2010)
... that Scottish
footballer
John Durkin worked at a local
coal mine while playing for
Gillingham F.C. ? (30 September 2010)
... that
Hong Kong -born
Rebecca Nolin plays as a
defender for the
Atlanta Beat and helps coach the
Kennesaw State Owls ? (30 September 2010)
... that
black
South African
footballer
Darius Dhlomo went missing on his debut for Dutch club
Heracles Almelo because he was unaware that
blacks and whites were allowed in the same changing room ? (4 October 2010)
... that within four months footballer
Barry Endean went from playing for an amateur team in a public park to lining up against
Manchester United at
Old Trafford ? (5 October 2010)
... that
Peter Endrulat never played in the
Fußball-Bundesliga again after conceding 12 goals for
Borussia Mönchengladbach 's
record 12–0 league victory over
Borussia Dortmund ? (8 October 2010)
... that
English
football captain
Bobby Moore was accused of
stealing a bracelet in
Bogotá, Colombia , during the run-up to the
1970 FIFA World Cup ? (19 October 2010)
... that
IOC member
Olaf Ditlev-Simonsen had five
caps in
football , two in
bandy and an
Olympic silver medal in sailing ? (22 October 2010)
... that English former professional
footballer
Jimmy Fletcher became a successful breeder of
racing greyhounds and once led a consortium which won
£ 200,000 on a single race? (23 October 2010)
... that in 1979
Taunton Town F.C. moved from the Southern section of the
Southern Football League to the Midlands section due to the opening of the
M5 motorway ? (5 November 2010)
... that when
Harry Oliver joined
Watford Football Club ,
Benskins Brewery paid the
transfer fee on the club's behalf? (9 November 2010)
... that
John Stirk played every league game during
Watford Football Club's
1978–79 promotion-winning season? (11 November 2010)
... that
Cockfield Football Club , from the tiny "two-street pit village" of
Cockfield, County Durham , was dubbed the "Village Wonder Team" after reaching the semi-finals of the
FA Amateur Cup in 1923? (14 November 2010)
... that all four
football
venues at the
1968 Summer Olympics would be used as
FIFA World Cup stadia when
Mexico hosted the Cup in
1970 and
1986 ? (15 November 2010)
... that
Teslim Balogun became the first Nigerian
footballer to play in
the Football League , before qualifying as the first African professional coach? (16 November 2010)
... that
Thomas Hooman 's obituary in
The Times claimed that he scored the winning goal in the
1872 FA Cup Final , contradicting all known contemporary newspaper reports on the match? (22 November 2010)
... that in his
European Cup debut, German football goalkeeper
Jens Ramme conceded 6 goals in 45 minutes, turning a 5–1 lead for
Dynamo Dresden into a 7–5 defeat? (24 November 2010)
... that previous winners of
Wayne Rooney's Street Striker have won trips to
Brazil and
South Africa ? (25 November 2010)
... that
Commonwealth Games boxing gold medallist
Simon Vallily was once a
football trainee at
Middlesbrough Football Club ? (26 November 2010)
... that
Dinamo Zagreb footballer
Mateo Kovačić became the youngest ever goalscorer in the
Prva HNL in November 2010 at the age of 16 years and 198 days? (27 November 2010)
... that due to the
Scottish football referee strike , foreign officials from
Israel ,
Luxembourg and
Malta were used as replacements? (30 November 2010)
... that German
footballer
Willy Tröger began his career as a
goalkeeper , but converted into a successful
forward after losing his hand in
World War II ? (1 December 2010)
... that Welshman
Dai Davies is the only person to have appeared in both the
rugby league
Challenge Cup final and the
association football
FA Cup Final ? (1 December 2010)
... that despite having only one arm,
Arthur Lea played international
football for
Wales ?" (9 December 2010)
... that a
documentary investigating corruption within
FIFA was broadcast in the week that the
2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts were chosen? (11 December 2010)
... that
Olympia Bucureşti was the
winner of the inaugural
Romanian football championship held between
1909 and 1910 ? (18 December 2010)
... that
English -born
footballer
Ellis Remy made his
international debut playing for the
Montserrat national football team ? (21 December 2010)
... that 17 years after
an aircraft crash killed most of the
Zambia national football team , the
Zambian government is yet to release a report on the crash? (22 December 2010)
... that
Francis Skeat designed over 400
stained glass windows, including memorials to the
footballer
Duncan Edwards and the
explorer
John Smith ? (26 December 2010)
2011
... that
Gramoz Palushi was murdered while he was celebrating the football victory of
Albania over
Greece ? (5 January 2011)
... that
Neil Young scored the winning goal in the
1969 FA Cup Final ? (9 January 2011)
... that 20 years after scoring a goal in
Luxembourg 's first-ever football victory over
France ,
Zénon Bernard became the first
communist elected to the
Luxembourgian parliament ? (13 January 2011)
... that it took a replay and then eighty minutes of extra time for
Brighton & Hove Albion reserves to win the
1920–21 Southern League title ? (30 January 2011)
... that
Charlie Webb was appointed
manager of English
association football club
Brighton & Hove Albion while awaiting repatriation from a
prisoner-of-war camp in
Mainz , Germany? (1 February 2011)
... that
Fred and
Val Gregory were two of four brothers who were simultaneously contracted to
Watford Football Club ? (1 February 2011)
... that
Jo Tong Sop was a member of the
North Korean football team that won the 1986
King's Cup against
Aarhus Gymnastikforening ? (2 February 2011)
... that
Tony Macedo once had his ribs broken by a
backpass from
Tosh Chamberlain ? (5 February 2011)
... that the
Musiktheater im Revier in
Gelsenkirchen staged a new musical for the 100th anniversary of the soccer club
FC Schalke 04 in 2004? (6 February 2011)
... that
Sussex
cricket captain
Herbert Whitfeld also played international
football for
England ? (10 February 2011)
... that
England international
footballer and twice
FA Cup winner
Harry Goodhart became Professor of
Humanities at the
University of Edinburgh ? (11 February 2011)
... that
Clare Taylor represented
England in the World Cup at both
football and
cricket ? (14 February 2011)
... that
Aslie Pitter , founder of
Stonewall F.C. , Britain's first and most successful
gay
football club, was made a
Member of the Order of the British Empire for his work fighting
homophobia in
London ? (15 February 2011)
... that
Master of the
Blankney Hunt ,
Edgar Lubbock played in four
FA Cup Finals , twice on the winning side? (19 February 2011)
... that
Sean Hughes
MP got Scottish MPs to give him their free tickets to the
1986 English FA Cup Final so his constituents could watch the
Everton –
Liverpool
Merseyside derby ? (24 February 2011)
... that former
Manchester City footballer
Lee Crooks is soon scheduled to serve on the frontline in the
War in Afghanistan ? (4 March 2011)
... that
British Army officer
Captain Stephen Healey of the
Royal Welsh regiment, used to play
football for
Swansea City ? (14 March 2011)
... that four different
English football clubs achieved
promotion to the top division while
Ray Train was playing for them? (15 March 2011)
... that
Small Heath F.C. was not promoted to the
Football League First Division after winning the inaugural
Second Division title
in 1892–93 , while the second- and third-place teams were? (29 March 2011)
... that although
Australian
soccer player
Kris Trajanovski only scored in three matches for his country, he scored three
hat-tricks ? (31 March 2011)
... that the music to the hymn "
Follow On " was later adopted by
Rangers F.C. as the music for their anthem, "
Follow Follow "? (6 April 2011)
... that a parrot was branded sectarian after being heard whistling "
Follow Follow "? (8 April 2011)
... that Sir
Henry Primrose , the chairman of the board of the
Inland Revenue , played two
international football matches for Scotland in the 1870s? (16 April 2011)
... that footballers
Denis Law ,
Robert Smyth McColl and
Hughie Gallacher have each scored three
hat-tricks for Scotland ? (22 April 2011)
... that up to 200 people played a game of
football on land near
Brothertoft ,
Lincolnshire , in the 1760s as a protest against
enclosure ? (23 April 2011)
... that
Nelson F.C. lost only one home match in the
Football League Third Division North during the
1924–25 season ? (24 April 2011)
... that while playing for
Barrow ,
footballer
Fred Laycock left the pitch to sign for
Nelson before completing the match, and was then fined for representing Barrow while contracted to another club? (25 April 2011)
... that
Small Heath F.C. went through the
1893–94 season without drawing a
League match? (27 April 2011)
... that a riot after the
1980 Scottish Cup Final between
Celtic F.C. and
Rangers F.C. resulted in a ban on the sale of
alcoholic beverages at sporting events in
Scotland ? (28 April 2011)
... that
Footes Lane is the main sporting venue in
Guernsey ? (5 May 2011)
... that after the
1926 FA Cup Final ,
Manchester City F.C. became the first team to reach the final and suffer
relegation in the same season? (14 May 2011)
... that Scottish businessman
Craig Whyte bought the controlling interest in
Rangers Football Club from
David Murray for
£ 1? (18 May 2011)
... that English
footballer
Walter Anderson died of
pneumonia four days after collapsing at
Craven Cottage , having ignored doctors' advice to rest? (19 May 2011)
... that
Peter Velappan served as General Secretary of the
Asian Football Confederation for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2007? (20 May 2011)
... that some English fans, including members of
Combat 18 , gave the
Nazi salute to the
Irish national anthem before the
Lansdowne Road football riot ? (24 May 2011)
... that the
bodyguard to the
Pet Shop Boys was a leader of
Arsenal FC 's
hooligan firm during the 1980s? (26 May 2011)
... that Welsh
footballer
Dickie Morris became the first
Plymouth Argyle player to be
capped at senior international level in April 1908? (26 May 2011)
... that a
phantom goal awarded against
Small Heath F.C. in the
1894–95 season led
the Football League to instruct
referees to inspect the goalnets before each match? (28 May 2011)
... that a
football team's
travelling army of supporters is often referred to as its
12th man ? (29 May 2011)
... that
Aníbal Pérez , a former First Vice President of the
Chamber of Deputies of Chile , was also President of the
O'Higgins football club ? (30 May 2011)
... that professional
footballer
Bill Yates also played
Minor Counties cricket for
Buckinghamshire ? (4 June 2011)
... that
award-winning journalist
Paul Kamara has also been a
priest , a
cabinet minister , and the manager of
Sierra Leone 's
national football team ? (7 June 2011)
... that
Berwick Rangers 1-0 defeat of Rangers in 1967 has been described as "the most astonishing result ever returned in Scottish football"? (9 June 2011)
... that
Nike ,
Alfa Romeo ,
Red Bull and
Ginsters are all
advertised in the
first person football video game
I Am Playr ? (10 June 2011)
... that the retired
association football player
Zlatko Zahovič is the
all-time top scorer for the Slovenia team? (13 June 2011)
... that the
BBC used
commentators for the first time at the
1936 FA Cup Final , where
Sheffield United was captained by
Harry Hooper ? (14 June 2011)
... that, in 1969, British sports journalist
Julie Welch became the first female in
Fleet Street to report on a
football match? (16 June 2011)
... that
association footballer
Chris Smith , just months after signing for
York City , was assaulted by a gang in an attack while on a night out? (18 June 2011)
... that association footballer
Chris Clarke and his twin brother
Matthew started their careers at the same club,
Wolverhampton Wanderers ? (21 June 2011)
... that
Ipswich Town lost 5–0 to
Nottingham Forest in the
1978 FA Charity Shield , the
annual competition between the previous season's
FA Cup winners and
Football League champions? (23 June 2011)
... that
Tottenham Hotspur defeated
Ipswich Town 5–1 in the
1962 FA Charity Shield played at
Portman Road in Ipswich? (25 June 2011)
... that despite conceding four goals in the second leg, English club
Ipswich Town beat Dutch club
AZ Alkmaar 5–4 on
aggregate to win the
1981 UEFA Cup Final ? (25 June 2011)
... that while at the
New York Cosmos , association footballer
Keith Eddy captained a team which included
Pelé and
Franz Beckenbauer ? (28 June 2011)
... that the movies
Green Street Hooligans and
Cass are based on
West Ham United F.C. supporters ? (7 July 2011)
... that 17-year-old Uruguayan footballer
Juan Cruz Mascia has been hailed as the heir to
2010 FIFA World Cup star
Diego Forlán in the English and South American media? (7 July 2011)
... that by making her debut in the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup at the age of 16,
Cecilia Santiago became the youngest-ever goalkeeper to appear in a World Cup? (7 July 2011)
... that
Japanese international footballer
Aya Sameshima worked at the
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants prior to the
disaster there? (10 July 2011)
... that football club
ASK Voitsberg changed both its name and team colours during the
annexation of Austria into
Nazi Germany ? (17 July 2011)
... that, while the first official suggestion of a nationwide
association football league in Germany, the
Reichsliga , was made in 1932,
such a league was not
introduced until 1963? (19 July 2011)
... that Italian
Vincenzo Sarno was 11 years old when he signed to play professional
football with
Torino F.C. ? (24 July 2011)
... that the national football teams of North Korea and South Korea
have met on numerous occasions? (25 July 2011)
... that the
Score the Goals comic book – featuring ten
soccer players – was launched by the UN to educate children on
how to help reduce poverty by 2015? (26 July 2011)
... that the 1973
second division game between
Bavarian rivals
FC Augsburg and
TSV 1860 Munich was watched by 80,000 spectators, a record for the
Olympic Stadium in
Munich ? (28 July 2011)
... that the
Faroe Islands national football team won its
first ever competitive match against
Austria in 1990? (1 August 2011)
... that
Eynesbury Rovers are the most westerly
football club ever to play in the
Eastern Counties League ? (3 August 2011)
... that
FIFA eligibility rules were changed in 2004, reportedly in response to a growing trend in countries such as Qatar and Togo to naturalise Brazil-born footballers? (5 August 2011)
... that the current
Scotland national under-16 football team squad features players from
Real Madrid and
Liverpool ? (6 August 2011)
... that Indian-born British soldier
Edward Hay Mackenzie Elliot played
association football for Scotland against England and
cricket for
the MCC ? (8 August 2011)
... that footballer
Hasan Ahmet Sari left
Istanbul with his family after living through the
1999 İzmit earthquake ? (18 August 2011)
... that a judge ruled that spectators were not entitled to any refund of their admission money when a match in
Small Heath F.C. 's
1895–96 season was abandoned after only 37 minutes? (23 August 2011)
... that
Robert Crawford , scorer of the first goal in
international football , was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour for causing a servant to be flogged to death? (4 September 2011)
... that there were concerns that
The Bouncy could derail a train? (10 September 2011)
... that twice-
capped
Guyana international footballer
Clydie Roberts is a cousin of
England international
Jermain Defoe ? (4 September 2011)
... that
Alfred Baker , who scored England's first goal in
international football , was an
auctioneer by profession and died while running to catch a train? (7 September 2011)
... that
Seattle Sounders FC will face the
Chicago Fire in the
2011 U.S. Open Cup Final on October 4 , 2011, for a chance to
three-peat as champion? (14 September 2011)
... that
Russell Howarth of the
Minstermen had a trial with the
Toffeemen in 2002? (2 October 2011)
... that in August 1990
FC Bayern Munich lost in the first round of the
cup at amateur side
FV 09 Weinheim ? (9 October 2011)
... that Scotsmen
James and
Robert Smith were the first pair of brothers to play international
football ? (15 October 2011)
... that
Ian Bankier became
Celtic F.C. 's 15th chairman in the club's 123-year history? (29 October 2011)
... that
Mason Bennett made his professional
football debut aged just 15 years and 99 days? (6 November 2011)
... that former
Everton and
Wales international
footballer
Charlie Parry fell on hard times and was the beneficiary of three
testimonial matches ? (12 November 2011)
... that
Wales international
footballer
Alexander Jones was killed in a shooting accident on board a train? (15 November 2011)
... that Welsh
goalkeeper
Tony Millington was "a one-man entertainment" who would take sweets, pies or chewing gum from supporters and celebrate his team's goals by performing
handstands ? (19 November 2011)
... that the
University of Central Florida 's
men's soccer team won their first match by a score of 8–0? (21 November 2011)
... that the
University of Central Florida 's
women's soccer team has had a winning record in 27 of the 30 seasons the team has played? (22 November 2011)
... that
Brazil defeated
Timor-Leste
76–0 in
futsal in 2006, the current world record? (24 November 2011)
... that
Peter Harburn was named in the
Great Britain football squad for the
1956 Olympic Games , for which, as a professional, he was ineligible? (4 December 2011)
... that
Denis Law , the all-time top goalscorer for the
Scotland national football team , played for the
Italian League against the
Scottish League XI ? (6 December 2011)
... that when
goalkeeper
Sam Gillam replaced
Alf Pugh for
Wales against
Scotland on 15 April 1889, he became the first
substitute in international
football ? (29 December 2011)
2012
... that in 1920, Irish
footballer
Jack Doran achieved the rare feat of being the top goalscorer for two English clubs in the same season? (3 January 2012)
... that
Fred Barron played exactly 400 matches in
The Football League for
Burnley between 1898 and 1911? (6 January 2012)
... that former
Burnley footballer
Arthur Bell also worked as an architect and designed a new stand at the club's
Turf Moor stadium in 1911? (7 January 2012)
... that in the
1889 Scottish Cup Final , conditions were so poor that the players threw
snowballs at each other? (7 January 2012)
... that
footballer
Adam Cunnington 's strike partnership with Kevin Charley produced more than 50 goals for
Barwell in
2009–10 , helping the club win the
Midland Football Alliance ? (12 January 2012)
... that Scottish footballer
Dan Friel played more than 300 matches for
Burnley , many of them as
captain ? (12 January 2012)
... that the
winning nation at the
UEFA European Football Championship was determined by a
golden goal in two consecutive tournaments? (13 January 2012)
... that
Ernie Robinson worked as a coal miner before becoming a professional
footballer ? (15 January 2012)
... that
Bobby Cummings was the first English footballer to score a
hat-trick against
Rangers in the
Scottish League ? (16 January 2012)
... that
Tommy Tebb scored
Nelson 's last goal in the
Football League ? (17 January 2012)
... that
a football match was won by scoring an
own goal on purpose? (21 January 2012)
... that English football team
Queen's Park Rangers did not introduce their current blue and white strips until 1926, some
27 seasons after they turned professional? (23 January 2012)
... that
Phoenix Sports F.C. is so called as it rose from the ashes of
the Blitz ? (24 January 2012)
... that
Jan Maroši scored directly from a
corner for
Sigma Olomouc in a
1992–93 UEFA Cup match against
Juventus ? (28 January 2012)
... that
footballer
Billy Barnes scored the winning goal in the
1902 FA Cup Final for
Sheffield United and played in the
first Charity Shield match for
QPR in 1908? (30 January 2012)
... that
FK Fyllingsdalen originally was named FK Varden by the board, even though a majority of the club members voted for FK Fyllingsdalen ? (30 January 2012)
... that
John Stone missed only three games for
York City in the
1973–74 season as the club won
promotion to the
Second Division for the first time? (6 February 2012)
... that
Lydd Town F.C. were
promoted after winning
their leaguefive times in a row? (10 February 2012)
... that
Queens Park Rangers came from two goals down at half time in the
1967 Football League Cup Final to eventually win with a goal scored by
Mark Lazarus ? (11 February 2012)
... that
footballer
Andy Flynn played in all of
York City 's seven
FA Cup games in the
1926–27 season, as the team reached the competition's
first round for the first time? (12 February 2012)
... that despite reaching the
1985 Football League Cup Final , both Norwich and Sunderland were relegated from the
First Division at the end of that
season ? (12 February 2012)
... that between 1968 and 1971 English
non-league football team
Sutton Athletic F.C. won three successive
promotions whilst also winning three successive
league cups ? (13 February 2012)
... that despite entering
York City 's team after the start of the
1983–84 season,
Alan Pearce became a useful member of the side that won the
Fourth Division ? (18 February 2012)
... that footballer
Radim Nečas became the most expensive player in Czechoslovakia when
Slavia Prague signed him for 25 million
Czechoslovak koruna in 1992? (18 February 2012)
... that with his team
HIT Gorica , football manager
Edin Osmanović was runner up in the
Liga Simobil Vodafone and
Slovenian Football Cup and participated in the
UEFA Cup ? (20 February 2012)
... that
Rhodesian soccer captain
Bobby Chalmers , a
white man, was assisted in his leadership of the mostly black national team by his proficiency in both
Ndebele and
Shona ? (22 February 2012)
... that
Old Carthusians F.C. is one of only two
football clubs to have won both the
FA Cup and
FA Amateur Cup ? (26 February 2012)
... that in August 2000, 37 people were banned from attending matches at
Arsenal F.C. 's stadium because of their involvement in the
Battle of Copenhagen ? (3 March 2012)
... that the German
Bundesliga footballer
Willi Kraus was sentenced to seven years in prison for
bank robbery ? (20 March 2012)
... that
Czech
football
manager
Jozef Weber took part in four
national cup finals as a player, but was never on the winning team? (24 March 2012)
... that when the
footballer
Svein Fjælberg joined
Viking FK from
Sola FK in 1979 for a transfer fee of 45 000
Norwegian kroner , he became the then most expensive player at the club? (2 April 2012)
... that
Czech
top flight
footballer
Pavel Hašek is the son of former
national team player and manager
Ivan Hašek ? (21 April 2012)
... that while
Mauritius has a senior women's national football team , they have not played in a single
