- The highest-searched question in Germany was ‘Who is the best footballer in the world?’ with 6,700 monthly searches.
- Brits were the most clueless about the length of half-time, with 7,700 searches a month for ‘How long is half-time in football?’
- ‘Who invented football’, ‘How long is extra time?’ and ‘What is offside?’ were among other common questions across Europe.
- Russia and Spain knew the least about offside, with over 4,500 monthly searches between them.
- ‘Who is the best footballer in the world?’ and ‘What is offside?’ were the most common questions asked across Europe, with both receiving the highest search volumes in nine countries.
With an estimated 1.5 billion football fans worldwide watching Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup Final, it’s clear that football is among the most popular sports globally.
That being said, not all of us are fans or know how to play the beautiful game. The experts at SeatPick decided to test this by using Google Search volumes to see what the most searched football-related questions are in the UK and Europe (translated into each country’s respective language), and what the most searched question is overall.
The 10 most searched football questions in Germany:
| Rank | Question | Average Monthly Search Volume |
| 1 | Who is the best football player in the world? | 6,700 |
| 2 | What is a hat trick in football? | 900 |
| 3 | How long is a football pitch? | 500 |
| 4 | What year was football founded? | 500 |
| 5 | How long is half-time in football? | 400 |
| 6 | What is offside? | 350 |
| 7 | How long is extra time in football? | 150 |
| 8 | How often can you make substitutions in football? | 100 |
| 9 | Who invented football? | 100 |
| 10 | How many players are on a football team? | 100 |
As the table above shows, the most searched question in Germany was ‘Who is the best football player in the world?’ with an estimated 6,700 search volumes per month. There is a divide on this one – many fans will say it’s Argentine hero Lionel Messi whilst others will say it’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Others may have an entirely different answer! There’s no wonder it’s the most popular football question in Germany.
Second in the rankings is ‘What is a hat trick in football?’ with 900 searches a month, 5,600 searches less than the above question. A player gets a hat-trick when they score three goals in one game, but the phrase actually originates from cricket and was used when a bowler took three wickets from three consecutive balls. The club would give the bowler a hat to celebrate this achievement.
Both ‘How long is a football pitch?’ and ‘What year was football founded?’ receive an estimated 500 Google searches a month. The length of a football pitch depends on the format of a football match. A 5-a-side pitch is smaller than a standard 11-a-side pitch, according to FIFA’s regulations.
Football, as we know it today, was founded by the Football Association in 1863, but the earliest form of football was called ‘cuju’, originating in China around 206 BC. Ancient Greece also had a similar game called ‘episkyros’, but players were allowed to use their hands, a rule not used in cuju or modern football.
At #5 is ‘How long is half-time in football?’ with an estimated 400 search volumes per month. With the small break being the moment most use to go to the bathroom or grab a drink, it’s no surprise that many want to know how long they have to do so. The answer, of course, is 15 minutes.
‘How many players are on a football team?’ joins ‘How often can you make substitutions in football?’ and ‘Who Invented football?’ as the least searched questions with an estimated 100 searches per month each. Since the pandemic, the Bundesliga now allows teams to substitute up to five players per match.
The top 10 countries with the highest searches:
| Country | Most Searched Question | Average Monthly Search Volumes |
| UK | How long is half-time in football? | 7,700 |
| Germany | Who is the best football player in the world? | 6,700 |
| Netherlands | How long is a football pitch? | 2,900 |
| Russia | What is offside? | 2,200 |
| Italy | Who invented football? | 1,600 |
| Spain | What is offside? | 1,400 |
| Sweden | How long is a football pitch? | 1,400 |
| Ukraine | Who invented football? | 900 |
| Denmark | How long is a football pitch? | 900 |
| France | Who is the best football player in the world? | 800 |
- It’s surprising that the UK, the ‘home’ of football, would appear first in this list, with 7,700 average monthly search volumes for ‘How long is half-time in football?’
- Germany has the most searches for ‘Who is the best football player in the world?’
- ‘How long is a football pitch?’ is the most common question in these top 10 results, occurring in three countries, with a combined average monthly search volume of 5,200 searches.
© Photos: Emilio Garcia (1), Travel Nomades (1), Unsplash
