A video circulating online claims that “a British goalkeeper launched the ball 96.01 metres and broke the record for the longest goal in football.” The central claim checks out. Newport County goalkeeper Tom King scored it against Cheltenham Town in an English League Two match on 19 January 2021. Guinness World Records certified the 96.01-metre (105-yard) strike as the longest goal scored in a competitive football match.
The short answer
- The record is real: Guinness World Records lists the distance as 96.01 metres.
- The player was Tom King, who was with Newport County at the time.
- The match was Newport County versus Cheltenham Town in Cheltenham, England.
- King took a goal kick from near his own six-yard box; the wind carried it, it bounced, and it went over the opposing goalkeeper.
- One common caption is wrong: the goal did not “finish the match.” The game ended in a 1–1 draw.
Watch the goal
The original clip is available in Newport County’s official post on X:
https://twitter.com/NewportCounty/status/1351653569028628481
If X does not play the video, this Guinness World Records version is also available:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ytt4c
How did the goal happen?
King took a goal kick from his own penalty area. The ball travelled over most of the pitch, landed near the edge of the opposite penalty area, bounced over Cheltenham Town goalkeeper Joshua Griffiths and crossed the line. Guinness also noted the help of a strong wind, which is why the play looks less like a conventional shot and more like a routine goal kick dramatically extended by the weather.
The goal surpassed the previous record of 91.9 metres, set by Asmir Begović for Stoke City against Southampton in 2013. King’s effort was officially measured at 96.01 metres.
What viral captions often get wrong
The broad claim in the Chinese-language clips is accurate, but several details need correcting. First, King is a British player. Guinness identifies the record holder as being from the UK, while some reports call him Welsh because he had been selected for Wales squads. Second, this was not a deliberate long-range shot in the usual sense; it was a goal kick that travelled all the way into the opposite net. Third, it did not decide the match. Newport County and Guinness both report a final score of 1–1.
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