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Football: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 7 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
The Basics
Football, or soccer, has two teams of 11 trying to kick the ball into the other’s goal. Only the goalkeeper may handle the ball, inside their own box.
Key fact
A match lasts 90 minutes, plus stoppage time.
Where It Began
Ball-kicking games are ancient, but the modern rules were set in England in 1863, when the Football Association was formed.
Key fact
FIFA recognises China’s ancient cuju as an early form of football.
The World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, first held in Uruguay in 1930, is the world’s most watched sporting event. Brazil has won it a record five times.
Key fact
The 2022 final drew around 1.5 billion viewers.
Offside
A player is offside if, when the ball is played to them in the opponents’ half, they’re nearer the goal line than both the ball and the second-last defender.
Key fact
You can’t be offside directly from a throw-in.
Legends of the Game
Pelé won three World Cups; Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi led Argentina to glory; and Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more official goals than any other man.
Key fact
Messi has won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards.
Women’s Football
Women’s football is booming. The 2023 Women’s World Cup, won by Spain, drew nearly 2 million fans to stadiums in Australia and New Zealand.
Key fact
The USA has won the Women’s World Cup four times.
VAR & Technology
Video assistant referees (VAR) review key decisions like goals and penalties. Goal-line technology tells the referee within a second whether the ball crossed the line.
Key fact
VAR was first used at a men’s World Cup in 2018.
Fun facts
A professional outfield player runs around 10 to 12 km in a match.
Medieval “mob football” in England could involve whole villages, with goals miles apart.
The World Cup trophy was stolen in England in 1966 and found days later by a dog called Pickles.
The first 1863 rules were far stricter: any player ahead of the ball was offside, as in rugby.
Pelé’s real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. He was named after the inventor Thomas Edison.
In 1921, England’s Football Association banned women’s teams from its grounds. The ban lasted 50 years.
Goal-line technology was first used at a men’s World Cup in 2014, in Brazil.
Story: The Long Voyage to 1930
The Long Voyage to 1930
1930. Uruguay hosts the first World Cup, but it’s weeks away by sea, and most European teams decide not to go.
France, Belgium and Romania sail over together on one ocean liner, the Conte Verde, with the trophy on board.
In the final, Uruguay beat Argentina 4–2 in Montevideo. The next day is declared a national holiday.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
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Question 1 of 10
Each football team has 11 players on the pitch.
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True. Including the goalkeeper.
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Question 2 of 10
Modern football rules were set in England in 1863.
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True. When the Football Association was formed.
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Question 3 of 10
The World Cup is the world’s most watched sporting event.
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True. The 2022 final drew about 1.5 billion viewers.
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Question 4 of 10
You can’t be offside directly from a throw-in.
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True. Or from a goal kick or corner.
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Question 5 of 10
Pelé won three World Cups.
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True. With Brazil, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
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Question 6 of 10
Spain won the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
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True. Their first title.
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Question 7 of 10
VAR reviews key decisions like goals and penalties.
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True. Using video replays.
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Question 8 of 10
Any player can pick up the ball anywhere on the pitch.
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False. Only the goalkeeper, in their own box.
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Question 9 of 10
Football was invented in 1990.
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False. Its rules date from 1863, and its roots are ancient.
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Question 10 of 10
The first World Cup was held in Brazil.
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False. It was held in Uruguay.
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