FIFA sanctioned game? (23 April 2012)
... that while the
Rwanda women's national football team has not played a
FIFA -recognised match, a professional women's league in the country has attracted women from Uganda? (24 April 2012)
... that the
Djibouti women's national football team has played in only one
FIFA recognised match, a 0–7 loss to
Kenya in 2006? (25 April 2012)
... that the
Zanzibar women's national football team has few women's teams to play against and has beaten men's teams? (29 April 2012)
... that while
FIFA inquired about the creation of a
Sudanese women's national football team , the Islamic Fiqh Council in
Sudan issued a
fatwa forbidding it? (29 April 2012)
... that
Czech international
footballer
Jan Suchopárek dislocated his shoulder while attempting a
bicycle kick ? (30 April 2012)
... that the English association football league, the
Premier League , will give awards to mark the league's
20 seasons anniversary ? (30 April 2012)
... that the only team
Guinea-Bissau women's national football team has played a FIFA-recognised match against is
Guinea (1 May 2012)
... that
The Poznań was copied by
Manchester City
football fans after their team played Polish team
Lech Poznań ? (2 May 2012)
... that
Czech international
footballer
Patrik Gedeon went to play club football in
Liechtenstein in the middle of his career? (2 May 2012)
... that the
Togo women's national football team participated in the 2007 Tournoi de Cinq Nations in
Ouagadougou but was disqualified after the first match for sending a club team? (2 May)
... that the inventor of the
FIFA World Cup ,
Jules Rimet , won the
Croix de Guerre while fighting with the French forces during the
First World War ? (4 May 2012)
... that Zambia's women's national
football teams include a
senior women's team ,
under-20 team ,
under-17 team , an
Olympic qualification team , an under-23 team and
Homeless World Cup team ? (4 May)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Thomas Holm was both champion with
Molde FK and runner-up with
Tromsø IL of
Tippeligaen in
2011 ? (4 May 2012)
... that despite having few registered women players and
their team never playing a
FIFA -recognised match,
Burundi has an under-20 women's national team? (7 May 2012)
... that the
British Army fielded a
battalion of professional footballers in the World War I
Battle of the Somme ? (7 May 2012)
... that the
Central African Republic faced difficulties in playing in the
Women's U-19 World Cup semi-final against
South Africa because the country initially refused to grant players visas? (10 May 2012)
... that while
football is the most popular women's sport in
Gambia and the U-17 has played in a
World Cup qualifier , the
Gambia women's national football team has not played a
FIFA sanctioned game? (10 May 2012)
... that the only FIFA recognised matches
Anguilla women's national football team have played in were against
Antigua and Barbuda ,
US Virgin Islands ,
Barbados and
Grenada ? (13 May 2012)
... that
Ørn-Horten avoided relegation from the
2001 Norwegian First Division with a match-winning goal from the
goalkeeper five minutes into
stoppage time in the decisive match against
Vålerenga ? (14 May 2012)
... that former
Indonesia national football team player
Herry Kiswanto only received one yellow card during his 17-year career? (18 May 2012)
... that
Netherlands Antilles women's national football team faces development challenges because football is only the sixth most popular sport in the country? (26 May 2012)
... that a game between
Belfast's Big Two once led to a cockerel and a blue pig being released onto a
football pitch ? (28 May 2012)
... that the
Norwegian
footballer
Steffen Hagen has played every minute of 100 consecutive league-matches for
Odd Grenland in
Tippeligaen ? (30 May 2012)
... that during a
football match between
FK Bodø/Glimt and
Tromsø IL in
1995 , Tromsø head coach
Harald Aabrekk was brought to the hospital in an ambulance, despite not being injured? (31 May 2012)
... that
Arsenal went 995 minutes without conceding a goal in
European football ? (1 June 2012)
... that
Thursday Nights, Channel 5 once almost led to a fight between
Chelsea and
Manchester City players? (4 June 2012)
... that
Rosenborg BK 's young
midfielder
Ole Kristian Selnæs is a big fan of the Norwegian soap opera
Hotel Cæsar ? (5 June 2012)
... that since the
Israel national association football team played its first official game in 1934, more than 450 players have
represented Israel in international matches ? (8 June 2012)
... that
Michael Roach , an American professional soccer player, played in college with future teammates
Kevin Alston and
Alec Purdie ? (8 June 2012)
... that despite not playing
football before he was 10 years old,
Zymer Bytyqi became the youngest player in
Tippeligaen aged 15 years and 261 days? (9 June 2012)
... that
PSIR Rembang players attacked both referees in a match at
2008–09 Liga Indonesia Premier Division ? (11 June 2012)
... that despite
São Tomé and Príncipe gaining independence in 1975, the
women's national football team did not play their first FIFA recognised match until 2002? (11 June 2012)
... that the
Emirates Cup was cancelled from the
2012–13 Arsenal season due to the
2012 London Olympics ? (13 June 2012)
... that despite finishing second in
Tippeligaen with
Molde FK in
2002 ,
football coaches
Kalle Björklund and
Gunder Bengtsson were fired after six matches in 2003? (13 June 2012)
... that
Łazienkowska Thoroughfare , the most famous road in Poland, is part of the main transportation route for
UEFA Euro 2012 connecting
Okęcie Airport to the
National Stadium in Warsaw ? (14 June 2012)
... that
Marta met the
Sierra Leone women's national football team in 2011 as part of the
United Nations Development Programme ? (15 June 2012)
... that among the challenges to developing the
Niger women's national football team is
shari'a law being used to ban women from the sport in some parts of the country? (16 June 2012
... that the
Yemen women's national football team has four training sessions a week? (18 June 2012)
... that
You're Gonna Get Your Fucking Head Kicked In is chanted at opponents of
pro wrestler
Bryan Danielson ? (19 June 2012)
... that despite
FIFA recognition and twice-weekly training sessions, the
Madagascar women's national football team has yet to play in a single FIFA-recognised match? (20 June 2012)
... that while
Réunion women's national football team is not recognised by
FIFA , the team has played full internationals against
South Africa ,
Uganda and
Zimbabwe ? (20 June 2012)
... that even though the
Saudi Arabia women's national football team does not exist, women in the country have created, coached and played for their own club team outside the sight of men? (21 June 2012)
... that
York City have recorded more league victories against
Rochdale than against
any other club , having beaten them 43 times from 100 attempts? (22 June 2012)
... that despite the
Seychelles women's national football team having played only two games up to June 2012 , a national football tournament for women has been around in the country since the late 1990s? (22 June 2012)
... that the
Brunei women's national football team is forbidden from participating in the
Olympic Games by its country's government? (23 June 2012)
... that
Arsenal manager
Arsène Wenger was recognised as the best coach of the decade despite never winning the
IFFHS World's Best Club Coach award? (26 June 2012)
... that Izetta Wesley, a female football administrator, believes the government of
Liberia is insincere in how they treat the
Liberia women's national football team ? (27 June 2012)
... that
2012–13 will be
York City 's first season back in
the Football League since
relegation in 2004? (28 June 2012)
... that the
Côte d'Ivoire women's national football team is Africa's sixth best women's football team while women's football is the fourth most popular sport in the country? (28 June 2012)
... that while the
Oman women's national football team has yet to play a game, a club from Oman played matches against national teams from Jordan and Syria? (30 June 2012)
... that at
Euro 2012 , the
Pukka Pies England Band was banned from playing at
England 's game against
France despite having
UEFA approval? (1 July 2012)
... that
Cambodia women's national football team faces several challenges including women's football not being popular in
Cambodia and, as of 2006
[update] , no teams for women to play on? (1 July 2012)
... that women in Kenya created the
Kenya women's national football team independent of
Football Kenya Federation ? (2 July 2012)
... that
Sheffield United played their
first ever league fixture against
Burton Wanderers on 13 September 1890? (2 July 2012)
... that
Sheffield United refused to present
footballer
Bob Cain with an 1898
First Division winner's medal after he agreed a transfer to
Tottenham Hotspur ? (4 July 2012)
... that
Bandung Raya
football club dissolved in 1997 due to financial trouble, despite reaching the
1996–97 Liga Indonesia Premier Division finals? (5 July 2012)
... that
Abdurahim Laajab is one of the key players at the
Norway national futsal team ? (10 July 2012)
... that in the 2010 season, in addition to playing
football for
Afturelding ,
John Andrews also coached the club's women's team, reserve team and
feeder club at the same time? (14 July 2012)
... that
Valon and
Veton Berisha in 2011 became the first brothers to start a match together for
Viking FK in 22 years since
Jan and
Egil Fjetland started the
1989 Norwegian Football Cup final? (14 July 2012)
... that
Manchester City 's
Omar Elabdellaoui did not want to go on loan to
football team
Strømsgodset in 2012 because of the
artificial turf at
Marienlyst Stadion ? (16 July 2012)
... that since the
San Marino national football team played its first match in 1990, 97 players have
represented San Marino in international matches ? (18 July 2012)
... that
Hartlepool United 's fourteen successful attempts at
re-election to the
Football League are a league record? (19 July 2012)
... that if
Seattle Sounders FC wins the
2012 U.S. Open Cup final on August 8 , 2012, they will be the first club in the tournament's
99-year history to win four consecutive titles?(24 July 2012)
... that
William & Mary women's soccer, coached by
John Daly , is one of two
NCAA Division I women's soccer programs that have never had a losing season? (26 July 2012)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Kent Bergersen left the Greek club
Panionios G.S.S. because the club didn't pay his salary? (1 August 2012)
... that
Jørgen Juve was captain of the
Norwegian football team that won Olympic bronze medals in Berlin in
1936 , after knocking out
Germany in the quarter final? (9 August 2012)
... that professional goalkeeper
Maladi was instrumental in the development of
television in Indonesia ? (11 August 2012)
... that
Molde FK did not want to send
Martin Høyem on loan to
Hønefoss BK , because the two clubs were scheduled to meet in the semi-final of the
2005 Norwegian Football Cup ? (22 August 2012)
... that
Matty Blair scored the winning goal for
York City in the
2012 Conference National play-off Final , which saw the club return to
the Football League after an eight-year absence? (25 August 2012)
... that footballers
Scott and
Martin Sinclair are the first brothers to represent
Great Britain at the Olympics and
Paralympics in the same year? (25 August 2012)
... that
Jock Collier ,
Tom Mitchell and
Viv Busby are the only former
York City F.C. players with fewer than 25 appearances to have
managed the club? (27 August 2012)
... that when
Sten Grytebust was selected for the Norway national under-23
football team, he didn't know that such a team existed? (31 August 2012)
... that after giving up professional football to serve in
World War II ,
Jack Roberts escaped from a POW camp and walked 400 miles to freedom with a broken neck? (3 September 2012)
... that
Sarpsborg 08 rejected
Brescia 's attempt to get
Magnar Ødegaard on a trial, because it was in the middle of the Norwegian football season? (4 September 2012)
... that
2012 British Paralympic footballer
Ibrahima Diallo was diagnosed with
cerebral palsy after a physiotherapist saw him running? (5 September 2012)
... that
Jamal Fyfield
assisted
Matty Blair 's winning goal for
York City in the
2011–12 FA Trophy
semi-final second leg against
Luton Town with a
cross from the left flank? (12 September 2012)
... that
George Bray 's association with
Burnley F.C. as a player,
coach ,
kit man and supporter spanned seven decades? (14 September 2012)
... that
Alexandros Kasmeridis saved two
penalties in
Thrasyvoulos '
penalty shoot-out victory over
Levadiakos in the
fourth round of the
2011–12 Greek Football Cup ? (17 September 2012)
... that
Lanre Oyebanjo scored
York City 's second goal in their 2–0 victory over
Newport County in the
2012 FA Trophy Final , hosted at
Wembley Stadium ? (17 September 2012)
... that
Ragnar Hvidsten was the first
Norwegian to play in the
FA Amateur Cup ? (17 September 2012)
... that
Gary Pearson scored his first goal for
Darlington with a 25 yard
free kick against
Luton Town in January 2002, although his team went on to lose 3–2 (19 September 2012)
... that even though
Panajotis Dimitriadis is a
midfielder , his play as a
centre back got him on
TV2 's list as one of the five best players in the
2012 Norwegian First Division ? (23 September 2012)
... that "
Accrington Stanley, Who Are They? " was originally scripted to use
Tottenham Hotspur instead of
Accrington Stanley ? (23 September 2012)
... that
Norway international
footballer
Jarl André Storbæk captained
Strømsgodset in his first match for the club? (23 September 2012)
... that
Josh Falkingham scored a goal during his first match in the
Scottish Football League First Division ? (27 September 2012)
... that
Magnus Sylling Olsen 's first goal in
Tippeligaen was named the best goal of the round? (28 September 2012)
... that
footballer
Ergys Kace was born in
Albania , but moved to
Greece at the age of three? (28 September 2012)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Michael Jamtfall retired at the age of 25? (1 October 2012)
... that Norwegian
football club
Kristiansund BK was founded in 2003 by local rivals
Clausenengen FK and
Kristiansund FK ? (1 October 2012)
... that despite being a
centre back ,
Norwegian
footballer
Edvard Skagestad has played most of his matches as a
striker ? (11 October 2012)
... that
Gibraltar F.C. was one of the first civilian football clubs established in
Gibraltar ? (12 October 2012)
... that after
Norwegian
footballer
Jonatan Tollås posted a
nude photo of a teammate on
Twitter , he said that his goal was to upload one new photo every day? (13 October 2012)
... that
Port Vale goalkeeper
Sam Johnson saved three penalties and then scored the winning penalty on his debut in professional
football ? (16 October 2012)
... that
Norwegian
footballer
Jon Midttun Lie had
Tom Nordlie as head coach in three different clubs? (22 October 2012)
... that
Jørgen Tengesdal played for
Viking in the
2001 Norwegian Football Cup Final despite his contract expiring five days before the final? (23 October 2012)
... that despite only playing one match for
Bayer Leverkusen , the Norwegian
footballer
Terje Olsen does not regret moving to Germany at the age of 15? (24 October 2012)
... that
Manolis Roubakis is one of the few
footballers who have played for all three big clubs of
Heraklion in Greece:
OFI Crete ,
Ergotelis and
Atsalenios ? (26 October 2012)
... that a participant of
The Tuesday Club was fined by
Hong Kong and
Arsenal for throwing prawn crackers at a taxi? (5 November 2012)
... that the Norwegian
footballer
Stefan Johansen scored a goal from a
free kick that was identical to a goal he scored 11 days earlier? (6 November 2012)
... that
Kettering Town
goalkeeper
Scott Endersby is credited with being the youngest
footballer to play in the
FA Cup proper at the age of 15 in 1977? (8 November 2012)
... that
Brann 's
goalkeeper
Håkon Opdal scored the goal that eliminated
Bodø/Glimt from the
2004 Norwegian Football Cup ? (9 November 2012)
... that after joining
Vålerenga from the
Norwegian Second Division team
Skeid ,
Dawda Leigh immediately became a regular in Vålerenga's starting line-up in
Tippeligaen ? (10 November 2012)
... that
Robin Eriksson played
football in
Allsvenskan after he was warned by doctors that he might not be able to walk again? (12 November 2012)
... that
footballer
Steve Redmond became
Manchester City 's youngest ever
captain when appointed to the role in 1988? (12 November 2012)
... that after
Alexander Nadj had played 13 minutes for
Lillestrøm SK , the head coach
Henning Berg decided to use the youth goalkeeper instead? (13 November 2012)
... that
Welsh international
footballer
Joe Davies was suspended by
Sheffield United for "lodging in a
public house "? (16 November 2012)
... that
Welsh international
footballer
David Powell began his career employed as groundsman by
Wrexham F.C. ? (17 November 2012)
... that by the 1960s female leaders of
women's football in Africa began to emerge? (17 November 2012)
... that
Lluís Coll scored one goal and set up another as
FC Barcelona won the
1960 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final ? (19 November 2012)
... that the
1884 FA Cup Final saw
Blackburn Rovers play
Queen's Park from Scotland? (22 November 2012)
... that, having played 465 league matches,
Jaroslav Šilhavý holds the record for the most appearances in
top-flight Czech
football ? (3 December 2012)
... that at the age of 14, Norwegian
footballer
Vegar Eggen Hedenstad became the youngest-ever senior player at
Elverum Fotball ? (6 December 2012)
2013
... that Norwegian
footballer
Kurt Heggestad stepped down from professional football to become a goat farmer? (9 January 2013)
... that
IL Hødd goalkeeper
Ørjan Nyland was signed by
Tippeligaen champions
Molde after being named
man of the match in the
2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final ? (15 January 2013)
... that
John Hemmingham was banned from
Sheffield United 's
Bramall Lane stadium because of concerns that playing music might structurally damage the stands? (18 January 2013)
... that
Kareem Joseph scored a pair of goals in the
2011 First Citizens Cup final to give
Caledonia AIA their first
league cup in club history with a 2–1 victory over
T&TEC ? (23 January 2013)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Kai Risholt could not sleep for 22 days? (29 January 2013)
... that professional footballer
Michael Ngoo was
booked for revealing a T-shirt bearing the message "96 reasons 4 Justice"? (29 January 2013)
... that Norwegian football player
Henning Hauger saw less activity after moving to Germany and was ultimately left out of his
national team ? (30 January 2013)
... that if Welsh team
Swansea City win in the
2013 Football League Cup Final , they will represent England in the
Europa League ? (1 February 2013)
... that
"Flip" Carli , son of a soldier, went from
footballer to film director? (5 February 2013)
... that
Ivar Rønningen was the first goalscoring
goalkeeper at
Vålerenga ? (6 February 2013)
... that under the management of
Alex Ferguson ,
Aberdeen defeated
Real Madrid 2–1 in the
1983 European Cup Winners' Cup Final ? (12 February 2013)
... that English
footballer
Ben Everson played for
Icelandic
Úrvalsdeild team
Breiðablik when they qualified for the
2013–14 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round ? (13 February 2013)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Ola Kamara was forced to move home to his mother after signing with
Strømsgodset IF ? (14 February 2013)
... that
Malcolm Brodie reported from 14
FIFA World Cups – more than any other journalist? (24 February 2013)
... that
St. Ouen once played
Celtic aided by guest players from
Southampton ? (26 February 2013)
... that Norwegian
goalkeeper
Olav Dalen kept a
clean sheet in his first two matches in
Tippeligaen ? (27 February 2013)
... that
Ernest Bohr , who played
field hockey for Denmark at the
1948 Summer Olympics , was the nephew of Olympic football player
Harald Bohr , and the son of physicist
Niels Bohr ? (2 March 2013)
... that English
footballer
Chris Joyce rejected a contract-offer from
FC Dallas and moved to Norway? (4 March 2013)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Stian Dyngeland participated in the singing contest
Idol ? (5 March 2013)
... that due to
Kvik losing 8–2 against
Hødd in the decisive match of the
1965 Norwegian Second Division , Kvik's rivals
Rosenborg were not promoted on
goal difference ? (8 March 2013)
... that the
Culverden Stadium was the location of the record set for most
penalty kicks taken in a football match? (9 March 2013)
... that a sign of
Jesus was removed from
The Oval in
Belfast because it hadn't earned
the owner any money for a number of years? (9 March 2013)
... that the
Longmead Stadium was given to
Tonbridge Angels by the council as compensation for evicting them from their old ground? (10 March 2013)
... that
Jon Challinor 's first victory in a
Conference play-off final came in
2012 , after he appeared in finals in
2004 ,
2007 , and
2009 ? (13 March 2013)
... that at the age of 11,
footballer
Corkie Blow was awarded the bronze medal of the
Royal Humane Society for saving the life of a younger child? (14 March 2013)
... that Nepalese politician and conservationist
Harka Gurung was honoured with a memorial football tournament after his death in a helicopter crash? (15 March 2013)
... that
Newry City AFC was launched by the
Northern Ireland manager after the winding-up of the
former club ? (15 March 2013)
... that
Leeds United banned
Galatasaray fans from attending the
UEFA Cup semi-final at
Elland Road because of the
2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence ? (18 March 2013)
... that after
Eirik Holmen Johansen was invited for a trial with
Manchester City , his brother
Tobias was offered a contract with the club? (18 March 2013)
... that
Mats Møller Dæhli won
Manchester United 's
"Young Player of the Year" award in 2012? (20 March 2013)
... that according to
England fans, England beat Germany in "
Two World Wars and One World Cup "? (22 March 2013)
... that
Erik Johannessen kept a
clean sheet for 672 minutes in the
1974 Norwegian First Division ? (23 March 2013)
... that
Ballinamallard United 's club chairman has speculated that their matches are poorly covered on TV because it is deemed too expensive to send cameras to
Ferney Park ? (25 March 2013)
... that
Kim Deinoff was once bitten in the arm by an opponent during a
football match? (29 March 2013)
... that when
Ruben Yttergård Jenssen was signed by
Tromsø IL in 2006, the head coach claimed it was better in some respects than signing
Ronaldinho ? (29 March 2013)
... that a Norwegian organization established a women's
