Almost a thousand World Cup matches had to be played before a single Sikh touched a ball in the final tournament.
Sarpeet Singh (right) was the first Sikh to play in a World Cup soccer match. PDO
Sikhism originated in 16th century India. Today, it has around 25 million supporters around the world.
And now finally one of them, the New Zealand playmaker Sarpreet Singhhas also debuted on the World Cup soccer pitch.
Singh played almost the entire game in the All Whites’ opening draw against Iran (he was substituted in the second minute of injury time) and is expected to march on the field again the night before Monday when New Zealand face Egypt in Vancouver.
Singh himself was born into an Indian family in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. A couple of years ago, he also tried out the strength of his wings in Bayern Munich, but only played a couple of Bundesliga games.
Many other new records are set at the World Championships. For example, the head coach of Ghana From Carlos Quirez became, at the age of 73, the oldest World Cup head coach who has won a match in the final tournament.