It’s not called ‘the beautiful game’ for nothing! Soccer is one of the oldest and most popular sports in the world. According to FIFA, ball sports comparable to soccer were played in the United Kingdom as early as 200 B.C.
But what’s the reason behind this historical fondness for soccer that is still present today? What is it about soccer that makes people go so crazy? Why is soccer even a fun game?
Why Soccer Is Fun and Interesting!
You may stop and think for a moment if your friend who doesn’t like soccer asks such questions. But when you think about it, there will be a lot of mixed answers in your head, and you’ll probably tell them that it’s just fun!
In this article, we’re sharing 8 reasons we think soccer deserves to be one the most played and loved sports on the planet! So, read on to figure out what makes soccer a fun game…
1. It’s a Team Sport
In most cases, seeing a group of individuals compete against another group is more exciting than watching just two people compete against each other, let alone if you’re one of the people playing with a team… It’s double the fun!
This is because when two groups compete against each other rather than simply two people, a lot more happens, which increases the game’s fun. As an example, consider tennis against soccer.
Tennis can be fun to watch and play, but there isn’t as much action. There are only two people who use their rackets to hit a ball.
Whereas in soccer, 22 players are competing to score more goals. Because there are so many players on the pitch, many possibilities exist for who will kick or steal the ball next.
The number of ways a soccer team can work together to score a goal is unlimited, which makes the game much more entertaining to play and watch.
2. It Focuses on the Player
Compared to other sports, soccer is a game that places a greater emphasis on the individual, allowing you to shine, which is a pleasant feeling for players.
In contrast to football, where the players must follow each coach’s instructions, the coach manages the game. In soccer, players also follow the coach’s instructions.
If the strategy isn’t working, one player can always decide to change the game’s course.
3. It’s Played on an International Level
This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why soccer is the most popular sport on the planet. Most sports are only played in one or a few parts of the world.
Cricket, for example, is mainly played in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, American football solely in the United States, and baseball in the United States, Europe, and some areas in Asia.
Soccer, on the other hand, is played all over the world. FIFA has 211 member countries that are grouped into 6 regions (UEFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, CAF, and AFC). As a result, every country on every continent can qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
Because it’s a sport that’s played internationally, it will involve a high level of competition, and more competition means more fun. It’s a simple equation, which leads us to our next point…
4. Strong Competition
You’d be stunned to know how seriously soccer is taken worldwide. Perhaps not in the United States, but in other countries, what happens in a soccer game is taken very seriously.
Cities are often divided into two teams, and riots can occur due to how a match ends. All of this owes to soccer’s high level of competition.
The majority of World Cup and Champions League games are incredibly tight, with teams doing anything it takes to win, making them very exciting to watch.
Aggressiveness, running, quick development, wild games, and racing against time are all characteristics of soccer that make it highly competitive.
The competitive nature of soccer is one of the things that draws people to the game. Usually, the most competitive games are the most fun ones to play and watch.
5. The Best Strategy Wins
No matter how talented a team’s players are, if they don’t have a solid game plan in place, they will almost certainly lose the game to a team that does. Soccer managers play the most critical role in soccer: setting tactics and strategy.
These tactics and strategies will either cause a win or a loss for the team.
We’ve seen a lot in soccer how small teams have defeated bigger teams by employing the right tactics. Implying that a small team with a great strategy and tactics can beat a big team with a bad strategy.
So, tactics and strategy make the game revolve around clever thinking and excellent execution, not just about a bunch of players who randomly kick the ball around.
6. Soccer is Unpredictable
A soccer game does not end until the referee blows the last whistle. In many soccer games, this adage is true. Consider the encounter between Barcelona and PSG in the 2017 Champions League.
The score was 3-1 to Barcelona at minute 87. Barcelona, at this point, needed three more goals to move to the next stage after losing 4-0 to PSG in the first leg. So they needed to win 6-1.
Three goals in a matter of minutes seemed unattainable, and fans of Barcelona were losing hope. Some of them even left the stadium.
What happened next was unpredictable, Barcelona ended up moving to the next stage after scoring three goals in a matter of minutes, beating PSG 6-1! And in a later match, Barcelona was eliminated from the competition when Roma beat them 3-0.
Moral of the story: you can never predict what happens in soccer. People didn’t expect Barcelona to win in 2017, yet they did. People didn’t expect Barcelona to lose to Roma in 2018, yet they did.
This amount of unpredictability adds to the game’s fun and builds suspense among fans, not just on the professional level but also in humble matches played on any flat surface in the world!
7. Plenty of Variety
Soccer players’ only restriction is that they cannot touch the ball with their hands or arms. That’s all there’s to it. You can score goals using almost any part of your body except your hands.
Some players score with their heads, while others score with their legs, and shoulders, which greatly expands the game’s possibilities and makes it super fun to play and watch.
Furthermore, players can shoot or score goals from any distance or location. The players have a lot of options when it comes to scoring goals since the soccer field is so long.
This ensures that each goal during a soccer game is distinct and takes new and unique skills from the player to score.
8. Soccer is Cheap to Play
One of the most fundamental reasons for soccer’s popularity is that it’s so cheap to play. The soccer ball itself isn’t even required.
In fact, in some places, people enjoy playing soccer in the streets with whatever object is similar to a soccer ball: a plastic bottle, a soda can, literally anything you can kick!
And to mark a goal, you can use sticks, shoes, or any visible object. Some people even play it barefoot, and it’s still fun! Plus, soccer doesn’t require a big, expensive stadium to be fun. A street, an empty lot, or a school playground will do the trick.
This sport is so appealing because people can play it anywhere around the globe using their imagination without spending a dime.
Even the simplest conditions can accommodate a game of soccer, so the sky’s the limit!
9. It’s Easy!
Soccer is not the most popular sport worldwide for nothing. Soccer can be played anytime, anywhere, and by ANYONE! Soccer is undoubtedly an easy-to-grasp sport.
kicking the ball into the goal is straightforward, the rules are simple, and it doesn’t require a certain age to play; even a child of 3 can understand it!
Soccer’s fundamentals are straightforward: there are 90 minutes in which each team needs to get the ball into the opponent’s goal as often as possible without using their hands, and the team with the most goals wins.
As they progress, someone who has never played the game before can simply pick up the game and acquire its more advanced rules, such as offsides, penalties, corners, yellow cards, and red cards.
All you need to play this game is a soccer ball, a flat surface, a team, and a referee, and you’re good to go!
10. Soccer is Relatively Safe
We hear you talking about how bad soccer injuries can be, and that playing it involves some risk.
But this is just like any other sport. It has to involve some degree of risk, and compared to other sports like boxing or MMA, it’s a pretty safe sport that many people can enjoy, especially children!
There are very few injuries for children and youth players because of the weight of the players and the impact involved. So you can be at ease when you watch your child play.
11. It Brings Us Together
Even if you’re not a soccer fanatic, there’s a good chance you enjoy watching it with your family and friends.
Soccer not only brings you closer to your soccer-loving relatives but also to strangers you have never met before, which widens your social relations.
You can become an active fan of your favorite team by joining soccer communities online. You can also attend live soccer matches, creating a sense of belonging between you and other fans of the same team.
It’s not just about making friends with fans who support the same team as you, but it’s also about making friends with fans who support other teams, too!
With every goal scored come big celebrations because you’ll feel like you’ve beaten your friend yourself, even though all you are doing is sitting together and watching the game.