fart team? (1 April 2013)
... that
Tom Platt was a member of the
Harrogate Town team that reached the
FA Cup
second round in the
2012–13 season? (2 April 2013)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Espen Hægeland scored more than 50 goals for
Lyngdal IL in 2012? (5 April 2013)
... that it is hoped that
Arsenal 's game against
Indonesia , to be played as a warm up match for
Arsenal's 2013–14 season , will help ease an internal dispute between the
PSSI and KPSI? (6 April 2013)
... that German footballer
Michael Petry made his professional debut aged 36, and scored within two minutes of coming on the pitch? (9 April 2013)
... that Norwegian
football club
Egersunds IK won promotion to the third tier in 2011 because
IK Start was relegated from the top flight? (12 April 2013)
... that
football player
Ebenezer Assifuah scored in all of
Ghana 's
2013 African U-20 Championship group matches en route to the finals? (14 April 2013)
... that after
Flamur Kastrati was injured in a match between
MSV Duisburg and
Energie Cottbus , both teams stopped playing
football ? (15 April 2013)
... that
Arsenal became known as the
Bank of England club after gaining the largest amount of income from match days and being cautious with money while also breaking British transfer records? (18 April 2013)
... that
William O. Cushing , writer of the words of
the hymn that inspired
Rangers '
Follow Follow anthem, gave his entire life savings to a blind girl for her to receive an education? (20 April 2013)
... that Norwegian
footballer
Erik Midtgarden won the Estonian
Meistriliiga with
Flora Tallinn in
2011 ? (23 April 2013)
... that
Alex Valencia was named "player of the year" when
IK Start won silver in the
2005 Norwegian Premier League ? (29 April 2013)
... that
Leon Boullemier , the son of a French artist, was (under another name)
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club 's official
scorer for 50 years? (30 April 2013)
... that
Andreas Tegström and
Andreas Augustsson scored the goals when Norwegian football club
Sandefjord secured promotion to
Tippeligaen for the first time? (3 May 2013)
... that
Tunbridge Wells sold over 2,600 tickets in 24 hours for the
2013 FA Vase Final against
Spennymoor Town , contrasting with regular crowds of 138? (4 May 2013)
... that
Bård Finne scored four goals when
SK Brann won 14–0 in the
2013 Norwegian Football Cup ? (5 May 2013)
... that
Magnus Stamnestrø scored the goal that made his club have the worst season-opener by a defending champion in Norwegian
football ? (6 May 2013)
... that
Horacio Cartes ,
president-elect of Paraguay , has been president of the
Libertad football club since 2001? (9 May 2013)
... that
Wigan Athletic have already qualified for the
Europa League regardless of the result against
Manchester City in the
2013 FA Cup Final today? (11 May 2013)
... that the
reality television
poetry competition
Prince of Poets is more popular than
football in countries of the
Arab world , where it airs? (15 May 2013)
... that stolen beer bottles once led to the postponement of a
football cup semi-final at
Stangmore Park ? (17 May 2013)
... that Norwegian
referee
Einar Halle has admitted that some clubs have tried to bribe him ahead of matches? (20 May 2013)
... that
Mario Bichón Cáceres was the president of the
Pichilemu Football Association during a time of "football rejuvenation"? (24 May 2013)
... that
Benjamin Odeje was the first black
footballer to represent England at any level? (28 May 2013)
... that
Major League Soccer franchise
New York City FC is co-owned by
Manchester City FC and the
New York Yankees ? (29 May 2013)
... that
Jack Manning played for four different
football clubs during their debut seasons in
the Football League ? (31 May 2013)
... that
Stefan Strandberg was the captain of the
Norwegian team that qualified for the
2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship ? (6 June 2013)
... that of the five
early grounds of Manchester City F.C. , four were originally unused wasteland, most had no stands or facilities, and none served for more than two seasons? (11 June 2013)
... that
footballer
John Mitchell not only played in
Doncaster Rovers' first match in 1879, but also played for
Bolton Wanderers on the first day of the inaugural
Football League season in 1888? (12 June 2013)
... that Czech manager
Leoš Kalvoda led Slovak
football club
MŠK Žilina to their first ever league title in 2002? (14 June 2013)
... that
Norway under-21 international footballer
Anders Konradsen is the most expensive player ever sold by
Strømsgodset IF ? (16 June 2013)
... that
Günter Bittengel was named as the new manager of
FK Chmel Blšany after the club had lost seven games in a row? (20 June 2013)
... that
Robert Žák was the first
manager to lose his job in the
2009–10 Gambrinus liga ? (21 June 2013)
... that a lottery winner paid some of his prize money to prevent the Norwegian
football club
Odd from selling
Fredrik Semb Berge ? (22 June 2013)
... that
Günter Pröpper scored a total of 52 goals in 34 league games – a record in German professional
football for most goals in one season? (22 June 2013)
... that
Arena Corinthians will have the largest video screen in the world? (27 June 2013)
... that German
goalkeeper
Jürgen Rynio is the only player to have been relegated from the
Bundesliga with five different clubs? (30 June 2013)
... that
Emilia Appelqvist was the captain of the Swedish team at the
2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup ? (8 July 2013)
... that Bulgarian footballer
Boris Nikolov was the Turkish club
Galatasaray S.K. 's first captain and manager? (15 July 2013)
... that
Vegard Lysvoll scored 30 goals in the same season that his club set a new Norwegian record when he scored their 100th goal? (18 July 2013)
... that Norwegian footballer
Aleksander Solli did not want to celebrate his match-winning goal against
Vålerenga , his former team? (25 July 2013)
... that after suddenly losing his vision at age 17,
Gustavo Nieves Campello left football to compete in
athletics ? (21 August 2013)
... that
Michael Anaba won
silver and
bronze with the Ghana-U20 team in 2013? (23 August 2013)
... that
Tottenham Hotspur L.F.C. were originally called Broxbourne Ladies? (25 August 2013)
... that the
Oxford United and
Reading football clubs nearly merged in 1983 to form "
Thames Valley Royals "? (6 September 2013)
... that
Malin Diaz scored the game-winning goal during extra time for Sweden to win the
2012 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship ? (18 September 2013)
... that sisters
Ada and
Andrine Hegerberg scored one goal each when the Norwegian team won 2–1 against Canada in the
2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup ? (27 September 2013)
... that in 2011,
Cauley Woodrow became the first
non-League footballer to play for England at youth level since
Bob Oates 37 years earlier? (1 October 2013)
... that during the 1984
European Cup Semi-Final between
Liverpool and Dinamo Bucharest ,
Graeme Souness punched
Lică Movilă in the face, breaking his jaw, but it wasn't seen by the referee? (3 October 2013)
... that
Kristoffer Olsson was offered a trial at
Chelsea , but failed to attend, and later went through two trials before signing for
Arsenal ? (8 October 2013)
... that
Maribel Domínguez is captain and all-time leading scorer of the
Mexico women's national football team and plays for the
Chicago Red Stars in the
National Women's Soccer League ? (9 October 2013)
... that American professional soccer player
Camille Levin helped Swedish club
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC win the 2013
Svenska Supercupen Women ? (12 October 2013)
... that
Barry Wellings was
Rochdale 's top scorer in the
1980–81 season, with 14 goals? (30 October 2013)
... that
footballer
Petr Vrabec won six
Czechoslovak league titles with
Sparta Prague ? (4 November 2013)
... that
Alan Kirby won the
FAI Cup four times? (4 November 2013)
... that
Kjell Moe and
Reidar Olsen , the two oldest footballers to make their debut for the
Norwegian national team , made their debut in the same match? (10 November 2013)
... that in the
2013 Tippeligaen season,
Strømsgodset IF won their first Norwegian football league title in 43 years? (25 November 2013)
... that Norwegian footballer
Stian Ohr was relegated with four different clubs in seven years? (25 November 2013)
... that
2004 and
2012 5-a-side football Paralympic bronze medalist
Adolfo Samuel Acosta Rodríguez was elected to the Spanish national governing body for blind sport in July 2010? (27 November 2013)
... that during the
2013 UFL Cup ,
Loyola Meralco Sparks outscored
Blue Guards in an
association football match by a margin of 33 goals? (1 December 2013)
... that English football presenter
Darren Tulett – "the
Austin Powers of French television" – is almost unknown in England? (8 December 2013)
... that
Mathis Bolly is the fastest football player in the video game
FIFA 14 , but in real life is not as fast as
Luton Shelton ? (10 December 2013)
... that the female footballer
Bilgin Defterli decided to go to
Germany because she saw no chance to play
football in Turkey due to the dissolution of women's football leagues in 2003? (19 December 2013)
... that
2012 Spanish Paralympic blind footballer
Antonio Jesús Martín Gaitán scored his team's bronze medal winning goal in a
shootout watched by the
Duchess of Lugo ? (20 December 2013)
... that
Raja Casablanca will be the first host nation champion to play in a
FIFA Club World Cup final since 2000 when they play
Bayern Munich in the
2013 FIFA Club World Cup Final ? (21 December 2013)
... that
Tommy Graham scored one of the goals that inflicted "one of the most humiliating Cup defeats" in
Chelsea 's history? (22 December 2013)
... that
Leyla Güngör scored a goal against
Spain in her first game as a member of the
Turkey women's national football team ? (24 December 2013)
... that
Arthur Hulme was the first
Brighton & Hove Albion footballer to be awarded a
benefit match ? (24 December 2013)
... that
William Wilkinson and
Lincoln City teammates
Arthur Hulme and
William Ross were three of numerous new signings for
Gravesend United in the
1898–99 Southern Football League season? (31 December 2013)
2014
... that
goalkeeper
Dean Lyness , an unused
substitute for his first three league clubs as a teenager, finally made his
Football League debut with his fourth? (4 January 2014)
... that footballer
Ian Bennyworth paid his own
transfer fee to move from
Nuneaton Borough to
Scarborough ? (4 January 2014)
... that
Arne Pedersen , the most successful player in
Fredrikstad FK history, won six league titles and three cups with the club? (5 January 2014)
... that
Jürgen Klinsmann disliked the parody song "
Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann? " because he felt it compared him to Hitler? (7 January 2014)
... that
Frank Macey scored two of the Amateurs' six goals against the Professionals in both the
1925 and
1926 FA Charity Shield s? (7 January 2014)
... that
Arzu Karabulut currently plays for both
German and
Turkish football teams? (7 January 2014)
... that
Stewart Mell scored
Scarborough 's first goal in
the Football League ? (9 January 2014)
... that
England national football team colleagues
Glenn Hoddle and
Chris Waddle reached number 12 on the
UK Singles Chart with "
Diamond Lights "? (11 January 2014)
... that the
Fermanagh Mallards were thrown out of the
Women's Premier League after failing to travel to
Belfast for an association football match? (12 January 2014)
... that Norwegian footballer
Jon Inge Høiland scored the decisive goal when
Malmö FF secured the
2004 Allsvenskan title? (17 January 2014)
... that friends of
Dan Tan , the Singaporean accused of
fixing soccer matches on four continents, say he rarely watches the game? (17 January 2014)
... that a
penalty scored by
Patrik Berger in the final of
Euro 96 gave the Czech Republic a 1–0 lead over Germany, but the Czechs lost to a
golden goal in extra time? (18 January 2014)
... that
Arsenal exited the
FA Cup and
Football League Cup , and lost the
UEFA Cup Final , on
penalties in the
1999–2000 season ? (20 January 2014)
... that the owners of
The Showgrounds refused to allow
Warrenpoint Town F.C. to play there because of a projected rise in insurance costs? (20 January 2014)
... that
Bill Hooper scored
Darlington 's first
Football League goal, which was "in all probability" the first goal scored in the
Third Division North ? (21 January 2014)
... that a
Scotland national football team manager was first appointed in 1954, before which the team was chosen by a
Scottish Football Association selection committee? (23 January 2014)
... that
women's football
forward
Seyhan Gündüz was
capped 32 times internationally, scoring 12 goals, a rate of 0.375 a match? (28 January 2014)
... that a Ghanaian,
John Antwi , is the current top scorer in the
Egyptian Premier League ? (31 January 2014)
... that the proceeds of the
1913 FA Charity Shield
football match were donated to the
Senghenydd Colliery Disaster Fund? (3 February 2014)
... that the professional footballer
Helge Haugen was a medallist in
orienteering during his youth? (3 February 2014)
... that
Pepe Reina and
Joe Hart have won the most
Premier League Golden Glove awards – both overall and consecutively – with three each? (3 February 2014)
... that former
French football international
Jean-Pierre Adams has been in a deep coma since 1982? (4 February 2014)
... that the
Staffordshire County League (South) was originally formed as the Walsall & District Junior League after a meeting of
football club representatives at the People's Coffee House in
Walsall ? (4 February 2014)
... that during the term of
Kwesi Nyantakyi , Ghana has qualified for three successive
FIFA World Cups ? (7 February 2014)
... that in five years
First Capital Plus has moved from a micro finance company to the headline sponsor of the
Ghana Premier League ? (16 February 2014)
... that
Sydney Leroux represented Canada before deciding to play for the
United States women's national soccer team ? (16 February 2014)
... that Norwegian footballer
Håkon Lorentzen is the youngest-ever goalscorer in
Tippeligaen ? (21 February 2014)
... that
Mattias Moström is the foreign player with the most matches for the Norwegian football club
Molde FK ? (27 February 2014)
... that Sunderland's semi-final penalty shootout win against Manchester United in order to reach the
2014 Football League Cup Final had no English players scoring any of the penalties? (2 March 2014)
... that two-time Olympic gold medalist
Carli Lloyd is the only player to score the game-winning goal in two consecutive Olympic gold medal
soccer matches? (4 March 2014)
... that
Gibraltar is not allowed to play
Spain at the
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers due to political reasons? (5 March 2014)
... that the
first football match in the Philippines was held in 1907? (6 March 2014)
... that the 1878 FA Cup Final did have
a Bastard in the black? (7 March 2014)
... that
Megan Rapinoe is the first soccer player, male or female, to score a rare
Goal Olimpico at the
Olympic Games ? (11 March 2014)
... that
Prince of Wales F.C. was one of the first civilian football clubs in Gibraltar? (12 March 2014)
... that
Milan Baroš was the top scorer at
UEFA Euro 2004 ? (26 March 2014)
... that, during the 1929–30 English
football season, at a point when only one other
Watford F.C. player had scored more than one goal,
Frank McPherson had already scored 22 of Watford's 29 total goals? (4 April 2014)
... that the design of
Stadio della Roma , the newly proposed stadium for Italian
Serie A team
A.S. Roma , was inspired by the Roman
Colosseum ? (6 April 2014)
... that
Manchester United–Arsenal brawl in 1990 is the only instance in English league football history in which a team has been docked points due to player misconduct? (10 April 2014)
... that
Pike's Lane was the venue of the first-ever goal scored in league
football ? (14 April 2014)
... that the proposed
UEFA Nations League will largely replace friendly matches for
UEFA member nations? (15 April 2014)
... that
in 1953, Port Vale had a Steele Curtain? (16 April 2014)
... that
Adolphus Jones has represented
Saint Kitts and Nevis internationally in
soccer ,
high jump ,
track running , and
decathlon ? (20 April 2014)
... that top-scoring Singaporean footballer
Aleksandar Đurić represented Bosnia & Herzegovina in canoeing at the
1992 Summer Olympics ? (22 April 2014)
... that in the
2003–04 season ,
Arsenal won the
Premier League at
White Hart Lane , home of their
rivals
Tottenham Hotspur ? (25 April 2014)
... that
Bulgarian
footballer
Mihail Lozanov , nicknamed The Tank, captained
FC Bayern Munich in the 1930s and reportedly shattered the crossbar with a powerful shot? (27 April 2014)
... that
Jack Charlton was the first foreigner to manage the
Republic of Ireland national football team ? (28 April 2014)
... that both teams in the
2014 Coppa Italia Final lost the first leg of their semi-finals? (3 May 2014)
... that football coach
Choo Seng Quee was a British agent during
World War II ? (4 May 2014)
... that
Antonín Kinský was part of the
Czech Republic squad at
UEFA Euro 2004 and the
2006 FIFA World Cup , although he played at neither tournament? (11 May 2014)
... that the "
Billy Boys " was ruled as a tolerated historic song by
UEFA despite it being banned in Scottish football grounds due to
sectarianism ? (15 May 2014)
... that
footballer
František Rajtoral was one of two players
sent off in the inaugural
Czech Supercup ? (16 May 2014)
... that "
Good Old Arsenal " was the first
FA Cup Final record released? (17 May 2014)
... that
Arsenal reached the
2014 FA Cup Final today without leaving London? (18 May 2014)
... that the
2014–15 FA Cup will be the first time that artificial pitches are allowed in all rounds of the competition, after they were banned in 1995? (21 May 2014)
... that
footballer
René Bolf won the
Gambrinus Liga with
Sparta in his first season with the club, but returned to his former club,
Ostrava , during the following season? (25 May 2014)
... that the annual "Fatties versus Skinnies" soccer match in
San Pedro de Santa Bárbara , Costa Rica, was started so people could identify each team's players, since they had no uniforms? (26 May 2014)
... that Czech footballer
Roman Týce captained his country in the
2000 Summer Olympics football tournament ? (27 May 2014)
... that footballer
Vratislav Lokvenc won five league titles in six seasons with
Sparta Prague ? (1 June 2014)
... that in
James Wilson 's first senior football match for Manchester United, he scored two goals that won the game? (2 June 2014)
... that some England players allegedly sang "
Aye Aye Ippy The Germans Bombed Our Chippy ", despite the
FA not wanting to support any anti-German songs? (14 June 2014)
... that
Fawlty Towers character
Basil Fawlty sang "
Don't Mention the World Cup " to dissuade fans of England's
2006 FIFA World Cup team from mentioning the Second World War while in Germany? (14 June 2014)
... that footballer
Pavel Mareš played for the
Czech Republic at
UEFA Euro 2004 ? (24 June 2014)
... that
Cristiano Ronaldo won the
Premier League Player of the Season award as well as the
European Golden Shoe and
FIFA World Player of the Year in 2008? (3 July 2014)
... that
Tomáš Rosický won his first
trophy in English
football in 2014, eight years after joining
Arsenal ? (7 July 2014)
... that Swedish sport journalist
Johanna Frändén had the special task of following
Zlatan Ibrahimović 's career for
SVT ? (10 July 2014)
... that the
Arsenal–Stoke City rivalry started in earnest as a result of a tackle which broke an Arsenal player's leg? (12 July 2014)
... that after
Arsenal 's defeat in the
2005 FA Community Shield , manager
Arsène Wenger stated, "no-one regards it as a trophy so I do not mind anymore"? (22 July 2014)
... that
Lindon Meikle signed for
Eastwood Town following a
trial , after his father suggested he join his brother Deon at the club? (24 July 2014)
... that the
2000 CECAFA Cup final was between Uganda and Uganda? (26 July 2014)
... that
Paco Campos scored 127 goals in
La Liga – the most by any player from the
Canary Islands ? (29 July 2014)
... that
in 2013–14, Norwich City were relegated from the
Premier League , yet earned more in broadcast payments than
Manchester United earned in winning the
previous season's League title ? (30 July 2014)
... that the
first FA Charity Shield match , held in 1908, saw
Manchester United draw 1–1 with
Queens Park Rangers ? (11 August 2014)
... that
walking football has become a fashionable form of exercise for over-50s with mobility difficulties? (12 August 2014)
... that Olympic footballer
Kristian Krefting served as a
liaison officer with British forces fighting in the 1940
Norwegian Campaign ? (28 August 2014)
... that by winning the
2000 UEFA Cup Final ,
Galatasaray became Turkey's first football team to win a European competition? (4 September 2014)
... that
Kingstonian F.C. have had six different names? (5 September 2014)
... that
Sir Alex Ferguson in 1992 called the
Premier League 's
decision to move its live games on satellite television as "the most ludicrous and backward decision football has taken"? (8 September 2014)
... that
Arthur Drewry chose the England football team that lost
1–0 to the United States in a shock defeat? (20 October 2014)
... that the
National Football Museum described
Paul Gascoigne as "the most naturally gifted English midfielder of his generation"? (25 October 2014)
... that
Diego Costa scored a record seven goals in his first four
Premier League matches? (1 December 2014)
2015
... that football club
Dukla Prague achieved their record win, 10–0, under the management of
Jiří Lopata ? (17 January 2015)
... that footballer
Evan Dimas scored on his debut for
Indonesia ? (19 January 2015)
... that the
Northern Ireland Women's Football Association is the governing body of women's football in Northern Ireland? (22 January 2015)
... that
Manchester United F.C. 's victory in the
2008 UEFA Champions League Final came 40 years after the team's
first European Cup title and 50 years after the
Munich air disaster ? (23 January 2015)
... that
Arsenal won the
2014 FA Community Shield despite resting their three German internationals who had won the
World Cup Final earlier that year? (26 January 2015)
... that
Gary Mills became the youngest player to appear in a
European Cup final when playing in
Nottingham Forest 's 1–0 win over
Hamburger SV in the
1980 final ? (27 January 2015)
... that
Seattle Sounders FC 's trip to the
2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was their fifth in six years? (1 February 2015)
... that the
Lisburn Distillery Predators were the first Northern Irish team to play in the
UEFA Women's Cup ? (3 February 2015)
... that despite breaking a
collarbone after only ten minutes, Lieut.
