Soccer...the MOST popular sport in the world. Over one billion people worldwide watch and enjoy the world cup each and every year. I myself am not a huge soccer fan, but I too enjoy the competition of this exciting sport. My brother and my two sisters compete in tournaments played here in Ohio. In this article, I am going to tell you the facts about soccer and why it is played more than any other sport in the entire world.

Basic facts about soccer:
1.) Soccer is pronounced football in every other country besides the United States. It is spelled futball.
2.) The all time record for attendance at a Major League Soccer game is held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California an June 16, 1996. The 92,216 fans that attended that game watched the Los Angeles Galaxy win a 3-2 shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Mutiny.
3.) The name we know as Pele is really the name of Edson Arantes do Nascimento. This native of Brazil retired as a soccer player in the year of 1977, some call him the greatest player ever to step on the turf of a soccer Field. The name Pele will always be magical as long as the game of soccer is being played today.
4.) A standard soccer ball is made of leather and is between 27 and 28 inches in circumference. Unlike in basketball, younger, beginner, and less experienced players can use a smaller ball to get started. This is the only other sport besides football that allows you to do that. For kids ages 9 to 12, a ball of 25 to 26 inches is often used.
The History of Soccer:
The first set of rules for soccer were made by the London Football Association in 1863.
Soccer became a major sport in England and Scotland in 1872.
The idea of professionalism was introduced in 1885.
The first full time league was made in 1888.
In 1908 soccer came into the Olympic games.
In 1930 there was success in the World Cup.

The game of soccer has been around for over a century, and hopefully it will be around for centuries to come. So that the generation of our children and the generation of their children can experience what we experienced as kids. Hopefully after reading this article, you have a better understanding of why soccer is so important to our society. I still wish that I would have pursued the dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

Learn more about this author, Frankie Buda.
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