As the new English Football League campaign gets underway, fans are being invited to test their knowledge of the game's history, trivia, and quirky facts through a series of quizzes designed to challenge even the most devoted supporters.
One quiz, compiled by Richard Foster, presenter of the It Started With A Kick podcast and editor of The Football Mine, dives deep into the details of League One, League Two, and the Championship. The questions range from managerial history to stadium capacities, touching on some of the more obscure corners of the English football pyramid.
Among the topics covered is Leicester City's fall into League One following successive relegations, prompting the question of when the club last competed in the third tier of English football. The quiz also examines longevity in management, asking which current Football League boss has held his post for nearly six years, and highlighting Swindon Town manager Ian Holloway, who has overseen more than 1,000 matches across a three-decade managerial career that began 30 years ago.
Other questions focus on statistical quirks from the previous season, including which club reached the milestone of 100 points and which players finished as top scorers in the Championship and League One respectively. Dom Ballard, last season's League One top scorer, features prominently, along with debate over Championship stars like Jack Clarke, Zan Vipotnik, Josh Windass, and Haji Wright.
Geography and stadiums also play a role in the quiz, with questions about the southernmost club in the Football League and which ground boasts the smallest capacity among the four described options: The Crown Ground at Accrington Stanley, Broadfield Stadium at Crawley Town, Highbury Stadium at Fleetwood Town, or Moor Lane at Salford City. There's also a nod to shared stadium names, asking which club plays at St James Park among Exeter City, Grimsby Town, Oldham Athletic, and Plymouth Argyle.
The quiz doesn't shy away from noting broader trends in English football either, pointing out that for the first time in top-flight history, no Premier League club begins with the letter W this season, while posing the follow-up question of how many Championship clubs currently start with that letter.
Structural changes to competition formats are also addressed, with a question about modifications being introduced to the Championship playoffs this season, alongside historical curiosities such as which two League One clubs have managers who won the FA Cup together as players, and which two League Two sides can boast a history of Premier League football.
The dramatic conclusion to last season's National League campaign also features, referencing York City's promotion to League Two secured on the final day with a stoppage-time equaliser against Rochdale, a result that had major implications for both clubs' points tallies in the race for promotion.
Meanwhile, a separate quiz produced by BBC Sport shifts focus to the nicknames used throughout English football, challenging fans to identify clubs from their popular monikers. The quiz asks participants to distinguish between well-known nicknames such as the Red Devils and the Saints, as well as lesser-discussed ones like the Magpies and the Robins, testing supporters' broader knowledge of footballing culture and tradition across the leagues.
Both quizzes form part of a growing trend of interactive content aimed at engaging fans during the buildup to the new season, offering an entertaining way to reflect on the sport's rich history while looking ahead to the campaign to come.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football and BBC Sport.