Edmund Creswell played the whole of the
first FA Cup Final ? (5 February 2015)
... that the
2015 Scottish League Cup Final will be
Celtic 's 30th appearance in the final and
Dundee United 's 7th? (18 February 2015)
... that
Paris Saint-Germain and
SC Bastia , the two teams in the
2015 Coupe de la Ligue Final , also played the tournament's
first ever final ? (19 February 2015)
... that in 2014
Martin Ødegaard became the youngest footballer to play in a
UEFA European Championship qualifying match? (24 February 2015)
... that after
Matt Macey was rejected by
Bristol Rovers , he turned down their later contract offer to join
Arsenal ? (27 February 2015)
... that the
2015 Football League Cup Final is a repeat of the
2008 Final between
Chelsea and
Tottenham Hotspur ? (2 March 2015)
... that a
football cup final was moved to
Holm Park after one of the teams involved had allegedly received threats? (3 March 2015)
... that
Reece Grego-Cox scored a goal from a distance of 50 yards for the
Queens Park Rangers under-19 team, which the
Daily Mirror compared to one by
David Beckham ? (12 March 2015)
... that although
both teams were strong in
The Football League between 1976 and 1981,
West Bromwich Albion only won once against
Aston Villa in that period? (16 March 2015)
... that Brazilian footballer
Alan expressed a desire to play for
Austria ? (16 March 2015)
... that Brazilian footballer
Caio Rangel signed for Italian club
Cagliari in 2014? (29 March 2015)
... that until 2008
there was no men's football officially played on Sundays in Northern Ireland ? (30 March 2015)
... that Brazilian footballer
Digão signed for Saudi Arabian club
Al-Hilal in 2013? (2 April 2015)
... that
rival fans of
Bristol City and
Bristol Rovers walked 100 miles to the
2015 Football League Trophy Final to raise money for a young fan's surgery? (5 April 2015)
... that
Zézé was the first-ever Brazilian player in the
Bundesliga but left when he was diagnosed with a snow allergy (6 April 2015)
... that
Rudolf Kučera was joint top scorer of the
1960–61 Czechoslovak First League ? (9 April 2015)
... that the German footballer
Jeremy Dudziak is eligible to represent Tunisia, Germany, and Ghana at the senior international level? (11 April 2015)
... that
Billy Bremner was inducted into both the
English Football Hall of Fame and the
Scottish Football Hall of Fame ? (12 April 2015)
... that after scoring a goal, Costa Rican footballer
Wendy Acosta points to the sky in remembrance of her deceased father? (13 April 2015)
... that the
England women's national team played its first official
association football match in 1972, 100 years after the
men's team's first match ? (13 April 2015)
... that 265 million people
kick a football in
association football matches every year? (14 April 2015)
... that the board of
FC Barcelona requested for the
2015 Copa del Rey Final to be held at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium , home of
their rivals
Real Madrid ? (15 April 2015)
... that
Zlatan Ibrahimović scored three goals in a semi-final to help
Paris Saint-Germain reach the
2015 Coupe de France Final , starting with a
penalty kick which was his 100th goal for the club? (17 April 2015)
... that the early DVD release of
The Last Proletarians of Football was shipped with a pennant claiming that
Hamburger SV won the
1982 UEFA Cup Final , even though that team lost the final? (25 April 2015)
... that the English footballer
Tim Chow was to be released by
Wigan Athletic in 2015, but after a change of manager he was given a new contract? (26 April 2015)
... that
Lazio 's run to the
2015 Coppa Italia Final began with a 7–0 victory over
Bassano Virtus ? (26 April 2015)
... that the
2015 Scottish Cup Final will be the first appearance in the final for
Inverness Caledonian Thistle ? (29 April 2015)
... that
Fran Kirby scored nine goals for
Reading in her first two
2015 Women's Super League appearances? (29 April 2015)
... that
Hugo Moutinho became the first Portuguese footballer to score a hat-trick in Romania? (7 May 2015)
... that the
2015 DFB-Pokal Final will be
Jürgen Klopp 's final match as manager of
Borussia Dortmund ? (9 May 2015)
... that Brazilian footballer
Wanderley Machado played alongside his brother
Waldo for Spanish club
Hércules CF ? (11 May 2015)
... that
Benjamin Verbič scored for
NK Celje in the
2011–12 Slovenian Football Cup final, but missed in the
penalty shootout as they lost the match to
NK Maribor ? (12 May 2015)
... that a beer, brewed in honour of former
Derby County footballer
Dave Mackay , is raising funds for radio presenter
Colin Bloomfield 's
melanoma appeal? (13 May 2015)
... that the
Celta de Vigo footballer
Santiago Mina is the father of the Celta de Vigo footballer
Santiago Mina ? (14 May 2015)
... that the physician
John Macdonald was the first person to
represent Scotland at both cricket and football ? (15 May 2015)
... that
Saido Berahino scored his first
Premier League goal against
Manchester United , the team which he supports? (16 May 2015)
... that the footballer
Raphael Rossi Branco 's favourite player is fellow Brazilian
defender
David Luiz ? (26 May 2015)
... that footballer
Erik Lima won the
best newcomer award at the end of the
2014 Brasileirão season ? (28 May 2015)
... that
Abdoulaye Demba was playing football in
England's fifth division for
Yeovil Town in October 2002, but in January 2004 was playing at the
Africa Cup of Nations ? (29 May 2015)
... that at the
2015 FA Cup Final , a 64-person choir, comprising one fan for each team which reached the third round of competition, sang "
Abide with Me " before kick-off? (30 May 2015)
... that 245 teams entered the
2009–10 FA Women's Cup , which was eventually won by
Everton ? (3 June 2015)
... that
Cillian Sheridan , who currently plays for
APOEL in
Cyprus , started his professional career with Scottish club
Celtic ? (5 June 2015)
... that
Eric Bakie combined his
football career with his job as a civil servant, and only saw his teammates once a week? (12 June 2015)
... that
Don Revie changed the playing strip of
Leeds United from blue and yellow to all-white, to mimic
Real Madrid ? (12 June 2015)
... that
York City were knocked out of the first round of the FA Cup in their
2014–15 season ? (14 June 2015)
... that
Martha Harris was the winner of the first-ever
PFA Women's Young Player of the Year award? (15 June 2015)
... that in
Arsenal's 2015–16 season , they will compete in the
UEFA Champions League for the 18th consecutive year? (16 June 2015)
... that
Hachim Mastour is the youngest person to play international
association football for
Morocco ? (22 July 2015)
... that after signing a professional contract with Italian club
Palermo , Norwegian footballer
Arne Kotte injured his knee five minutes into his first training match, and was out of action for six months? (25 July 2015)
... that in 1874,
Konrad Koch and
August Hermann organized what is believed to be the first football match in Germany? (26 July 2015)
... that
Hastie Weir played for a
Motherwell team described as "probably the finest pure
footballing side that Scotland has ever produced"? (29 July 2015)
... that
Daniel McBreen won the
A-League Golden Boot in the
2012–13 season after scoring 17 goals for the
Central Coast Mariners ? (3 August 2015)
... that
Palokë Nika , who founded the oldest Albanian football club,
KF Vllaznia Shkodër , was the first coach of
KF Tirana ? (21 August 2015)
... that the
County Cricket Ground in
Hove has hosted
football ,
lawn tennis and
rugby ? (3 August 2015)
... that
Miroslav Klose 's
record 71 goals for the
Germany national football team included 16 at the
FIFA World Cup ? (14 August 2015)
... that at age 16,
Ivan Toney became the youngest player to represent
Northampton Town Football Club ? (18 August 2015)
... that Nigerian
footballer
Uchechi Sunday scored five goals for
FC Minsk in her debut at the
UEFA Women's Champions League in 2015? (23 August 2015)
... that one of
goalkeeper
Jimmy Whitehouse 's 59 league appearances for
Manchester United F.C. (then Newton Heath) was as an
inside left ? (2 September 2015)
... that the Scottish footballer
Colin Hamilton joined
Heart of Midlothian as a teenager in 2009, alongside his younger brother
Jack ? (3 September 2015)
... that the footballer
Adam Stansfield , who died in 2010, is featured on banknotes local to the English city of
Exeter ? (5 September 2015)
... that
Kévin Malcuit was named by
France Football magazine as the best outfield player in
Ligue 2 for the 2014–15 season? (5 September 2015)
... that
Bill Harvey was one of many British
footballers denied
unemployment benefit in the 1930s? (6 September 2015)
... that the Scottish footballer
Omar Kader was signed by
Alloa Athletic after playing against them in a play-off game for
Forfar ? (8 September 2015)
... that the Scottish footballer
Darren Brownlie was signed to
Queen of the South by his former
Cowdenbeath teammate
James Fowler ? (10 September 2015)
... that
York City F.C. and
York City Knights RLFC are expected to move into the
York Community Stadium in 2017? (11 September 2015)
... that
Wayne Rooney's goal against Macedonia in September 2003 made him the youngest-ever scorer for England, aged 17 years? (13 September 2015)
... that the
Belgium national association football team has won more games against its rival France, a former world champion, than it has lost? (15 September 2015)
... that
footballer
James Crumley was one of more than a thousand passengers rescued when the
SS California ran aground in 1914? (20 September 2015)
... that the Spanish
footballer
Cristian Bustos has moved to
India to play for
Mumbai City FC after playing over 270 games for six Spanish clubs? (27 September 2015)
... that until recently,
Bobby Charlton had scored more international goals than any other English footballer? (3 October 2015)
... that although he only moved to English football in 2015,
Everton 's
Leandro Rodríguez scored in a league match against
Liverpool three years earlier? (5 October 2015)
... that
New Logie Green is the only stadium outside
Glasgow to have hosted a
Scottish Cup
final ? (10 October 2015)
... that English
association football referee
Scott Duncan officiated a
League Two play-off match between
Fleetwood Town and
York City at Highbury Stadium on 16 May 2014? (30 October 2015)
... that
Maikel Kieftenbeld captained
FC Groningen to victory in the
2014–15 KNVB Cup Final to win the first major trophy in the club's history? (30 October 2015)
... that the
BBC 's pre-match coverage of the
2002 FA Cup Final included a sketch featuring
Ricky Gervais ? (3 November 2015)
... that the
2015 FA Women's Cup Final was the first edition to be staged at
Wembley Stadium ? (7 November 2015)
... that
Borja Mayoral was the top scorer at the
2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship ? (12 November 2015)
... that
Arsenal F.C. broke
Nottingham Forest 's record of league matches undefeated during the
2004–05 season ? (13 November 2015)
... that after winning the
1979 FA Charity Shield , manager
Bob Paisley quipped, "I am just sorry we didn't get two points for it!"? (15 November 2015)
... that the first-ever goal in the
Scottish Football League was scored at the original
Celtic Park ? (17 November 2015)
... that
Liverpool 's 2–1 win over
Bolton Wanderers in the
1995 Football League Cup Final was their fifth League Cup victory? (19 November 2015)
... that German referee
Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder once called half-time after 32 minutes in a
Bundesliga match? (22 November 2015)
... that
Arsenal 's victory in the
2015 FA Community Shield was manager
Arsène Wenger 's first win over his opponent
José Mourinho in 14 attempts? (28 November 2015)
... that Spanish footballer
Jorge Alonso studied
civil engineering ? (1 December 2015)
... that
SC Union 06 Berlin was formed in 1950 when players of the East Berlin club
SG Oberschöneweide moved to the
western half of the city? (9 December 2015)
... that following his death, Norwegian footballer
Bjørn Borgen was described by former team-mate
Per Kristoffersen as the greatest
right winger the country had ever produced? (9 December 2015)
... that the latest promotion in
York City's recent history came in 2012, when they beat
Luton Town at
Wembley Stadium in the
Conference Premier play-off final ? (17 December 2015)
... that the Colombian footballer
Stiven Mendoza signed in 2013 for
América de Cali , the team which he supports? (22 December 2015)
... that the
bicycle kick is one of association football's most celebrated skills? (23 December 2015)
... that
Heðin á Lakjuni scored his 100th goal in the
Faroe Islands Premier League in May 2015, while playing for
KÍ Klaksvík ? (26 December 2015)
... that the Spanish footballer
Francisco Sutil offered to play for a reduced salary at a team nearer to his girlfriend? (27 December 2015)
... that Spanish footballer
Alejandro Zamora 's only
La Liga match was also the last match of
Héctor Cúper as the
Real Betis manager? (28 December 2015)
2016
... that the Venezuelan footballer
Edder Farías scored against
Honduras in February 2015, his country's first victory since September 2013? (1 January 2016)
... that British media have compared the Scottish footballer
Ryan Gauld to
Lionel Messi ? (3 January 2016)
... that
Polish football player
Łukasz Cieślewicz was named player of the year in the
Faroe Islands in
2011 and
2015 ? (4 January 2016)
... that Turkish-German
women's footballer
Melike Pekel was top scorer of the
German Regionalliga Süd in the 2013–14 season, and became a member of the
Turkey women's national team in 2015? (9 January 2016)
... that
American Samoan
association football team
Utulei Youth had a
perfect season in 2014, winning every game in the
Senior League and taking home the
President's Cup ? (15 January 2016)
... that
Rapid Vienna won the
1941 German football championship on the same day that
Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union ? (16 January 2016)
... that Turkish football referee
Yeliz Topaloğlu is the first
FIFA-listed female
beach soccer official ? (18 January 2016)
... that the
footballer
Rafa Jordà scored six goals in the
2007–08 season , which saw his side being promoted to
La Liga ? (20 January 2016)
... that
Newry City Ladies F.C. were the first team for 14 years to win the
Women's Premier League outside of Belfast? (22 January 2016)
... that
Turkish-German
women's footballer
Filiz Koç acted as a
model , performed in a TV-series episode and worked as a
sideline reporter ? (29 January 2016)
... that
Zesh Rehman is the first Pakistani international
footballer to play in the
AFC Cup ? (31 January 2016)
... that
F.C. United of Manchester 's
Broadhurst Park stadium includes a recycled stand previously used at
another football ground ? (31 January 2016)
... that
Rempo Urip played
football for
a theatre company ? (4 February 2016)
... that
Mid-Ulster Ladies F.C. were founded by a future
NIWFA chairwoman to stop local football players leaving
Cookstown ? (7 February 2016)
... that the
association footballer
Dick Pudan was banned from the sport in 1907 after he walked out on his club, which had refused to let him play professional cricket too? (22 February 2016)
... that when
Liverpool played in the
Football League Cup Final today, they did so for a record 12th time? (29 February 2016)
... that
Roman Kukleta was top scorer of the
1990–91 Czechoslovak First League ? (29 February 2016)
... that German
footballer
Antoine Raab was imprisoned for refusing to give the
Nazi salute at a football game? (2 March 2016)
... that in 2003 the women's football club
Ballymena United Allstars were forced to play on a "disgraceful and embarrassing" park pitch during council renovations at their new ground? (5 March 2016)
... that
Ali Brownlee covered over 1,000
Middlesbrough Football Club matches for
BBC Tees and
Century FM ? (6 March 2016)
... that
FC Barcelona and
Sevilla FC , who will contest this year's
Copa del Rey Final , also played in the
2015 UEFA Super Cup ? (16 March 2016)
... that
Charles Wollaston was the first person to win five
FA Cup winners medals? (17 March 2016)
... that the first migrant worker football club in Germany,
ISC Lupo , was formed in 1962 by Italians? (25 March 2016)
... that Czech
footballer
Alois Grussmann played more than 300 times in the top football leagues of his country? (25 March 2016)
... that
José Antonio Gallardo was a posthumous winner of the
Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best
goalkeeper in Spain's
Segunda División ? (26 March 2016)
... that
Christianity played a role in the founding of several British football clubs, including
Celtic ,
Manchester City , and
Everton ?(28 March 2016)
... that Brazilian footballer
Éder Monteiro Fernandes , who plays for the Indian club
Salgaocar , has played alongside
World Cup winner
Romário at
Vasco da Gama ? (28 March 2016)
... that a dispute over
hacking led to the split between rugby and association football? (1 April 2016)
... that the Spanish footballer
Airam López once scored three
penalty kicks in the same game? (8 April 2016)
... that
Alex Ferguson gave
Danny Higginbotham a four-year professional contract whilst Higginbotham was serving a year-long ban from football? (9 April 2016)
... that
Ralph Milne worked as a casual labourer in the same season that he played for Dundee United in the semi-final of the European Cup? (17 April 2016)
... that despite indicating willingness to renew his contract with a Portuguese club, Portuguese footballer
Rúben Fernandes signed with a newly promoted Belgian one instead? (18 April 2016)
... that
Boudewijn Zenden scored a
penalty kick for
Middlesbrough in the
2004 Football League Cup Final , despite slipping over in the process? (24 April 2016)
... that
Denis Smith suffered so many broken bones, he was named in the
Guinness Book of Records as the most injured man in association football? (24 April 2016)
... that the Brazilian football defender
Marquinhos was surprised by how many goals he scored after joining
Paris Saint-Germain ? (27 April 2016)
... that "If I wanted you to understand it, I'd explain it better" is a favorite expression in
Cruijffiaans , the
idiolect of Dutch soccer coach
Johan Cruyff ? (30 April 2016)
... that
Liverpool F.C. striker
Paul Walsh received months of treatment from a broken
ultrasound machine? (2 May 2016)
... that the
Premier League manager
Sam Allardyce learned many training methods from observing the
NFL 's
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ? (5 May 2016)
... that when she was 11,
Emily Hollinshead challenged an FA ban on girls and boys playing football together? (5 May 2016)
... that
Rhyl & Prestatyn Ladies F.C. picked up a number of
Wrexham players following the latter club's dissolution? (7 May 2016)
... that Romanian footballer
Ioan Hora spent "two beautiful years" at
Gloria Bistrița ? (8 May 2016)
... that the footballer
Emily Allen once scored 15 goals in one match? (9 May 2016)
... that Brazilian footballer
Eduardo Sasha is nicknamed after the model and actress
Sasha Meneghel ? (9 May 2016)
... that the
Recreation Ground in
Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain formerly had to be cleared of
cow dung before each football match? (12 May 2016)
... that the idols of English goalkeeper
Callum Burton include his German counterparts
Manuel Neuer and
Marc-André ter Stegen ? (13 May 2016)
... that the
Cheltenham Town footballer
Daniel Wright gave his son the number 9 as a middle name? (13 May 2016)
... that during the Welsh Premier Women's Football League 2015–16 season,
Llandudno Ladies were one of only two North Wales teams in the league? (20 May 2016)
... that
Arsenal goalkeeper
Dan Lewis blamed a greasy shirt for letting in the only goal of the
1927 FA Cup Final , gifting victory to
Cardiff City ? (21 May 2016)
... that
Trefelin BGC 's women's football team broke away from the club after two years in the
Welsh women's top division ? (21 May 2016)
... that
Manchester United equalled
Arsenal 's FA Cup winners record with a win in the
2016 FA Cup Final against
Crystal Palace today? (21 May 2016)
... that
today's Scottish Cup Final between
Rangers and
Hibernian is the first contested by two teams not in the
top division ? (21 May 2016)
... that the
Welsh footballer
Trevor Ford once stepped in as a replacement fielder for
Glamorgan County Cricket Club during a match? (23 May 2016)
... that
Stade Arsène Wenger used to be a potato field? (25 May 2016)
... that current
Liga de Fútbol Profesional president
Javier Tebas is a
Real Madrid supporter? (27 May 2016)
... that businessman
Xia Jiantong went to university at the age of 14? (28 May 2016)
... that the website
Football Leaks reveals transfer fee, wage and contract information about famous
footballers ? (28 May 2016)
... that a recent
Major League Soccer match between
two teams in New York City was nicknamed the
Hudson River Massacre ? (5 June 2016)
... that the
2016–17 Football League Cup will be the first since
The Football League was renamed the English Football League? (13 June 2016)
... that
Bishop's Castle Town F.C. was banned by the
Football Association of Wales from playing in affiliated leagues because they were not Welsh? (16 June 2016)
... that when growing up in Ireland,
Terry Conroy was sentenced to probation for playing football in the street? (18 June 2016)
... that the
first ever FA Women's Premier League Plate was won by
Preston North End in 2015? (20 June 2016)
... that
Moses Toata won the
Solomon Islands S-League in his first season as a manager? (21 June 2016)
... that the
footballer
Gary Bennett was one of the first players to become involved with the
Show Racism the Red Card campaign? (22 June 2016)
... that
Liverpool F.C. manager
