List of world association football records

This article features a list of men's professional FIFA records in association football, in any football league, cup, or other competition around the world, including professionals, semi-professionals, and amateurs. Friendly club matches are generally not eligible for the records. The article includes comprehensive statistics on official football leagues worldwide in general, without taking league rankings or coefficients into account.

These records are divided based on whether they relate to players, coaches, or clubs.

Players

Players in bold are still active.

As of 6 December 2024

Goals records

Most goals

Cristiano Ronaldo the all-time top scorer in official football history, with over 900 goals.

In a year / season

Sándor Kocsis, the player with the most international goals in a single year, scoring 23 goals in 1954 with Hungary.
Lionel Messi, the player with the most official goals in a single year, scoring 91 goals in 2012.

In a match

Youngest and oldest

By method

Others

Appearances records

Most appearances

Peter Shilton the player with most appearances in official football history, with 1,397 matches.

Youngest and oldest

Others

Other players records

Titles

Goalkeeping

Ray Clemence the all-time clean sheets in official football history, with 537 clean sheets.

Matches Results

Trivia

Managers

Alex Ferguson is most decorated manager, with 49 titles.

Coaches in bold are still active.

Clubs

Streaks

Other world records

  • Highest score in a single match: – Madagascar AS Adema 149–0 SO l'Emyrne, 31 October 2002[90]
  • Highest score in a single competitive match: – Scotland Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, 12 September 1885[91]
  • Highest score in an international match: – Australia 31–0 American Samoa, 11 April 2001[92]
  • Highest score in an youth international match: – Vanuatu 46–0 Micronesia (u-23), 7 July 2015[93]
  • Highest score in a penalty shootout in history: – Washington 3–3 Bedlington, (25–24 p), 54 penalties taken, 9 March 2022[94]
  • Longest penalty shootout in history: – Dimona 2–2 Shimshon Tel Aviv (23–22 p), 56 penalties taken, 20 May 2024[95][96]
  • Most red cards given in a match: – Argentina ClaypoleVictoriano Arenas, 36 red cards, 3 March 2011[97]
  • Competition with most clubs participated in total – Peru Copa Perú, More than 20000 at the District stage[98]
  • Football League with less clubs: 2 clubs Isles of Scilly Football League; Only two clubs contests the league: Woolpack Wanderers and the Garrison Gunners, playing each other eighteen times every season.[99]
  • Football League with most clubs: 100+ clubsCape Verde Cape Verdean Football Championship
  • Shortest National Championship: 7 daysGreenland Greenlandic Football Championship[100]
  • Longest football match: 3 hours and 23 minutesEngland Stockport County 3–2 Doncaster Rovers, On, 30 March 1946. It was a Division Three North Cup replay, after the first game ended 2–2 and as it would turn out, 203 more minutes could not yield a victor. Tied once more at 2–2 after 90 minutes, the game between Stockport and Doncaster then went into extra time, but 30 more minutes were insufficient, with the two teams unable to score in that time period. The 'play to win' rule was commonplace in English football during the wartime period of the 1940s and it was a form of 'golden goal' – in essence, 'next goal wins'. Stockport thought they had clinched the winner on the 173rd minute.[101][102]
  • Team that played most games on the same day: 3 matchesBrazil Grêmio; On 11 December 1994, Grêmio played three matches on a single day during the 1994 Campeonato Gaúcho, with kick-off times of 2PM, 4PM, and 6PM, due to their extensive schedule. They won two and drew the third match, using a total of 34 different players.[103]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Erwin Helmchen could have scored 989 goals in his career.
  2. ^ Including friendly matches and competitions.
  3. ^ Erwin Helmchen could have scored 870 club goals.
  4. ^ Including other categories than top-tier division, except regional and local leagues.
  5. ^ Pelé scored the vast majority of his goals in Campeonato Paulista, but Série A still wasn't the top-tier league in Brazil in those years. If we exclude that goals, Cristiano Ronaldo would be the record holder with 556 goals.[3] Including regional and local leagues, the record is 713 goals by Erwin Helmchen.[4]
  6. ^ Counting all matches in one club, Gerd Müller scored 1256 goals for Bayern Munich.
  7. ^ Godfrey Chitalu is claimed to have scored 109 official goals in 1972 for Kabwe Warriors and Zambia. However, the officiality of this tally is disputed.[9]
  8. ^ This tally includes 35 goals at regional and local cups, which are in any case official competitions.
  9. ^ At top-level football, excluding regional and local competitions, the most widely recognized record is Lionel Messi's 73 goals for Barcelona during the 2011–12 season.[13][14]
  10. ^ Godfrey Chitalu is also claimed to have scored 97 official goals in the 1972 season for Kabwe Warriors. However, the officiality of this tally is disputed.[9]
  11. ^ The Guinness World Records named Dixie Dean with 60 goals in 39 games in 1927–28 First Division for Everton.[15]
  12. ^ This match was not a full international (instead termed a "Victory international").
  13. ^ Other sources show Zico as the footballer with more free kicks scored in history with 101.[24] Even Marcelinho Carioca could have that honour with 86 free kicks, depending on the source.[25]
  14. ^ Counting only top matches, Pelé with 92 hat-tricks is the record holder.
  15. ^ Gali Freitas is claimed by the AFF to have debuted with East Timor on 1 September 2018 in a match against Brunei, aged 13 years and 244 days. However, there is controversy whether he was born in 2004 or in 1996.[21][43] Souleymane Mamam is claimed by FIFA to have debuted with Togo in 2021 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier match, aged 13 years and 310 days. However, there is controversy whether he was born in 1987 or in 1985.[44][45] Abel Josiah Samson was also suposed to have played an international match with Tanzania national football team at 14 years old.[46]
  16. ^ At top-level football, the most widely recognized record is Lionel Messi's 45 trophies.[51]
  17. ^ Sebastián Abreu has the Guinness World Record with 32 different teams, because the majority of the teams recognised to Frontini are in any case top-level clubs.[61][62]
  18. ^ Celtic also played in their unbeaten run, from 20 November 1915 to 14 April 1917, in two regional cups, the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup and Glasgow Cup. Including two matches each in the 1915–16 Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, in May 1916,[85] and in the 1916–17 Glasgow Cup, in October 1916,[86] Celtic was unbeaten for 66 games.[87]

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