Arbroath hold on to record for football's biggest ever win
Followers of Scottish League Two side Arbroath have breathed a huge sigh of relief after being told the club still holds the record for the biggest victory in football history.
Reports out of Ecuador credited a third tier side with a 44-1 victory, putting Arbroath’s long-standing 36-0 win in jeopardy as the official biggest win.
However, Guinness World Records have declared that the latest contender - a victory for Pelileo Sporting Club against Indi Native, played in front of a paltry 200 supporters - doesn’t qualify as it wasn’t played at a high enough level.
Arbroath hold the record for their 36-0 defeat of Bon Accord in the Scottish Cup way back in 1885 and the club’s chairman said he “absolutely delighted” they can continue to carry the distinction.
John Christison told BBC Scotland: “Obviously it’s a record we’re very proud of. Our thanks to Guinness for clearing that up, that’s tremendous news.
“We would probably have had to rebrand a lot of our stuff because it has ‘world record holders’ on it.”
A Guinness World Record spokeswoman said: “For records directly involving performance in sports, we must only accept those which occur at a top-level professional, international, or pre-eminent amateur (i.e. Olympics).”
Interestingly, the world record may never have been Arbroath’s to claim. On the same day as Arbroath earned their monumental win, Dundee Harp defeated Aberdeen Rovers 35-0. The match official actually credited the hosts with a 37-goal win, only for Harp’s club secretary to state that it was a miscalculation.
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