Bill Shankly resigned on the same day he spent a club record £200,000 to sign
Ray Kennedy ? (22 June 2016)
... that
Tommy Lawton held the record as the youngest player to score on his
England debut for 78 years? (23 June 2016)
... that
S.C. Braga 's
record in European football includes 6–0 losses to
Arsenal and
Tottenham Hotspur ? (24 June 2016)
... that
Daniel Nivel , victim of an assault by German football hooligans in 1998, was the guest of honour at a 2006 match also marred by hooliganism? (24 June 2016)
... that after joining the club in 1947,
Tommy Best became the first black player to represent
Chester City in the
Football League in a match against
Oldham Athletic ? (26 June 2016)
... that
Portadown F.C. will start the
2016–17 NIFL Premiership on −12 points for paying an amateur player? (1 July 2016)
... that the
2016 OFC Nations Cup Final was the first such final to be decided on penalties? (1 July 2016)
... that in February 2016, fake documents were sent to
Companies House claiming that
Katrien Meire had resigned as chief executive of
Charlton Athletic F.C. ? (3 July 2016)
... that
Peter Taylor and
Brian Clough once sacked a tea lady because she "laughed after a bad defeat"? (4 July 2016)
... that the
footballer
Mark Bonner was forced to retire after suffering a broken arm during a league match against
Port Vale in September 2005? (11 July 2016)
... that
Governor-elect of Tamaulipas, Mexico ,
Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca was born in
McAllen, Texas , and played soccer at
Houston Baptist University ? (13 July 2016)
... that
Patrick Vieira won the
2005 FA Cup Final for
Arsenal with his last kick in his final appearance? (13 July 2016)
... that
Landon Donovan
scored 57 goals in 157 appearances for the
United States men's national soccer team from 2000 to 2014, becoming the team's all-time top goalscorer? (14 July 2016)
... that
Canadian international soccer goalkeeper
Erin McLeod held her first solo art exhibit, entitled "Limitless", in 2013? (19 July 2016)
... that due to the
French football bribery scandal , no team is classed as winning the
1992–93 French Division 1 title? (20 July 2016)
... that the
footballer
Frédéric Gounongbe originally regarded tennis as his preferred sport? (26 July 2016)
... that the
Football (Disorder) Act 2000 was pushed through
Parliament in the United Kingdom in a month following
hooliganism during
Euro 2000 ? (1 August 2016)
... that while working as the commercial manager at
Chesterfield , the footballer
Jim Brown collected financial records that were eventually used to prosecute club chairman Darren Brown for fraud? (4 August 2016)
... that the
football manager
Isaac McDowell led
Linfield to seven trophies in the 1961–62 season? (4 August 2016)
... that a
team called Europa has
represented Gibraltar in the
UEFA Europa League ? (4 August 2016)
... that
Luton Town Football Club won their first major trophy in
1988 ? (9 August 2016)
... that the
footballer
Joe Cassidy lost 22 lb (10 kg) during the 1924–25 season, due to a severe case of
influenza ? (15 August 2016)
... that
Elwin Cockett was chaplain to
West Ham United F.C. for 20 years? (15 August 2016)
... that
Norwich City F.C. joint majority shareholder
Michael Wynn-Jones attended his first Norwich match in 1953? (18 August 2016)
... that the
association footballer
Fred Keenor captained the only non-English team to win the
FA Cup Final ? (20 August 2016)
... that the
footballer
Jordan Green worked as a supermarket shelf-stacker before earning his first professional contract? (23 August 2016)
... that in 2015
Stéphane Sparagna captained the
France national under-20 football team to their first
Toulon Tournament title in seven years? (24 August 2016)
... that the association footballer
Willie Carlin accepted a transfer to
Derby County after his wife declared that she wanted to move away from
Sheffield ? (25 August 2016)
... that in 1949, the
Bristol Rovers footballer
Vic Lambden married one of his team's fans? (28 August 2016)
... that the footballer
Derek Dougan handed in a transfer request the day before he played in the
1960 FA Cup Final ? (31 August 2016)
... that
Millwall's only campaign in European football was marred by hooliganism? (1 September 2016)
... that after
Billy Bremner and
Kevin Keegan were sent off for fighting in the
1974 FA Charity Shield , an attempt was made to charge them with
breach of the peace ? (5 September 2016)
... that
Rangers F.C. did not knowingly
sign any Catholic players between the 1920s and 1980s? (10 September 2016)
... that in 1967, at the age of 16 years and 102 days,
Stanley Bish became the youngest player ever to represent
PSV Eindhoven in the
Eredivisie ? (15 September 2016)
... that an administrative error by
New Zealand Football prevented
Alex Jones from completing his loan move to
Wellington Phoenix ? (28 September 2016)
... that
Moise Poida , the
Vanuatuan national football team manager, has played against World Cup winner
Zinedine Zidane ? (6 October 2016)
... that
Guiseley A.F.C. were accused of "disgraceful unsporting behaviour" when a player broke an unwritten fair-play convention to score past goalkeeper
Tom King ? (9 October 2016)
... that in 1985,
China–Hong Kong football rivalry resulted in China's first recorded case of
football hooliganism ? (10 October 2016)
... that since 1912, Spanish association football club
Athletic Bilbao
only fields players with ancestry from the Basque Country ?
... that
Ralph Jean-Louis managed the
Seychelles national football team to a gold medal at the
2011 Indian Ocean Island Games ? (20 October 2016)
... that
Akigin Stadium sits next to a field of dreams? (21 October 2016)
... that the Irish footballer
Jeff Chandler was "never the same player" after suffering a knee injury in
Bolton Wanderers ' fourth game of their
1987–88 season ? (26 October 2016)
... that despite having been formed in 1932, the
Lesotho Football Association did not gain
FIFA membership until 1964? (4 November 2016)
... that Australian
W-League association footballer
Gabe Marzano was appointed to the
Professional Footballers Australia executive committee in May 2016? (4 November 2016)
... that the English footballer
Roy Jennings scored 60 goals during his career, 51 of which were
penalties ? (14 November 2016)
... that the
South Sudan National Cup has been won more times by
Al-Malakia FC than by any other team? (29 November 2016)
... that the €11 million reported to have been spent by
AS Monaco FC in 2012 to sign
Lucas Ocampos , was the most ever for a
Ligue 2 player? (21 December 2016)
... that in 2010, the association footballer
Neil Alexander came on as a substitute for
Queen of the South in a
friendly against his own team,
Rangers ? (24 December 2016)
... that on 29 November 2016,
Ben Woodburn became
Liverpool's youngest ever goalscorer when he scored against
Leeds United in the
EFL Cup ? (30 December 2016)
2017
... that
Alphonse Areola saved two
penalties during a penalty shoot-out in the
2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup final, to help France win their first title in the competition? (2 January 2017)
... that the
footballer
Billy James was forced to retire after playing just six league games due to the physical effects of his time in a Japanese
prisoner-of-war camp ? (11 January 2017)
... that
Jesé won the Golden Boot Award at the
2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship ? (18 January 2017)
... that
Derry City Ladies F.C. play football in the Northern Irish leagues while their men's team play in the Republic of Ireland's? (22 January 2017)
... that Spanish
association footballer
Xiker joined
Athletic Bilbao 's academy when he was just ten years old? (24 January 2017)
... that English
association footballer
Yasin Ben El-Mhanni made his name as a
YouTube sensation? (20 February 2017)
... that the
association footballer
Albert Barnett was one of five brothers who played for
Altrincham F.C. ? (24 February 2017)
... that Southampton reached the
2017 EFL Cup Final against Manchester United today without conceding a goal? (26 February 2017)
... that
Tony Collins became the first black manager in the
English Football League when he was appointed by
Rochdale in 1960? (5 March 2017)
... that
Lincoln City's win over Burnley meant that they became the first non-league football club to reach the
FA Cup quarter-finals in 103 years? (11 March 2017)
... that in 2016,
footballer
Dries Mertens became the first player to score seven goals in two matches in
Serie A since
Antonio Valentín Angelillo (1958)? (20 March 2017)
... that
the Roly Poly Goalie ate all the pies? (1 April 2017)
... that
Ipswich Town goalkeeper
Paul Cooper saved eight out of the ten penalties he faced during the 1979–80 season? (7 April 2017)
... that
Chris Marron jointly holds the record for the most goals scored in an
FA Cup match, having scored 10 in one game? (13 April 2017)
... that
Alf Ramsey (pictured) led
Ipswich Town to become English football champions four years before leading
England to win the
1966 FIFA World Cup ? (29 April 2017)
... that in 2007, some
UEFA members voted against allowing
Gibraltar membership because
Victoria Stadium was built on disputed land? (20 May 2017)
... that
Arsenal are looking to win a record 13th FA Cup at the
FA Cup Final against
Chelsea today? (27 May 2017)
... that the association footballer
Harry Beadles was awarded the
Serbian gold medal for bravery during World War I? (31 May 2017)
... that Venezuelan
footballer
Sergio Córdova scored on his professional debut for
Caracas FC ? (8 June 2017)
... that German
footballer
Lewis Holtby was eligible to represent
England through his paternal lineage? (28 June 2017)
... that French
footballer
Alban Lafont is the youngest goalkeeper ever to play in
Ligue 1 , having made his debut at the age of 16 years and 310 days? (29 June 2017)
... that
ArsenalFanTV was designed to give football supporters a chance to have their opinions heard? (30 June 2017)
... that
Jordyn Huitema scored her first goal for the
Canadian women's national soccer team in an exhibition game against
Costa Rica , and scored her second goal less than a minute later? (1 July 2017)
... that Spanish
footballer
Álvaro Domínguez was forced to retire at the age of 27 due to persistent back injuries? (4 July 2017)
... that Spanish
footballer
Nahikari García signed for
Real Sociedad when she was 16 years old? (9 July 2017)
... that the first-round draw for the English
2017–18 EFL Cup was held in Thailand? (13 July 2017)
... that as a teenager,
association footballer
Frank Dudley gave up on turning professional due to his height—and then experienced a 6-inch (15 cm) growth spurt? (21 July 2017)
... that
Clint Dempsey (pictured) has
57 international goals , ranking third among active male
footballers behind
Cristiano Ronaldo and
Lionel Messi ? (15 August 2017)
... that
Cardiff City F.C. is the only non-English team to have won the
FA Cup ? (7 September 2017)
... that the
French Football Federation issued a reversal of a league win after
Amiens SC disputed
Olympique Noisy-le-Sec player
Frédéric Boniface 's eligibility to play in the match? (20 September 2017)
... that South African
footballer
Lorenzo Gordinho joined the
Kaizer Chiefs academy at the age of 15? (23 September 2017)
... that
Antonio Conte (pictured) is the only person to win the
Serie A Coach of the Year award three times in a row? (10 October 2017)
... that the
footballer
George Poland was rejected by
Cardiff City F.C. as an outfield player before making his debut two years later as a
goalkeeper ? (10 October 2017)
... that
Ashley Hatch was named
2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year and helped the
North Carolina Courage win the
2017 NWSL Shield , scoring seven goals in 24 games? (25 October 2017)
... that
footballer
Laura O'Sullivan made her international debut for
Wales as a goalkeeper less than 18 months after converting to the position? (5 November 2017)
... that
Lindsay Peat has represented Ireland internationally at association football, basketball, and rugby union? (8 November 2017)
... that the
2009 Sky Blue FC team that won the
Women's Professional Soccer title employed three different head coaches during the season? (18 November 2017)
... that
Tyler Toland became the Republic of Ireland's youngest women's senior international
footballer in September 2017? (22 November 2017)
... that
Estelle Cascarino represented France at the under-19 and under-20 levels in international tournaments in the same year? (25 November 2017)
... that an administrative error when appointing
W. G. Grace as referee for a
Gloucestershire Cup tie during the
Eastville Rovers' 1888–89 season voided the result and forced a rematch? (29 November 2017)
... that today's
MLS Cup 2017 soccer final between
Toronto FC and
Seattle Sounders FC is a rematch of the
2016 Cup , and will be played at the same venue? (9 December 2017)
... that Colombian
footballer
Luis Muriel became
Sevilla 's most expensive-ever signing when he joined the club for a reported fee of €20 million? (13 December 2017)
... that the
Northern Ireland women's national football team captain
Marissa Callaghan went to university in the United States on a
football scholarship ? (17 December 2017)
... that North Korean footballer
Sung Hyang-sim was the top scorer at the
2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and named Most Valuable Player? (18 December 2017)
... that the
Estadio Universitario Alberto "Chivo" Córdoba incorporates a mural by
Leopoldo Flores in the stands on the west side of the stadium? (26 December 2017)
2018
... that at age 16,
Remy Siemsen was the top goalscorer for
Sydney FC in the
2016–17 W-League season ? (5 January 2018)
... that the first
Columbus Crew soccer match attended by future owner
Anthony Precourt was delayed after the stadium's scoreboard caught fire? (9 January 2018)
... that Arsenal Ladies player
Clare Wheatley took over as the club's development officer and general manager from
Vic Akers , who once told her, "Arsenal Ladies is not a social club"? (11 January 2018)
... that
footballer
Gordon Coleman scored the winning goal in a match against
Blackpool in 1982 while sitting on the ground? (12 January 2018)
... that the
footballer
Howard Spencer was the first
Aston Villa player to
captain England ? (13 January 2018)
... that
Didier Drogba
scored twice for the
Ivory Coast in a match which was abandoned after fans rioted, throwing food and drinks onto the pitch? (14 January 2018)
... that
footballer
Callum Hendry gave up playing for a year before turning professional? (16 January 2018)
... that the
footballer
Stanley Kane gave up playing in order to join the
Liverpool City Police ? (18 January 2018)
... that
Dellatorre , who currently plays for Cypriot club
APOEL FC , was the top scorer of the
2011 São Paulo Junior Football Cup ? (22 January 2018)
... that
footballer
John Robson was forced to retire after being diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis at the age of 28? (25 January 2018)
... that the English
footballer
Tammy Abraham was the first player to win
Bristol City 's Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, and Top Goalscorer awards in the same season? (26 January 2018)
... that the English
footballer
Danny Lloyd sold bins for a waste management company before turning professional in 2017? (26 January 2018)
... that
Ninian Park , the home stadium of
Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years, was built on the site of a former rubbish tip? (27 January 2018)
... that the Welsh
footballer
Syd Thomas impressed
Fulham so much in a trial match that he was offered a contract at half-time? (28 January 2018)
... that the
footballer
Robin Turner scored twice on his home debut for
Swansea City , equalling the number of league goals he scored for former club
Ipswich Town in nine seasons? (31 January 2018)
... that the
Seattle Sounders FC were second-to-last when they hired coach
Brian Schmetzer , but finished the season by
winning the MLS Cup ? (1 February 2018)
... that the night before the
2003 Football League Second Division play-off Final , the
Queens Park Rangers ' team hotel was targeted by a malicious false fire alarm? (2 February 2018)
... that
Savannah Jordan was the first soccer player in the history of the
Southeastern Conference to be named SEC Offensive Player of the Year as a freshman? (3 February 2018)
... that fourteen players have scored an
international hat-trick for the
Wales national football team ? (7 February 2018)
... that at age 12,
Edin Šehić became the youngest
footballer to sign a scholarship contract with
NK Zagreb ? (9 February 2018)
... that French politician
Ian Boucard was the announcer at
ASM Belfort home matches? (15 February 2018)
... that
Arsenal reached today's
2018 EFL Cup Final against
Manchester City without playing a game outside London? (25 February 2018)
... that after failing to get playing time at
ABC Futebol Clube , footballer
Rodriguinho Marinho considered becoming a
futsal player? (5 March 2018)
... that
EastEnders filmed
three mini episodes in Paris to coincide with the
1998 FIFA World Cup ? (6 March 2018)
... that between 1992 and 2016, Scottish football club
Aberdeen did not win a single match at
Ibrox Stadium , home of
their rivals
Rangers F.C. , in 41 attempts? (9 March 2018)
... that in 2006,
footballer
Steve Flack scored the fastest hat-trick in
Exeter City 's history? (12 March 2018)
... that
footballer
Paul Giles suffered an injury during a match in March 1982 after being fouled by his brother? (17 March 2018)
... that
footballer
Chris Stringer made his professional debut as a substitute after the starting goalkeeper received the fastest red card in
English Football League history? (19 March 2018)
... that
footballer
Alex Raisbeck joined
Liverpool after
Stoke manager
Horace Austerberry failed to arrive at an arranged meeting? (9 April 2018)
... that
Liberian president
George Weah 's son
Timothy plays for the
United States men's national soccer team ? (10 April 2018)
... that Canadian
association footballer
Liam Millar scored a
hat-trick in his debut for
Liverpool U18s against
Blackburn Rovers U18s ? (20 April 2018)
... that
footballer
Hugh Lester was the first non-British player to represent
Liverpool ? (22 April 2018)
... that tonight's second leg of the
CONCACAF Champions League final is the second occasion on which a Canadian team has featured? (25 April 2018)
... that
Neville Southall is the
most capped Welsh footballer of all time? (26 April 2018)
... that
Blackpool were described as the "smallest club to reach the
Premier League " after they were
promoted by virtue of winning the
2010 Football League Championship play-off Final ? (27 April 2018)
... that the current rivalry between
Major League Soccer teams in the
Los Angeles area is named
El Tráfico ? (27 April 2018)
... that at the time of his appointment at
Stockport County in 1999,
footballer
Andy Kilner was the youngest manager in the
Football League ? (28 April 2018)
... that
footballer
Chris Sander was the first
Cardiff City player to save two penalties during the same match? (2 May 2018)
... that in 1956–57,
footballer
Ray Straw equalled
Derby County 's club record for most league goals in a single season? (4 May 2018)
... that
footballer
Wayne Entwistle played for more
FA Cup -winning clubs than any other player? (5 May 2018)
... that
footballer
Joe Mayo "never really thought about" turning professional, and was training as an accountant when offered his first professional contract? (6 May 2018)
... that the
Turkish international
Dilara Özlem Sucuoğlu started to play football in Germany at the age of five inspired by her father, a football coach? (9 May 2018)
... that the Portuguese international footballers
Matilde Fidalgo and
Bernardo Silva are cousins? (10 May 2018)
... that
Ahmed Jahouh is the first Moroccan
footballer to play in India? (11 May 2018)
... that the
footballer
Ken Hodgkisson was the first player ever to be used as a
substitute by
Walsall ? (13 May 2018)
... that the Welsh
footballer
Nathan Wigg retired from playing after a scan of his knee was described as looking like it could have "been in a car crash"? (13 May 2018)
... that the
footballer
Gary Gill suffered a broken leg during a match in 1989 but carried on playing after being given the
magic sponge ? (14 May 2018)
... that the
footballer
Irvine Thornley 's
benefit match raised £1036, a record at the time? (15 May 2018)
... that
footballer
Ian Feuer played a
Predator in the 2007 film
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem ? (16 May 2018)
... that the Welsh
footballer
John Toshack authored a book of poems entitled Gosh, it's Tosh ? (18 May 2018)
... that contrary to popular belief, the use of
triangular corner flags in English football is not a right reserved only for
FA Cup winners? (19 May 2018)
... that Manchester United are looking to match Arsenal's FA Cup winner's record in today's
2018 FA Cup Final against Chelsea? (19 May 2018)
... that the
footballer
Albert Shepherd was the first player to score a penalty in an FA Cup final? (19 May 2018)
... that the Turkish-Cypriot
women's footballer
Zehra Borazancı has played international
football tennis for
her country ? (25 May 2018)
... that the
1902 Ibrox disaster was partly blamed on the crowd surging forward in excitement at seeing
Bobby Templeton
dribble with the ball? (26 May 2018)
... that
Ivor Allchurch was known as the "Golden Boy of Welsh football"? (27 May 2018)
... that
Güzide Alçu and her two teammates were referred to the disciplinary board for displaying
V signs that were interpreted by the
Turkish Football Federation as insulting? (6 June 2018)
... that the design of
Cincinnati 's
new soccer stadium features homages to
Allianz Arena in
