Soccer is one of the most followed and worldwide sports and also a reason for celebration, however, not everywhere commemorates the same day or under the same name. This confusion is even present in Guatemala.
According to FIFA estimates, About 270 million people have been involved With sport at some level. This figure includes professional, semiprofessional players, amateurs and also technical personnel. It is a striking number, since it represents about 4% of the world’s population.
Being such a popular sport, it is not surprising that federations and entities have sought days to commemorate football. On the part of FIFA, it was appointed on May 25 as the “World Football Day”, while in countries like Mexico, it was chosen on May 14 as “Footballer Day”, to honor those who practice it in the country.
This could have created some confusion in Guatemala since in social networks this date has been shared, but something a bit different is celebrated in the country.
Football day or footballer day?
In Guatemala there is no “footballer day” as such, but the “National Football Day” is celebrated every September 14.
This date was chosen for being the day The first football game in Guatemalan territory was played.
It was in 1902, at the Northern Racecourse, where the first football meeting was held in Guatemala, which would mark the beginning of a passion that has endured for years in the country.
On September 14, 1902, the Guatemala Foot-Ball Club (first club in the country) was divided into two teams, one blue and one white, to start a friendly match.
The white box won 3-2, and that duel marked a milestone, since it symbolized the beginning of a football tradition that has endured for more than 100 years.
The date became so special that it was even established in the former statutes of the National Football Federation of Guatemala (Fedefut), in its article 115:
“The National Football Day of September of each year is established as National Football Day, in commemoration that, on the same date in one thousand nine hundred and two (1902), the first soccer match was held in Guatemala.”