Guinness World Records 2026: Football Edition

Count down the 100 most significant records from the beautiful game, showcasing the greatest teams, the most prolific goal scorers, the fastest strikes, the highest-scoring matches and much more.

Whether you’re new to football or an expert in XG, satisfy your need for trivia, facts and stats with an all-new edition from the ultimate authority on record breaking.

Plus!

• Prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a journey along our FIFA World Cup Timeline, featuring the key players and defining moments from every edition to date
• Flick and trick your way to glory with the Freestyle Challenge, with help from two-time world champion Isabel Wilkins
• Meet the masterminds On the Touchline, including Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Sarina Wiegman
• Take a tour Around the Grounds of the world’s record-breaking stadia
• Celebrate the artists behind the official songs and terrace anthems in Pitch Perfect
• Explore the tournaments and initiatives that ensure Football for All

Author Biography

In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the then managing director of the Guinness Brewery, went on a shooting party and became involved in an argument. Which was the fastest game bird in Europe – the golden plover or the grouse? He realized then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular. He was right!
Sir Hugh’s idea became reality when Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London, were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records. The first edition was bound on August 27, 1955, and went to the top of the British bestseller lists by Christmas that year.
Since then, Guinness World RecordsT has become a household name and the global leader in world records. No other enterprise collects, confirms, accredits and presents world record data with the same investment in comprehensiveness and authenticity.