After its big count in 2006, FIFA's result shows that Nigeria is the eighth country in the world with the highest number of registered players, male and female, with a population of 6,653,710 people playing the game, local media reported Sunday.
According to FIFA's record, China tops the table in terms of players with 26,166,335 people followed, surprisingly, by the United States with a total of 24,472,778 players, while India, which has only 400 registered professional players, is third with a total of 20,587,900 players.
Germany, with a total national population of 82,422,299, is fourth with over 16 million players, while Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia are ahead of Nigeria on fifth, sixth and seventh with a population of 13,197,733; 8,479,595 and 7,094,260 respectively.
FIFA stated that Nigeria leads the rest of Africa. Germany is the number one in Europe for active players while South Africa is the only African country with the most Under-18 players with 1,300,400 players as compared with Nigeria's 30,000.
In the world of refereeing, Japan Football Association has 190,000 registered referees, 50,000 more than the USA, while Nigeria boasts only of 522 referees and assistant referees.
In the area of professional players, no country can match Brazil, which has 16,200 as against Nigeria's 2,440.
England, widely regarded as the home of modern football, has the credit of having the highest number of football clubs, 40,000 in all with 6,000 professionals, second to Brazil in this regard.
Source: Xinhua
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