5 footie facts you didn't know
Lesser-known trivia about the game that has taken the world by storm
1. The average English football fan weighs 21 stone. Psychologists are no nearer explaining why fat men are so attracted to watching football. Recent studies suggest it may have something to do with the close resemblance between a football and a plum pudding.
2. The football song Here we go was composed by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. He intended it to be the official song of the 1978 Montreal World Bowls Championship.
3. Sales of the vuvuzela in South Africa have been rocketing. The horn-like instrument is capable of making a noise louder than 127 decibels. It is named after St Barnabas Vuvuzela, patron saint of football hooligans.
4. The only World Cup player to have combined a career in football with a career in fashion is Leicester striker Gok Wan. He headed a goal for England in the 1998 World Cup against Argentina. The only trouble being, he confessed to Des Lynam immediately after the game that it played havoc with his hair.
5. The Jules Rimet Trophy is named after Lord Trophy, who married Lady Priscilla Trophy when she was 22 years old — and he was fast approaching his 90th birthday.
