Soccer (or football) is a sport in which two teams of 11 players take part and try to score as many points as possible by knocking the ball into the opponent's goal within a specified time. ¹⁾

Soccer is played by more than 265 million players, and 5 million referees. ²⁾

A game with similar rules was played in China already 2,300 years ago. The first reports of the game can be found in writings dating back to around 476 BC. Soccer in its current form originated in Great Britain. The oldest club in the world is FC Sheffield, founded by two British officers in 1857. ³⁾

Andrew Wats, born in British Guiana, was the first professional black soccer player. ⁴⁾

The first penalty kick was taken in March 1891 by Joseph Frederick Heath. ⁵⁾

Players are strapped into large bubbles that surround their head and upper body, which is inflatable. Usually, each team consists of five players, and the game is played using many of the same rules as soccer has. ⁶⁾

Often referred to as 'radball,' this sport is basically a bicycle soccer game. The catch is that you're not able to use any part of your body, and instead your bicycle has to hit the ball. The craziest thing is that no brakes are mounted on the bicycles! ⁷⁾

It never hurt anybody to get down and dirty, so why not take the soccer sport and enjoy it in a huge mud pool? That's what swamp soccer (or soccer) does when teams adhere to the very same rules as standard soccer, but without playing on all the safety of a grassy field. Hitting the showers probably never felt so amazing after a match. ⁸⁾