Interesting Football Facts

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT FOOTBALL


1. NOTTS COUNTY FC is the World's Oldest professional association football club.

2. FIFA World Cup is the biggest football tournament in the world followed by billions of people all around the world on TV. World Cup presents an opportunity for players to showcase their skills as countries compete against each other to decide which country is the best.

3. FIFA World Cup is played every 4 years in a different country where countries compete against each other for the title of that years Champion.

4. Another interesting fact about Football World Cup is that after the tournament is played, there is always big money spent on transfers because the participating players are being watched by every soccer scout in the world.

5. 2002 World Cup was held by two different countries for the first time in the history of world cup. This world cup was played in Seoul, South Korea as well as Tokyo, Japan.

6. Oliver Kahn, goalkeeper of Germany, was the first goalkeeper ever to win the Most Valuable Player of the World Cup.

7. Football is actually called Soccer in some countries such as United States.

8. "PELE" is a name recognized all around the world and associated with the greatest soccer player that ever lived. Pele's real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, which is not nearly as famous and world known like PELE.

9. Oldest organized tournament in the world is the English FA Cup. FA Cup was first held in 1871 and during this competition all the teams from all of English professional leagues competed against each other for the title of that years FA Cup Champion.

10. FA Cup stands for Football Association Challenge Cup.

11. Martinho Eduardo Orige of Brazil holds the record for juggling the soccer ball for 19 hours and 30 minutes without letting the ball drop to the ground.

12. 1950 World Cup is when India wanted to compete in this tournament barefoot. India withdrew from this years World Cup because FIFA would not let them play barefoot.

These are just a few of facts about Football that I found and would bring more in coming time. Stay updated..:)

M.S.Dhoni....BRAND AMBASSADOR to promote football?????????

Star Sports ropes in Mahendra Singh Dhoni as brand ambassador to endorse football

Yes...Guess who is the biggest star signing in this season's Barclay's Premier League? Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Broadcaster Star Sports has roped in the Indian cricket captain as brand ambassador to endorse the English club football championship, the world's biggest sports league, in India in the 2013-14 season.

"The aim to associate with MS Dhoni is to introduce, invite and excite sports fans who consume a lot of cricket to sample soccer properties like Barclay's Premier League and expanding their fan base," Vijay Rajput, COO at ESPN Software India, said. Star Sports will kick off its campaign featuring Dhoni on August 11, one week before the start of 2013-14 season, in a bid to boost the appeal of soccer in a cricket-crazy country.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been roped in as a brand ambassador to promote the English Premier League (EPL) on STAR Sports.

"A keen soccer enthusiast and a Manchester United fan, MS Dhoni will invite all sports fans to 'Join the Game' in a clutter breaking integrated marketing campaign which will be launched early next week. The campaign will have a strong on-air and digital media thrust," the channel said in a release. 

The campaign will portray Dhoni as an ardent soccer fan and will showcase how the cricketer is always glued to the television set, watching EPL every weekend while his close ones run around searching for him.

"I am an avid EPL fan and I just played out a real situation in front of the camera. If I am not busy with cricket, I am always busy with EPL during week-ends. Soccer is extremely exciting and very close to my heart. I was a goal keeper during my school days. Even today, I play soccer as a warm up game ahead of key cricket matches," said Dhoni. 

"I feel that Indian sports fans should consume different types of sports. I want them to be passionate about cricket as they are, but at the same time one needs to give healthy respect for other disciplines as well."

"This STAR Sports initiative to provide soccer commentary now in Hindi will go a long way in making soccer exciting to watch and comprehend for new audiences across the nation. Similar efforts should be done to promote other sports as well," he added. 

Star Sports has taken a number of initiatives this year to capture the ever-increasing football lover youth community of the country. Earlier they had announced that apart from the regular English commentary, Hindi commentary will also be available for the first time for over 100 live matches across the season.

"We are delighted to have MS Dhoni come on board as the brand ambassador for EPL in the country. We are targeting to expand the fan base of EPL in India by leveraging the iconic power and fan following of MS Dhoni to attract cricket fans to sample EPL," said Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd.

Dhoni's love for football is not something new, as widespread media reports indicated that he had regular playing sessions well after his teenage years in Kharagpur, before he had turned a professional cricketer. 

Source - www.economictimes.com , www.goal.com