Munich ? (14 June 2018)
... that the
2018–19 EFL Cup will not feature
ABBA and will have no extra time to ensure the winner takes it all? (14 June 2018)
... that
Tony Christie
asked whether this was the way to The World Cup and then declared it "crap"? (18 June 2018)
... that funding for
Celia Brackenridge 's research into child protection in football was ended because the sport "was not ready for a gay former lacrosse international rummaging through its dirty linen"? (28 June 2018)
... that
footballer
Hossam Ashour is the most decorated
Al Ahly player in the club's history? (29 June 2018)
... that during the 2017–18 season, Moroccan-born
footballer
Walid Azaro broke the
Egyptian Premier League record for the most goals scored by a foreign player? (1 July 2018)
... that
footballer
Youssef "Obama" Ibrahim was given his nickname due to his likeness to
Barack Obama ? (7 July 2018)
... that
footballer
Ali Ghazal was the first Egyptian player to be appointed permanent captain of a
top-division European club ? (11 July 2018)
... that Welsh international
footballer
Darcy Blake left the professional game at the age of 25 and later played amateur rugby? (13 July 2018)
... that "
Go England " was written as an adaptation of
The Jam 's "
Going Underground " to support England at the 2002 FIFA World Cup? (14 July 2018)
... that
Javier "Chicharito" Hernández (pictured) is the first
Mexican footballer to score
50 international goals ? (15 July 2018)
... that
footballer
Mohamed El-Shenawy declined to accept his man of the match award after
Egypt's opening match of the
2018 FIFA World Cup ? (15 July 2018)
... that
a new soccer team in
Albuquerque, New Mexico , will schedule its home games around the
Albuquerque Isotopes baseball team, with whom it will share a stadium? (15 July 2018)
... that
footballer
Adrian Alston performed the
Cruyff Turn at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, before
Johan Cruyff made the move famous? (15 July 2018)
... that
Rashad Sadygov is the
most capped Azerbaijani international footballer of all time? (15 July 2018)
... that in 2018
Trent Alexander-Arnold became only the fourth teenager to start a match for
England at the FIFA World Cup? (15 July 2018)
... that the
footballer
Kahraba ("Electricity") was given his nickname due to his pace and energy? (15 July 2018)
... that the jerseys of American
soccer team
Las Vegas Lights FC feature a
smiley face on the underside for use in
goal celebrations ? (15 July 2018)
... that the Egyptian
footballer
Trézéguet was given his nickname due to his resemblance to former footballer
David Trezeguet ? (21 July 2018)
... that
footballer
Colin Hudson scored in a 6–1 victory for
Cardiff City on the same day he was married? (25 July 2018)
... that
footballer
Eddie Jenkins turned down a move to
Tottenham Hotspur because he thought that "there were better prospects in the milk business"? (29 July 2018)
... that
brass bands have been a feature of
Vale Park since its opening in 1899, when one played the crowd in through the gates? (9 August 2018)
... that the
footballer
Mark Aizlewood once celebrated scoring a goal by
flicking the V at fans of his own team? (9 August 2018)
... that the
Belgium international player
Leander Dendoncker is one of three footballer brothers from a pig-farming family? (11 August 2018)
... that
Manchester City player
Claudio Gomes won a trophy at
Wembley Stadium one second into his professional debut? (4 September 2018)
... that Belgian footballer
Romelu Lukaku (pictured) has
scored two international hat-tricks , but only one is recognised by
FIFA ? (18 September 2018)
... that despite
Alexis Sánchez's seven goals in qualification ,
Chile failed to qualify for the
2018 FIFA World Cup ? (3 October 2018)
... that most of
footballer
Laurence Abrams 's
transfer fee for his move from
Hearts was never paid, after
Chelsea claimed it would force them to fold? (7 October 2018)
... that to receive a work permit to play in
Luxembourg , Bosnian
footballer
Sanel Ibrahimović had to pretend to be a specialist in
his country's cuisine ? (9 October 2018)
... that
footballer
Willie Anderson agreed to join the
Portland Timbers despite not knowing where the team was based? (11 October 2018)
... that footballer
Sandy Allan was the first player to score a headed
hat-trick in a
European club competition ? (13 October 2018)
... that the fee in excess of £2,000 paid by
Blackburn Rovers in 1921 for the
footballer
Fergie Aitken was the record that
Bury had received for a player? (15 October 2018)
... that the
English amateur footballer
Reg Anderson was killed during World War II when his aircraft was shot down? (25 October 2018)
... that
footballer
Óscar Sonejee scored the goal that won the
Andorra national football team their first-ever point in an international fixture? (3 November 2018)
... that despite playing as a
defender ,
Ildefons Lima is the
leading goalscorer in the history of the
Andorra national football team ? (5 November 2018)
... that in the
UEFA matches played by
Athletic Bilbao in European football , the club used only one player who was a
full international for a country other than
Spain ? (9 November 2018)
... that
footballer
Bob Jones was signed by
Everton as a goalkeeper, despite originally playing as a
left half , after the original goalkeeper failed to arrive at a trial? (12 November 2018)
... that Welsh
footballer
Stan Griffiths was given a
medical discharge during World War II due to injuries suffered during his playing career? (12 November 2018)
... that following his retirement from playing,
footballer
Andy Kerr became a financial advisor in the Far East? (15 November 2018)
... that when
footballer
Wyn Griffiths suffered an injury during a 1945
friendly match for
Arsenal , he was replaced by a player from another club who had attended the game as a spectator? (20 November 2018)
... that
Iris Kadrić played international football for
Sweden under-17s , before switching to play for
Bosnia and Herzegovina ? (22 November 2018)
... that footballer
Neil Matthews was the first
Rochdale player to win an international cap at any level? (27 November 2018)
... that the
footballer
Kevin Beattie was described by former
England manager
Bobby Robson as the best England player he had ever seen? (4 December 2018)
... that Filipino
footballer
Neil Etheridge is the first Southeast Asian to play in the
Premier League ? (6 December 2018)
... that
Bryn Davies was one of the first
footballers to enlist during
World War II ? (6 December 2018)
... that in only its second season,
Atlanta United FC has reached the
MLS Cup , which will be played tonight? (8 December 2018)
... that the
footballer
Ted Gorin scored
Scunthorpe United 's first goal in the
Football League ? (10 December 2018)
... that the
footballer
Sammy Ameobi scored the fastest goal by a substitute in
Premier League history? (11 December 2018)
... that
MLS Cup 2002 was the first of five
MLS Cups lost by the
New England Revolution and the first of five won by the
LA Galaxy ? (11 December 2018)
... that
Cardiff City lost £200 from a deal signed with
Joe Hillier 's transfer to
Middlesbrough in 1930 after the club's manager wrote down the wrong sum? (14 December 2018)
... that gymnast
Pierre Payssé , who won two gold medals at the
1906 Intercalated Games , later helped organise women's football matches? (16 December 2018)
... that
Tom Adeyemi turned down a place at Cambridge University in order to become a professional
footballer ? (17 December 2018)
... that
Lorik Cana is the
most capped Albanian footballer of all time? (17 December 2018)
... that the first
own goal and
penalty kick in MLS Cup history were caused by the
same player at
MLS Cup 2003 ? (18 December 2018)
... that
Karabo Mathang-Tshabuse is South Africa's first female
FIFA -accredited
soccer agent ? (20 December 2018)
... that the
MLS Cup 2009 was the first major sports championship won by a team from
Utah in nearly 40 years? (22 December 2018)
... that former
footballer
Charlie McGeever is principal of a
Gaelcholáiste ? (22 December 2018)
... that
Clémentine Touré coached the
Ivory Coast women's national football team in their first matches outside Africa at the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup ? (24 December 2018)
... that the
footballer
Owen McNally scored eight goals in a single match, which remains a joint record for the
Scottish Football League ? (25 December 2018)
2019
... that
Roberto Tobar officiated the 2017
Segunda División final, in which only one team took part in the
penalty shootout ? (4 January 2019)
... that Trinidadian
football player and coach
Michael McComie died from a brain tumour 24 hours after being diagnosed? (5 January 2019)
... that Denmark won the
1971 Women's World Cup , an unofficial
association football tournament, after 15-year-old
Susanne Augustesen scored all three goals in the final? (8 January 2019)
... that
Al-Ain was the first
Emirati team to qualify for a
Club World Cup final ? (11 January 2019)
... that
Portugal international footballer
Melissa Antunes teaches at a university and started a sports agency? (14 January 2019)
... that
Jean-Pierre Bernès , former general manager of
Olympique de Marseille , started out selling membership cards for the club? (23 January 2019)
... that the video game
This Is Football 2002 had the controversial feature of allowing players to
deliberately dive ? (27 January 2019)
... that actress
Naomi Watts is honorary president of the Welsh
football club
Glantraeth F.C. ? (29 January 2019)
... that
MLS Cup 2005 featured the same teams and ended with the same scoreline as
MLS Cup 2002 ? (9 February 2019)
... that
Cemile Timur founded, played for, and now coaches
a football club recently promoted to the
Turkish Women's First League ? (1 February 2019)
... that
Henrikh Mkhitaryan was the
first player to score a hat-trick for the
Armenia national football team ? (20 February 2019)
... that
footballer
Emiliano Sala is the most expensive signing in the history of
Cardiff City F.C. ? (21 February 2019)
... that
Manchester City conceded only one goal in regular time en route to the
2019 EFL Cup Final against
Chelsea today? (24 February 2019)
... that
Alberto Jorge is the only
association football manager to have won the
Liga MX title as
caretaker , doing so with
Toluca in 2003? (28 February 2019)
... that before becoming a
football coach,
Neil Dewsnip worked as a teacher and taught future professional players and managers including
Karl Robinson ,
Jim Bentley , and
Steven Gerrard ? (28 February 2019)
... that
MLS Cup 2007 was the first
Major League Soccer championship rematch to be played in consecutive years? (3 March 2019)
... that the
San Jose Earthquakes won
MLS Cup 2001 only one season after finishing at the bottom of the league table? (4 March 2019)
... that "Old Woden"
Frederick Hackwood founded the
Wednesbury Strollers football club? (9 March 2019)
... that Dutch
footballer
Leon de Kogel 's playing career ended following a car accident in which he had to be cut out of his vehicle by the fire service? (9 March 2019)
... that
footballer
Pádraig Amond represented
Carlow at
hurling under a false name to avoid being discovered by his club? (14 March 2019)
... that by winning promotion during the
1920–21 season ,
Cardiff City F.C. became the first Welsh club to reach the top tier of English football? (9 April 2019)
... that, inspired at the age of five by her
football -playing brother,
Dilan Ağgül became a footballer in Germany and later played for the
Turkey women's national team ?(16 April 2019)
... that during
Cardiff City F.C. 's
1921–22 season , trainer
George Latham became the oldest player in club history when called into action after members of the first team fell ill (20 April 2019)
... that
footballer
Chris Summers set a
Welsh Premier League record during the 2003–04 season by scoring in 11 consecutive matches? (22 April 2019)
... that the
inaugural MLS Cup was played in heavy rain in the aftermath of
Hurricane Lili ? (4 May 2019)
... that collegiate soccer coach
Pete Fewing has also officiated at the weddings of two of his former players? (10 May 2019)
... that, inspired at a young age by Polish
footballer
Roman Kosecki of
Galatasaray S.K. in Turkey,
Nurcan Çelik became a player and later established her own football club (11 May 2019)
... that
Watford 's appearance in
today's FA Cup Final is their first
since 1984 ? (18 May 2019)
... that three players for the
U.S. women's national soccer team have
scored hat-tricks in the
FIFA Women's World Cup , including
Carli Lloyd in the
2015 final (7 June 2019)
... that during the
1923–24 season ,
Cardiff City F.C. finished as runners-up in the closest title race in
First Division history? (14 June 2019)
... that in 1948,
footballer
George Hazlett was punched in the face after fans invaded the
pitch ? (16 June 2019)
... that the
1999 FIFA Women's World Cup , which began 20 years ago today, was moved to large
American football stadiums after the success of the
1996 Olympics soccer tournament ? (19 June 2019)
... that
Leicester City F.C. manager
Norman Bullock banned his players from riding motorbikes? (21 June 2019)
... that ten years ago today, the
United States played in the
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Final after ending
Spain 's 35-match unbeaten streak? (28 June 2019)
... that Turkish women's footballer
Aslı Canan Sabırlı was appointed
technical director of her team while she was still a member of the squad? (2 July 2019)
... that the
Leagues Cup , an upcoming four-team soccer competition between
MLS and
Liga MX clubs, was panned by critics as soon as it was announced? (5 July 2019)
... that Germany defeated Sweden in the
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Final (pictured) with a
golden goal , the last time this method of deciding the final was approved? (7 July 2019)
... that
Im Eun-ju was the first South Korean woman to referee at the international level of
association football ? (7 July 2019)
... that
Florrie Redford played
football with other women during her lunch break at a World War I munitions factory prior to becoming a leading goal scorer for
Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. ? (7 July 2019)
... that in 2001,
Bury Football Club 's first
mascot , "Robbie the Bobby", was sent off three times by referees for bad behaviour? (16 July 2019)
... that
Rhys Griffiths has won the
Welsh Premier League Golden Boot more times than any other player, winning for seven consecutive seasons between 2006 and 2012? (19 July 2019)
... that during the
1924–25 season ,
Cardiff City F.C. became the first Welsh team to reach an
FA Cup final? (20 July 2019)
... that footballer
Alice Griffiths represented Wales for the first time after playing as the only girl in an otherwise all-boys league? (7 August 2019)
... that
Harold Forsyth , the Peruvian ambassador to Japan, is the father of a
professional football player and husband of a
beauty pageant queen? (12 August 2019)
... that
Alice Evans was the first British female professional
futsal player? (15 August 2019)
... that Welsh international footballer
Peyton Vincze discovered she was eligible to represent the nation only when a Welsh football club visited her town in the United States? (18 August 2019)
... that the
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was moved to the United States after the
SARS outbreak in China, the original host? (21 August 2019)
... that
footballer
Rachel Rowe made her international debut for
Wales while still working as a guard in the prison service? (22 August 2019)
... that footballer
Craig Bellamy was the first player to score for seven different teams in the
Premier League ? (24 August 2019)
... that the finalists in tonight's
U.S. Open Cup Final both joined
Major League Soccer as expansion teams during the 2017 season? (27 August 2019)
... that Turkish television and film actress
Serenay Aktaş was once a
women's footballer ? (28 August 2019)
... that the
Lebanon women's national football team 's first official qualification campaign took place eight years after their inception? (3 September 2019)
... that the
Women's World Cup and the
CONCACAF Gold Cup finals both involved the United States and were played on the same day? (5 September 2019)
... that with 20 goals,
Hassan Maatouk is the
Lebanon national football team 's joint top-scorer? (7 September 2019)
... that
Andi Herzog is the
most capped footballer in
Austrian history and the only player to win more than 100 caps? (9 September 2019)
... that footballer
Jordon Garrick nearly gave up the game as a teenager to pursue a career in
rugby league before being persuaded to change his mind by his mother and his coach? (9 September 2019)
... that footballer
Carrie Jones made her international debut for
Wales despite being too young to play for her club side? (13 September 2019)
... that
footballer
Megan Wynne played for
Tottenham Hotspur while also working full-time in the club's human resources department? (17 September 2019)
... that
footballer
Josh Yorwerth received what is believed to be the longest doping-related ban in English football history? (18 September 2019)
... that
footballer
Sean Morrison was described as being "45 minutes from death" before undergoing emergency surgery? (27 September 2019)
... that
Cardiff City F.C. founder
Bartley Wilson 's headstone was discovered in bushes near his grave, which had lain unmarked for more than 40 years? (2 October 2019)
... that
footballer
Tom Farquharson was believed to carry a gun in his kitbag? (3 October 2019)
... that today's
MLS Cup 2019 will be the third cup final in four years to feature
Seattle Sounders FC and
Toronto FC ? (10 November 2019)
... that the
Racecourse Ground , which has
hosted more Wales home international matches than any other stadium, is the oldest stadium in the world still hosting international football fixtures? (19 November 2019)
... that
with 21 goals, Hassan Maatouk is the
Lebanon national football team 's all-time top goalscorer? (20 November 2019)
... that in 2019, Ivorian footballer
Amad Traoré became the first player born in 2002 to score in the
Serie A ? (24 November 2019)
... that
Berna Gözbaşı is the first woman president of
a football club playing in the Turkish top-level men's league? (17 December 2019)
... that
Lynn Family Stadium shares its namesake with
another stadium in the same city? (30 December 2019)
2020
... that the
2020 MLS All-Star Game will be the first to be played against an
all-star team from another soccer league? (3 January 2020)
... that
Frank Soo has been the only person of East Asian descent to play for the
England national football team ? (7 January 2020)
... that the
Charlotte MLS team signed a
kit sponsorship deal months before being officially awarded an
expansion franchise ? (13 January 2020)
... that
Liverpool F.C. became the first team allowed to wear the
FIFA Champions Badge in the English
Premier League , but only for one game against
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. on 29 December 2019? (21 January 2020)
... that English footballer
Tyreece John-Jules 's uncle is
Red Dwarf 's Cat ? (28 January 2020)
... that prior to becoming Google India's manager,
Sanjay Gupta was credited for expanding
Star India 's sports business by launching
Pro Kabaddi League and
Indian Super League ? (17 February 2020)
... that English footballer
Mark Bright was a foster child, started on wages of £10 a week, and has gone on to earn £1.2 million during his career? (17 February 2020)
... that
Ted Robbins was the longest-serving secretary in the history of the
Football Association of Wales ? (18 February 2020)
... that
Al Ahed FC became the first Lebanese association football club to win the
AFC Cup ? (23 February 2020)
... that in today's
2020 EFL Cup Final at Wembley,
Manchester City retained the EFL Cup for the third consecutive year with a 2–1 victory against
Aston Villa ? (1 March 2020)
... that the first football match held after the renovation of
Milltown stadium in Northern Ireland was abandoned due to a floodlight failure? (20 March 2020)
... that
Chelsea chairman
Ken Bates attempted to hang a joke medal around the neck of
Manchester United manager
Alex Ferguson as a peace offering after the
2000 FA Charity Shield ? (2 April 2020)
... that the
Jersey Football Association applied for
UEFA membership after the
Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that UEFA must allow them to do so? (10 April 2020)
... that
Coventry City defeated
Football League Cup holders
Nottingham Forest 5–4
in 1990 , with a player from each team scoring a
hat-trick before half-time? (14 April 2020)
... that
Manchester United became the first English football team to win the
European Cup by defeating
Benfica in
the 1968 final ? (19 April 2020)
... that
Carol Shanahan bought
Port Vale F.C. because she felt that "a loved one was held hostage and someone had to pay the ransom"? (25 April 2020)
... that
footballer
Jamal Farhan , who was banned for life by
FIFA after punching
a referee in the head, later expressed remorse and advised fans not to imitate him? (26 April 2020)
... that the
Lebanon national football team played
their first official match in
Tel Aviv 80 years ago today? (27 April 2020)
... that
England international footballer
Colin Grainger was also a professional singer and shared a bill with
the Beatles ? (29 April 2020)
... that
Manchester United opened
Manchester City 's
former training ground after floodlights were installed? (2 May 2020)
... that
the history of the
Wales national football team includes the first
substitution ever used in international football? (10 May 2020)
... that
Jeff Butler was sacked as head coach of the
South Africa national football team after it was discovered that he had passed off the playing career of another
Geoff Butler as his own? (11 May 2020)
... that
MLS Cup 1997 finalists
Colorado Rapids had finished the regular season with a losing record? (15 May 2020)
... that
Jordan Henderson is the first
Liverpool captain to win the
FIFA Club World Cup ? (17 May 2020)
... that
Noureddine Diwa was one of the first Tunisian footballers to play abroad? (18 May 2020)
... that
Grégoire Margotton replaced
Christian Jeanpierre as the main presenter of the French football programme
Téléfoot in 2018? (18 May 2020)
... that
Hege Lanes Steinlund is believed to have officiated more international
football matches than any other Norwegian referee? (20 May 2020)
... that after his side
defeated Leeds United in the FA Cup ,
Cardiff City chairman
Sam Hammam had two
BBC reporters forcibly removed and had an altercation with the opposing manager? (25 May 2020)
... that
Chelsea F.C. 's loss in the
1988 Football League Second Division play-off Final triggered
football hooliganism that injured 45 people? (16 June 2020)
... that the
1925 FA Cup Final was the first in the competition's history to feature a Welsh team? (16 June 2020)
... that Northern Irish goalkeeper
Alan Mannus refused to face the flag of the Republic of Ireland at the
2019 FAI Cup Final because he is not Irish? (21 June 2020)
... that Canadian soccer player
Christabel Oduro is the cousin of
Dominic Oduro , who has played for Ghana? (23 June 2020)
... that
Rangers fans at the
2000 Scottish Cup Final wore orange shirts in tribute to their Dutch manager and players, despite suggestions of Protestant undertones? (26 June 2020)
... that some of
Dungiven Celtic F.C. 's players play
association football and
Gaelic football concurrently? (2 July 2020)
... that
the Football Association has asked England fans to stop singing "
No Surrender to the IRA "? (8 July 2020)
... that
Stanley Matthews vowed to never work in management again after one year as
Port Vale F.C. manager ? (13 July 2020)
... that
Arsenal are looking to extend their FA Cup winners record at the
2020 FA Cup Final against
Chelsea at Wembley today? (1 August 2020)
... that after
Port Vale F.C. were liquidated in 1907, a local church team took on the name and returned to
the Football League by October 1919? (3 August 2020)
... that
Luton Town F.C. chairman
John Gurney organised a "Manager Idol" phone-vote in order to find the club's new manager? (5 August 2020)
... that the name of the women's soccer team
Racing Louisville FC is inspired by Louisville's famous
horse races ? (6 August 2020)
... that the
2002 Football League First Division play-off Final was played under a closed roof at the
Millennium Stadium because it was too sunny? (9 August 2020)
... that when footballer
Przemysław Płacheta signed for
Norwich City from
Śląsk Wrocław in 2020, he was Śląsk's record sale and Norwich's first-ever Polish player? (10 August 2020)
... that during their
1925–26 season ,
Cardiff City suffered the heaviest league defeat in the club's history, losing 11–2 to
Sheffield United ? (11 August 2020)
... that the
1993 Football League First Division play-off Final was estimated to be worth £20 million to the winners
Swindon Town ? (13 August 2020)
... that the Turkish women's league seasons of 2019–20
football and 2020
rugby sevens were named to commemorate
Özge Kanbay , a football referee and rugby player, who died in 2019 at age 22 from cancer? (14 August 2020)
... that the
2020 EFL League One play-off Final was played at
Wembley Stadium in front of zero paying spectators? (14 August 2020)
... that South African
forward
Letago Madiba started playing football at the age of five in the streets of her hometown, and was the only female footballer in her school? (15 August 2020)
... that, despite a history as a reserve
Gaelic football goalkeeper,
Paul Callaghan played in
association football matches against English clubs
Chelsea ,
Liverpool , and
Manchester United ? (20 August 2020)
... that
Leon Legge became a professional
footballer despite suffering from
epilepsy from the age of 16? (31 August 2020)
... that
Carl Linde , a
Swedish football Hall of Fame inductee, also participated in the founding of the
International Table Tennis Federation ? (1 September 2020)
... that
Coventry City 's promotion following the
2018 EFL League Two play-off Final was their first for 51 years, since they were guided into the
1967–68 Football League First Division by
Jimmy Hill ? (4 September 2020)
... that, during
their 1928–29 season ,
Cardiff City F.C. were relegated from the
First Division of the
Football League despite conceding the fewest amount of goals in the league? (6 September 2020)
... that Alfredo Di Stéfano
scored 6 international goals for Argentina and 23 for Spain ? (7 September 2020)
... that
Cristian Montaño spent 18 months out of English football after being sacked and arrested on criminal charges that were never proven? (10 September 2020)
... that
Cheye Alexander became a professional
footballer despite suffering acute knee pain as a teenager due to
Osgood–Schlatter disease ? (14 September 2020)
... that
professional athletes protested by refusing to play in response to high-profile police shootings of Black people in 2020? (17 September 2020)
... that
Coventry City won the
2017 EFL Trophy Final , earning their first major trophy since winning the
1987 FA Cup Final , despite being relegated from
League One to
League Two that season? (18 September 2020)
... that the
Arsenal footballer
Matt Smith won an FA Cup winners medal without having made his debut for Arsenal? (19 September 2020)
... that during the
1903 FA Cup Final , a
cinematograph was sited on top of one of the stands? (23 September 2020)
... that
Essop Moosa , who was of Indian origin, became the first non-white player to play for an all-white
soccer team in South Africa, appearing under a pseudonym? (23 September 2020)
... that in 1995, French journalist
Didier Roustan helped set up a world footballers union with
Eric Cantona and
Diego Maradona ? (29 September 2020)
... that Austrian-born Turkish footballer
Dilan Yeşim Taşkın became a member of the
Turkey women's national team although she initially wanted to play for the
Austrian nationals ? (7 October 2020)
... that
Büşra Kuru , who began playing football every day at age six encouraged by her footballer brother, is a member of a German club and of the
Turkey national team ? (11 October 2020)
... that
Turkey women's national footballer
Berivan İçen scored 11 goals in a girls' under-13 league match that ended 15–0 for her team? (14 October 2020)
... that
Tom Pope became the second-highest goalscorer in
Port Vale 's history after twice being rejected by the club as a teenager? (2 November 2020)
... that
Bury F.C. converted its debts of £1,230 into a credit balance of £1,329 by winning the
1900 FA Cup Final ? (3 November 2020)
... that
Michael Jackson 's manager expected him to return from an injury and perform in the
2001 Football League First Division play-off Final ? (5 November 2020)
... that in a speech after the
1901 FA Cup Final , General
Sir Redvers Buller compared football to the Army by saying that the winning side is usually the one best practised at shooting? (8 November 2020)
... that
Harold Jarman scored in the first match ever played in the
EFL Cup ? (10 November 2020)
... that after awarding a controversial goal in the
1902 FA Cup Final , referee
Tom Kirkham took refuge in a broom cupboard to evade angry goalkeeper
William "Fatty" Foulke ? (18 November 2020)
... that
Rui Pinto uncovered four terabytes of confidential information about
association football finances despite having no formal education in computer science? (22 November 2020)
... that
Chris Lines has won five
promotions during his professional
football career? (26 November 2020)
... that
Arsenal Women 's
11–1 win over Bristol City at Meadow Park in 2019 was the widest margin of victory in the history of the
FA Women's Super League ? (4 December 2020)
... that
Arsenal footballer
Vivianne Miedema is the all-time leading scorer in the
FA Women's Super League and has scored more goals at the international level than any other Dutch player? (5 December 2020)
... that professional footballer
Shaun Brisley scored for
Peterborough United in the
2014 Football League Trophy Final after initially turning down a move to the club due to homesickness? (9 December 2020)
... that
MLS Cup 2020 will feature
Seattle Sounders FC for the fourth time in five years? (13 December 2020)
... that shortly after winning a conference tournament championship with
Vanderbilt 's soccer team,
Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play
football in a
Power Five conference game? (20 December 2020)
... that a football club in Finland called
FC Santa Claus has competed as high as
the third tier ? (24 December 2020)
2021
... that
Atalanta reached the semifinals of the
European Cup Winners' Cup in 1988 while playing in the
Italian second tier ? (12 January 2021)
... that the
2020 EFL League Two play-off Final is believed to be the first competitive match played
behind closed doors at
Wembley Stadium ? (13 January 2021)
... that the
2008 FA Cup Final between
Cardiff City and
Portsmouth holds the record for the highest attendance for a
football match at the
new Wembley Stadium , with 89,874? (16 January 2021)
... that
Blackburn Rovers won the
Premier League three seasons after winning the
1992 Football League Second Division play-off Final ? (18 January 2021)
... that
Manjappada , a
supporters' group of
Kerala Blasters FC , coordinated and brought forty-one busloads of their fans across
Kerala to the venue for the opening match of
the 2019–20 season ? (26 January 2021)
... that
Ipswich Town won the
Football League First Division in
their 1961–62 season having been promoted from the
Second Division the previous season? (26 January 2021)
... that
Coventry City 's winning goal in the
1987 FA Cup Final was an
own goal scored in
extra time off
Gary Mabbutt 's knee? (30 January 2021)
... that
AFC Wimbledon were promoted for a sixth time since their formation in 2002 when they won the
2016 Football League Two play-off Final ? (6 February 2021)
... that
thousands of football players are trafficked every year? (7 February 2021)
... that
Blackpool became the most successful club in the history of
English Football League play-offs when they won the
2017 EFL League Two play-off Final against
Exeter City ? (8 February 2021)
... that after his side won the
2008 Football League One play-off Final ,
Doncaster Rovers manager
Sean O'Driscoll said he could "murder a cup of tea"? (9 February 2021)
... that
Billy Kee was going to include "Wembley" in the name of his child who was being born during the
2014 Football League Two play-off Final if he scored? (11 February 2021)
... that after winning the
2013 Football League One play-off Final ,
Yeovil Town were promoted to the second
tier of English football just ten years after being a
non-League club ? (12 February 2021)
... that some of the
Sheffield Wednesday team participated in a
conga on the
M4 motorway after winning the
2005 Football League One play-off Final ? (19 February 2021)
... that the owner of
Walsall F.C. described victory at the
2001 Football League Second Division play-off Final as the greatest day in the club's history? (20 February 2021)
... that
Bradford City scored three goals in 13 minutes to secure promotion in the
2013 Football League Two play-off Final ? (21 February 2021)
... that the
2010 Football League Two play-off Final at
Wembley Stadium was won by "
a pub team from Essex "? (25 February 2021)
... that the opening goal of the
1992 Football League Third Division play-off Final was described as a "Russian linesman job"? (28 February 2021)
... that after winning the
2004 Football League Second Division play-off Final , some of the
Brighton & Hove Albion players dropped the trophy while celebrating and damaged it? (2 March 2021)
... that at the conclusion of the
2006 Football League Two play-off Final , the losing manager said his side did not deserve to win and the winning goalscorer said he did not mean to score? (3 March 2021)
... that
Cheltenham Town lost the
2012 Football League Two play-off Final , their first defeat in nine
play-off matches ? (6 March 2021)
... that
Chichester & Selsey Ladies F.C. broke away from Chichester City for an undisclosed reason but retained their colours and football league position? (8 March 2021)
... that South African association footballer
Amanda Sister has played for clubs in Hungary and Italy? (9 March 2021)
... that 23-year-old
Michael Oliver refereed the
2009 Football League One play-off Final at
Wembley Stadium the day after his father had officiated the
2009 Football League Two play-off Final ? (11 March 2021)
... that
Wycombe Wanderers secured back-to-back
promotions when they won the
1994 Football League Third Division play-off Final ? (11 March 2021)
... that the
1991 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final was the first
Football League play-off to be decided by a
penalty shoot-out ? (13 March 2021)
... that
Swansea City made two appearances at the
Millennium Stadium in 2006,
winning the Football League Trophy but losing
the Football League One play-off Final ? (14 March 2021)
... that while at
Fiorentina ,
Mohamed Salah chose the shirt number 74 in honour of the victims of the
Port Said Stadium riot (15 March 2021)
... that
footballer
Billy Hardy is
Cardiff City F.C. 's record appearance holder, having played in 590 matches between 1911 and 1932? (16 March 2021)
... that Irish sportswoman
Carol Breen has played internationally in both
association and
Australian rules football ? (17 March 2021)
... that Icelandic footballer
Þórdís Hrönn Sigfúsdóttir has had to self-isolate on four occasions during the
COVID-19 pandemic ? (18 March 2021)
... that the
1998 Football League Third Division play-off Final was the first play-off final to feature two brothers when
Neil and
David Gregory played for
Colchester United ? (20 March 2021)
... that
Neil Warnock left
Huddersfield Town shortly after they gained promotion by winning the
1995 Football League Second Division play-off Final because he said the club chairman had told him a "porky pie"? (21 March 2021)
... that
Dwayne De Rosario is Canada's all-time leading male
soccer goalscorer, with
22 international goals ? (22 March 2021)
... that both
Robbie Williams and
Michael Jackson played for
Blackpool in the
2007 Football League One play-off Final ? (24 March 2021)
... that the
2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final was one of the last matches shown on the
ITV Sport Channel ? (24 March 2021)
... that
Phil Chisnall moved
from Manchester United to Liverpool in April 1964, becoming the last player to be transferred directly between the two clubs? (26 March 2021)
... that the
Cambridge United team took a cold shower before winning the
1990 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final ? (26 March 2021)
... that
Crewe Alexandra were promoted back to the
second tier of English football for the first time in 101 years when they won the
1997 Football League Second Division play-off Final ? (27 March 2021)
... that, during his time in a Japanese
prisoner-of-war camp ,
footballer
Ernie Curtis would obtain extra food by teaching his captors how to play with a ball made of paper? (27 March 2021)
... that
MLS Cup 1999 was played with new rule changes that were approved days before the game? (28 March 2021)
... that professional goalkeeper
Scott Brown lost his father to
Parkinson's , witnessed the birth of his son, and then signed with
Aberdeen in the space of ten days? (29 March 2021)
... that the
East Bengal Ultras , founded in 2013, became India's first
ultras group? (29 March 2021)
... that when
Fred Stewart was appointed the
manager of
Cardiff City F.C. , he paid the
transfer fee of his first signing himself? (30 March 2021)
... that
Andy Crosby captained
Scunthorpe United to victory in the
2009 League One play-off Final , the last match of his 715-game career? (31 March 2021)
... that, such was his popularity with the club's supporters, when footballer
Hughie Ferguson was sold by
Motherwell F.C. , the local steel works closed to allow workers to wave him off? (31 March 2021)
... that
Duncan Jupp scored his first league goal for more than a decade in the
2005 Football League Two play-off Final ? (2 April 2021)
... that
Mark Cullen was named as
League Two Player of the Month for October 2014 after scoring a
perfect hat-trick ? (3 April 2021)
... that a team including bricklayers, assistant bank managers and insurance clerks
defeated Coventry City in the third round of the
FA Cup in 1989? (5 April 2021)
... that the French football club
GPSO 92 Issy was founded by three Peruvian sisters in 1997? (8 April 2021)
... that
Port Vale F.C. captain
Tom Conlon 's grandfather's father-in-law played for the club more than a century ago? (9 April 2021)
... that
Tranmere Rovers players were each promised a £10,000 bonus for winning the
1991 Football League Third Division play-off Final ? (12 April 2021)
... that
MLS Cup 2000 was the first championship game in league history not to feature
D.C. United ? (13 April 2021)
... that
Burnley won the
1994 Football League Second Division play-off Final after two opposition players were
sent off ? (15 April 2021)
... that despite his side winning the
1998 Football League Second Division play-off Final , Grimsby's
Alan Buckley said "Anybody who says they enjoy play-offs aren't football managers"? (19 April 2021)
... that both of Scunthorpe United's
substitutes failed to score their
penalties in the
shootout , which saw them lose the
1992 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final ? (21 April 2021)
... that
Claude Callegari gained cult-hero status among English football fans for his speeches about
Arsenal ? (24 April 2021)
... that the year after going into
administration , Huddersfield Town gained promotion to the Second Division by winning the
2004 Football League Third Division play-off Final ? (27 April 2021)
... that
Brett Ormerod scored five goals for Blackpool in the
2001 Football League play-offs including one in the
2001 Football League Third Division play-off Final ? (28 April 2021)
... that when
Irene del Río was called up to the
Spain women's national football team squad, she was the only player who did not compete in the country's
top division ? (28 April 2021)
... that despite losing the
1990 Football League Third Division play-off Final , Tranmere Rovers were temporarily promoted to the Second Division? (29 April 2021)
... that
Camillo Vaz managed
Paris Saint-Germain Féminine when they qualified for the
UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time? (1 May 2021)
... that
Emma Mullin , who won four
Gaelic football championships , was also the first player from her
association football club to play
for the Republic of Ireland ? (6 May 2021)
... that the
2000 Football League Third Division play-off Final was played at
Wembley Stadium on a Friday night to accommodate a
friendly between England and Brazil? (7 May 2021}
... that
Alejandro Calvo García 's mother overcame her fear of flying to see him score the winning goal in the
1999 Football League Third Division play-off Final ? (9 May 2021)
... that the breakaway club
Dial Square F.C. was founded under the original name of Arsenal as a protest against Stan Kroenke's ownership of the contemporary club? (9 May 2021}
... that
Alan Comfort caught a helicopter to Heathrow then a flight to Ireland to get married hours after winning the
1989 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final ? (10 May 2021)
... that Norwegian footballer
Sissel Grude retired aged 22, but returned for a one-off appearance 22 years later? (13 May 2021)
... that
Alan Little led York City to victory in the
1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final two days before
his brother 's side played in the
First Division play-off Final ? (14 May 2021)
... that the
2021 FA Cup Final between Leicester City and Chelsea today will be the first football match in England with more than 8,000 supporters since March 2020? (15 May 2021)
... that in 2012, French women's football club
Arras FCF were promoted to
the country's top division and reached the semi-finals of
the French Cup ? (16 May 2021)
... that a
penalty shootout was used to determine which side would host the
replay of the
1988 Football League Third Division play-off Final ? (21 May 2021)
... that
Hampden Park's square wooden goalposts , which were used at Scotland's national football stadium between 1903 and 1987, were later placed on the roof of an English pub? (22 May 2021)
... that
Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. became the first football club in England to have father and son goalkeepers when they signed
Steve Cherry in 2003? (23 May 2021)
... that
Republic of Ireland youth-team international footballer
Jaden Charles is the son of former
England international
Gary Charles ? (29 May 2021)
... that Irish
association footballer
Margaret Saurin later worked as a coach in the US? (30 May 2021)
... that the video game
Football Glory features its developers in the
Croatia national football team ? (30 May 2021)
... that
SC East Bengal became the first club in
Indian football to activate the
force majeure clause in
their 2020–21 season ? (1 June 2021)
... that the last five minutes of
a 1977 game between
Coventry City and
Bristol City were played with neither team attempting to score? (4 June 2021)
... that when the
European Super League was proposed, UEFA threatened to ban any footballers who took part from playing international football? (8 June 2021)
... that
Peter Swan became only the third Englishman to be sent off at
Wembley Stadium when he was dismissed in the
1993 Second Division play-off final ? (9 June 2021)
... that
Macclesfield F.C. was founded as a
phoenix club after their stadium was purchased from a property website? (10 June 2021)
... that
Brentford were promoted via the
English Football League play-offs for the first time in ten attempts when they won the
2021 EFL Championship play-off Final ? (11 June 2021)
... that despite
smoking in football formerly being popular, it has since been banned from the
touchline by UEFA? (17 June 2021)
... that three
Aldershot players were involved in a road traffic accident after winning the
1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final ? (20 June 2021)
... that
Northampton Town manager
Ian Atkins declared that the "whole town has gone barmy" after his side won the
1997 Football League Third Division play-off Final ? (24 June 2021)
... that despite going behind in less than one minute courtesy of an
own goal ,
Blackpool secured a record sixth post-season final when they won the
2021 EFL League One play-off Final ? (24 June 2021)
... that the
1987 FA Charity Shield was played one week early to allow
Diego Maradona ,
Gary Lineker ,
Michel Platini and
Josimar to play alongside one another at
Wembley Stadium ? (26 June 2021)
... that
Morecambe secured promotion to the third tier of English football for the first time in their history when they won the
2021 EFL League Two play-off Final ? (29 June 2021)
... that Belgian international
association footballer
Anaëlle Wiard , who started playing
beach soccer in 2020, was the top scorer in a competition that year? (6 July 2021)
... that
Simon Mills had to postpone his
honeymoon to play in the
1989 Third Division play-off final ? (6 July 2021)
... that police officer
Abdulrachman Setjowibowo was appointed the acting chairman of the
Football Association of Indonesia following a conflict between the association and the
Persija Jakarta club? (8 July 2021)
... that prior to winning their first of
nine consecutive titles in the
1965–66 season ,
Celtic had not been champions of the
Scottish Football League for 12 years? (10 July 2021)
... that the meagre attendance at the
1960 European Nations' Cup Final in Paris was blamed on crowds who "wanted western European glamour, not mysterious teams from the other side of Europe"? (11 July 2021)
... that Brazilian goalkeeper
Lucas Covolan scored an equalising goal in injury time during the
2021 National League play-off Final ? (18 July 2021)
... that
Italy won the
UEFA Euro 1968 Final but only after winning a
coin toss and a
replay ? (20 July 2021)
... that
Derby County F.C. chairman
Sam Longson gave impromptu press conferences in his pyjamas in the aftermath of
Brian Clough 's resignation as manager? (21 July 2021)
... that after the
Soviet Union lost to
Spain in the
1964 European Nations' Cup Final , their manager
Konstantin Beskov was dismissed upon his return to Moscow following a meeting with
Nikita Khrushchev ? (22 July 2021)
... that
Ivory Coast won the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations Final when their goalkeeper scored a penalty and
Ghana 's goalkeeper missed? (22 July 2021)
... that
Drahşan Arda is the world's first female
association football referee confirmed by
FIFA ? (26 July 2021)
... that
West Germany 's
Gerd Müller scored six goals in two games against the
Soviet Union , including two in the
UEFA Euro 1972 Final ? (27 July 2021)
... that
Antonín Panenka 's
namesake penalty kick secured victory for
Czechoslovakia in the
UEFA Euro 1976 Final ? (29 July 2021)
... that
Spain 's win in the
UEFA Euro 2008 Final was the first of three successive major tournament victories? (2 August 2021)
... that
Crewe Alexandra finished last in the
Football League eight times between 1894 and 1982, more than any other league club? (3 August 2021)
... that as a youth,
Hartlepool United player
Brad Walker would travel the 12-mile (19 km) round trip to the club on his bicycle? (4 August 2021)
... that
West Germany won their second
UEFA European Championship in three editions when they defeated
Belgium in the
UEFA Euro 1980 Final ? (4 August 2021)
... that
George Curtis played football for a
Royal Air Force base during his time as a
Coventry City player, but he "scarcely broke sweat"? (7 August 2021)
... that
Michel Platini scored his ninth goal of
the tournament when
France won the
UEFA Euro 1984 Final ? (10 August 2021)
... that
Marco van Basten 's strike in the
UEFA Euro 1988 Final was described as "perhaps the most iconic goal in UEFA European Championship history"? (12 August 2021)
... that former football midfielder
Marcelo Gallardo became the first
River Plate player to achieve an international title as a player and a coach after leading the team to win the
2014 Copa Sudamericana ? (15 August 2021)
... that of the 16 teams to enter the
inaugural Scottish Cup , only
Dumbarton ,
Kilmarnock and
Queen's Park still regularly compete in the competition? (16 August 2021)
... that
France won the
UEFA Euro 2000 Final with a
golden goal ? (1 September 2021)
... that
Germany 's players sang "
Three Lions " after winning the
UEFA Euro 1996 Final ? (3 September 2021)
... that
Greece won the
UEFA Euro 2004 Final despite never having previously won a match at a major tournament? (16 September 2021)
... that
Aaron Martin missed his
penalty kick in the longest
penalty shoot-out in English professional football history? (22 September 2021)
... that
Mal Benning is one of only 0.25 per cent of
professional footballers in England to be British Asian ? (22 September 2021)
... that
James Milner once held the title of the
Premier League 's youngest goal scorer? (7 October 2021)
... that
Ryan Johnson became
Stevenage 's youngest player in the club's
English Football League history in May 2014, debuting at 17 years and 215 days old? (12 October 2021)
... that after the footballer
Romeo Beckham was released by Arsenal, he trained in tennis before returning to football five years later? (15 October 2021)
... that the lions supporting the
coat of arms of the Football Association are half-blue and half-white in imitation of the blue shorts and white shirts worn by the national teams? (29 October 2021)
... that New Zealand
association football coach
Olli Harder has worked in the US, China, Norway and England? (13 November 2021)
... that
Osman Çakmak won the European Amputee Football Championship as a player
in 2017 and as a manager
in 2021 with the
Turkey national team ? (14 November 2021)
... that
Miray Cin played for the
Germany women's national U15, U16 and U17 football teams before she became a member of the
Turkey women's national football team ? (18 November 2021)
... that in 2009,
Doreen Nabwire (pictured) became the first Kenyan woman to play professional football in Europe? (26 November 2021)
... that today's
MLS Cup 2021 will mark the seventh consecutive final to feature either the
Portland Timbers or
Seattle Sounders FC ? (11 December 2021)
... that English women's footballer
Shameeka Fishley scored a
hat-trick in her newly-established Turkish team's first match? (23 December 2021)
2022
... that according to
George Orwell , "serious sport has nothing to do with fair play ... it is
war minus the shooting "? (4 January 2022)
... that the immigrant-background narration of
I Am Zlatan Ibrahimović has been compared to that of
Philip Roth 's novel
Portnoy's Complaint ? (22 January 2022)
... that
David Flitcroft was appointed as
director of football at
Port Vale after initially applying to be the club's manager? (26 January 2022)
... that
Dave Dryburgh began a journalism career while reporting on the soccer games in which he played? (4 February 2022)
... that footballer
Dean Whitehead was compared to
Roy Keane a year before Keane was appointed as his manager? (5 February 2022)
... that while many
Premier League clubs were
sponsored by alcohol companies , no such sponsors remained by
the 2017–18 season ? (6 February 2022)
... that footballer
Chris Hussey studied part-time to gain a first-class honours degree after overcoming
anxiety and
obsessive–compulsive disorders? (13 February 2022)
... that the
2012 Olympic women's soccer semifinal between the
Canadian and the
American national soccer teams was called "the greatest knockout match in major-tournament football" since 1982? (18 February 2022)
... that
Bianca Baptiste was
Tottenham Hotspur 's top goal scorer during their promotion—and then they dropped her from the team? (27 February 2022)
... that
Tatiana Saunders is now goalkeeper for the
equal pay team
Lewes Football Club Women after playing for U.S., Icelandic and French teams? (11 March 2022)
... that Indian footballer
Surajit Sengupta was called
Sócrates because of his beard and varied interests? (23 March 2022)
... that in May 2021,
Alisson became the
sixth goalkeeper to score in the Premier League ? (6 April 2022)
... that
floodlights were first used at
Gigg Lane in 1889? (13 April 2022)
... that
Carlton Town F.C. , now competing at the eighth tier of the
English football pyramid , was once denied promotion by a
hat-trick scored by future England international
Jamie Vardy ? (23 April 2022)
... that
Port Vale F.C. is
the only club to have beaten all 91 other clubs in the top four divisions of the current English football league system in a competitive league fixture? (3 May 2022)
... that the short-lived English football club
Dingley Dell F.C. was named after a fictitious village in
The Pickwick Papers by
Charles Dickens ? (19 May 2022)
... that by winning the
2022 CONCACAF Champions League Final ,
Seattle Sounders FC became the first
Major League Soccer team to win the competition? (22 May 2022)
... that the
Ottmar Hitzfeld Arena is the highest football pitch in Europe with the competing teams accessing it by
cable car ? (23 May 2022)
... that after his
soccer career,
Steve Palacios enlisted in the
United States Army and played for the
United States Armed Forces soccer team? (28 May 2022)
... that
Adam Murray became the youngest manager in the
English Football League when he was appointed at
Mansfield Town at the age of 33? (5 June 2022)
... that
Darrell Clarke led
Bristol Rovers to two successive promotions after having to remove "Clarke Out" posters that disgruntled fans had posted outside of the club's training ground? (9 June 2022)
... that
Sofía Sánchez loved soccer and she played for
a leading Spanish side , but her mother said "study" and she now sits in
Ecuador's National Assembly ? (14 June 2022)
... that
Maria Olsvik was called up to the
Norway national football team for the first time one year after giving birth? (15 June 2022)
... that football goalkeepers
dive too much during penalty kicks? (21 June 2022)
... that
some women have left professional soccer because of the
French Football Federation 's ban on playing in hijab? (27 June 2022)
... that
Şevket Yorulmaz scored 99 goals in 173 matches whilst playing for
Beşiktaş ? (29 June 2022)
... that Italian football club
A.C. Monza played 40 seasons in
Serie B before securing promotion to
Serie A – more than any other club? (2 July 2022)
... that Norwegian footballer
Tuva Hansen and her dog have received millions of views on several
TikTok videos? (6 July 2022)
... that in 2020, Ukrainian
association football referee
Maryna Striletska was part of the first all-woman officiating team for a men's international football match? (16 July 2022)
... that
Ellaisa Marquis has been called the "marquis player" of women's football in Saint Lucia? (18 July 2022)
... that
Dan Jones discovered that he was talented at taking
throw-ins after having been a
javelin thrower at school? (27 July 2022)
... that
Fabio Miretti received a
standing ovation from
Juventus fans after his
Serie A debut as a
starter ? (24 August 2022)
... that
Federico Gatti went from playing in the
Italian sixth division and doing menial jobs to joining
Juventus and playing for the
Italy national team ? (27 August 2022)
... that Indian footballer
Narender Thapa played for both of Calcutta's football clubs
Mohun Bagan and
Mohammedan Sporting at different times in his career? (4 September 2022}
... that
Tala Bashmi played on the
Bahrain women's national football team for seven years before opening a restaurant in a
Manama hotel? (17 September 2022}
... that in the lead-up to the
1919 Copa del Rey Final between
FC Barcelona and
Arenas Club de Getxo , fans broke the fencing twice to watch the sold-out match? (21 September 2022}
... that
Jamie Proctor won
Port Vale 's Goal of the Season award after scoring a scissor-kick volley against
Sutton United ? (30 September 2022}
... that former
Atalanta player
Andrea Rinaldi died of an
aneurysm aged 19 in 2020? (1 October 2022)
... that the
2022 U.S. Open Cup Final was the first in 14 years to feature a non-
Major League Soccer team? (4 October 2022)
... that
Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi is the first woman to referee a
Serie A football match? (21 October 2022)
... that athletic trainer
Gian Piero Ventrone , nicknamed "
marine " for his very hard and tiring training sessions, made his players ring a "bell of shame" when they were too exhausted to continue? (26 October 2022)
... that Welsh
footballer
Jon Morgan went on to become a college principal after retiring? (27 October 2022)
.... that
Andrea Bonetti was
Juventus U16 's most prolific player of the 2018–19 season, with 16 goals? (4 November 2022)
... that
Graham Hawkins coached the
Wolverhampton Wanderers to the top division in his first season as a manager? (4 November 2022)
... that
Carol Wilson had to pretend that she was a schoolteacher when unofficially representing England at the 1971 Women's World Cup? (6 November 2022)
... that the top goalscorer of the
1957 Latin Cup scored all three goals in the same match? (10 November 2022)
... that the
most valuable player of
MLS Cup 2022 ,
John McCarthy , only played once in the regular season? (14 November 2022)
... that
Nathan Smith made 110 consecutive appearances for
Port Vale after his 2016
English Football League debut? (15 November 2022)
... that owner
Matthew Benham influenced both
Brentford FC in the UK and
FC Midtjylland in Denmark to use mathematical modelling to recruit undervalued football players? (22 November 2022)
... that as a child,
Turkey national amputee footballer
Şeyhmus Erdinç played football with balls he made out of crumpled paper? (26 November 2022)
... that giant
bucket hats were placed around
Wales and in
Qatar to mark Wales' football team reaching the
2022 FIFA World Cup ? (28 November 2022)
... that the Dutch campaign
OneLove inspired
football captains to wear rainbow armbands at the
2020 and
2022 European Championships ? (18 December 2022)
... that Ecuadorian
footballer
Hernán Galíndez won a bicycle for beating a team featuring
Lionel Messi when they were children? (19 December 2022)
... that the attendance record for a women's club
football game that was
set on Boxing Day 1920 would not be exceeded for 99 years? (27 December 2022)
2023
... that the
Seattle SeaDogs won the final
Continental Indoor Soccer League championship before the league folded? (13 January 2023)
... that
Soony Saad scored on his
Major League Soccer debut on his 19th birthday? (15 January 2023)
... that the Argentina and Netherlands national football teams
have played each other at every other FIFA World Cup since
1998 ? (16 January 2023)
... that
Group A of the
2006 FIFA World Cup featured the highest-scoring opening game in
World Cup history since the competition began using a single match opening format? (23 January 2023)
... that
Valentín Carboni played in the same three youth teams as his brother
Franco before they both received their first call-up to the
Argentine senior national team in March 2022? (3 February 2023)
... that
Lucien Laurent scored the first goal in
FIFA World Cup history during the inaugural game of
Group 1 of the 1930 World Cup ? (15 February 2023)
... that
Dean Huijsen went from scoring seven goals in one season for
Juventus 's under-17 squad to playing for
their professional reserve team in just half a year? (7 March 2023)
... that footballer
Samuel Iling-Junior was involved in two goals for
Juventus within eight minutes of debuting in the
UEFA Champions League ? (13 March 2023)
=... that soccer player
Danielle Marcano scored four goals in back-to-back games that helped to send the
University of Tennessee to the
NCAA tournament quarterfinals for the first time in history? (21 March 2023)
... that
Tobi Oluwayemi and his older brother
Josh are both
goalkeepers who played for
Tottenham's youth academy ? (29 March 2023)
... that
Nottingham Forest 's victory in the
2022 EFL Championship play-off final gained them promotion to the
Premier League for the first time in 23 years? (3 April 2023)
... that in February 2023,
Samuele Parlati became one of the few professional
outfield footballers to save a
penalty kick while
playing in goal ? (8 April 2023)
... that Swedish footballer
Taha Ayari made his
Allsvenskan debut by coming on as a substitute for
his older brother ? (18 April 2023)
... that goalkeeper
Sophie Whitehouse , who has lived in England, Africa and the US, has been chosen to play
soccer for the Republic of Ireland? (30 April 2023)
... that
Geoff Bent , one of
Manchester United 's
Busby Babes , saved a child from drowning in a canal? (7 June 2023)
... that the
2023 CONCACAF Champions League final was a rematch of
a 2020 series played by
Club León and
Los Angeles FC ? (22 June 2023)
... that on 1 March 2023,
Lorenzo Carfora became the first player born in 2006 to feature in a
Serie B match? (22 June 2023)
... that
María Pérez was signed to
FC Barcelona Femení 's B team in 2020 but started for the first team by the end of the season? (2 July 2023)
... that after Indonesian football club
PSMS Medan won three consecutive national championships, Medan's mayor
Sjoerkani granted the club a stadium? (2 July 2023)
... that the
United States won the
2023 CONCACAF Nations League final and extended a home unbeaten streak against
Canada that dates back to 1957? (18 July 2023)
... that in July 2023,
Giulia Dragoni became the youngest person to represent any Italian senior national football team – including both
men and
women – in the 21st century? (20 July 2023)
... that when
TVBoy 's daughter said she wanted to be a footballer like
Alexia Putellas , he painted
a mural of Alexia as a superhero to inspire other girls? (21 July 2023)
... that
Carol Thomas began her
football career at the age of 11, while the sport was still banned for women? (22 July 2023)
... that
Michaela Foster , a New Zealand footballer playing in the
2023 World Cup , is known for her
mana ? (23 July 2023)
... that at age 14, footballer
Lara Esponda was the youngest goalkeeper to debut in the
top division of women's football in Argentina ? (24 July 2023)
... that after Spanish footballer
Elene Lete had to leave
Spain's under-20 football team with an injury in 2022, she returned to join the
senior World Cup squad in 2023? (26 July 2023)
... that in August 2021
Sheika Scott became the youngest player to score in the
Costa Rican Women's Premier Division , at just 14 years old? (27 July 2023)
... that New Zealand footballer
Grace Wisnewski 's bottom-ranked team upset the defending league champions when she scored what an A-League statistician called an "acrobatic" 99th-minute equalising goal? (28 July 2023)
... that
Heba Saadia , the first Palestinian referee at a World Cup, only took up the profession when she noticed there were no women among a group of referees she saw training? (30 July 2023)
... that footballer
Alexandra Pinell scored the
Costa Rica U20 team 's only goal at
the FIFA tournament hosted by their country ? (31 July 2023)
... that
Catalina Estrada and two of her thirteen siblings played as forwards on the same men's football team? (1 August 2023)
... that New Zealand footballer
Milly Clegg was called "an absolute unicorn" after appearing at three FIFA World Cups in under twelve months? (4 August 2023)
... that footballer
Kameron Simmonds , who plays for Jamaica, only took up the sport after a gymnastics injury? (18 August 2023)
... that that sisters
Alyssa and
Gisele Thompson are the first high school students to sign a
name, image, and likeness deal with Nike? (24 August 2023)
...
Gavin Massey (pictured) made his professional debut for
Watford Football Club after growing up within 300 yards (270 m) of its stadium,
Vicarage Road ? (25 August 2023)
... that the hometown newspaper of soccer player
Olivia Wingate named her "Female Athlete of the Decade" for the 2010s? (26 August 2023)
... that that when
Felicia Schroeder signed to play soccer for the
University of South Carolina , the school did not have a sign-language interpreter available for her? (26 August 2023)
... that
Juventus 's reserve team,
Juventus U23 , won
their first trophy after only two years in existence? (28 August 2023)
... that goalkeeper
Daniela Solera had the most touches of any Costa Rican player in their opening match of the
2023 World Cup , saving all but two of Spain's 46 shots? (30 August 2023)
... that
Daniela Ceballos worked with the
Football Federation of Chile to supervise safety protocols during the
COVID-19 pandemic while playing football herself? (9 September 2023)
... that despite being the first women's football team in
Northern Ireland to sign players on professional contracts,
Cliftonville Ladies F.C. were not the first club to register them? (11 September 2023)
The following are undated DYK's that appeared on
Portal:Association football prior to the re-format in December 2007. The portal now automatically displays the last five entries in the section above.