500 goals in 2026/27 - July
Can I see 500 live goals in the 2026/27 season?
For the past few years, I’ve set myself the totally arbitrary goal of trying to see 500 goals scored live in a season or calendar year. There’s a few rules to this:
The season follows the dates of the Futbology app - running from 1st July to 30th June
Only 11-a-side matches count, playing at an organised level with a referee and full sized pitch
U18 and above only - no kids matches that end up 17-9 because everyone spends the entire game chasing the ball
Penalty shoot-out goals count
If I miss a goal at a match I attended because I’m getting a pint/arrived 2 minutes late, it still counts.
So far the closest I’ve come was the 2022/23 season, where I saw 462 goals in 112 games. I attended a match on the final day of the season in the hopes of a miraculous 38 - 0 result, but alas, 0-0.
After losing interest in the challenge last season and ‘only’ seeing 253, I’ve decided to give it another good go this year, and document the progress on Substack each month.
Here’s all the games I saw in July:
Wednesday 1st July
New Inn FC 3 - Llantwit Major AFC 1 - Friendly
There’s nothing like seeing your team lose 3-1 to a team a division below to get things off to a great start.
Saturday 4th July
Wales U19 0 - Denmark U19 3 - U19 European Championships
Wales hosted the U19 Euros this summer, and suffered heavy defeats in all three games. Fortunately for me but unfortunately for the challenge, I saw their ‘best’ result - which was still a 3-0 loss.
Sunday 5th July
Croatia U19 3 - Serbia U19 0 - U19 European Championship
Another day, another game, another 3-0. Croatia needed a big win and results elsewhere to go their way to qualify, and it happened! A penalty in the last few minutes meant they got through to the semi-finals on goal difference.
Saturday 11th July
Llantwit Major AFC 1 - Westbury United 0 - Friendly
A much better result for the Major, who beat English opposition with a last minute winner, but only one goal to add to the tally. The highlight of this game was the Westbury goalkeeper saying to our striker “Next time you come in the box I’m going to do you”, before the same striker scored the winner the next time he went in the box.
Saturday 18th July
Westfields FC 1 - Llantwit Major AFC 2 - Friendly
Another win for Llantwit against an English side in pre-season, with the added bonus of a few more goals to add to the list.
Friday 24th July
Cefn Cribwr FC 2 - Canton FC 3 - Welsh Cup Qualifier
So close to the first penalty shoot-out of the season! Five goals was still a good haul to add to the tally, but the 88th minute winner for Canton FC prevented the possibility of having this one be a significantly bigger boost to the total.
Saturday 25th July
Vale United 4 - Tregaron Turfs 1 - Welsh Cup qualifier
Llantwit should have been in action against Caersws FC on this day, but the fixture was cancelled due to their bus breaking down somewhere in Brecon! As a result I headed to the closest game nearby, which looked to have 0-0 all over it after a shocking first half. However, Vale bounced back from going 1-0 down to score four times and keep the total ticking over nicely.
Tuesday 28th July
Cwmbran Celtic 3 - Cwmbran Town 0 - Ardal South East
The first Cwmbran Derby in 16 years and supposedly the closest derby in world football, Celtic took the bragging rights from this one with three quick goals in the space of 11 second half minutes.
Friday 31st July
Barry Town United 2 - Cambrian United 1 - Cymru Premier
I was torn between this game and watching Clwb Cymric in the Welsh Amateur Trophy. I chose this, and the other game finished 7-1. Of course it did. However, this was a pretty exciting game, with Cambrian making their debut in the top flight of Wales. They were probably the slightly better side, but two clangers from the goalkeeper meant they came away with nothing after a last minute winner.
July total:
9 matches attended
30 goals seen
470 goals needed
Success may look a long way away, but July is a slow month for Welsh football, with competitive action only starting towards the very end. Neither of the cup matches ending in a penalty shoot-out was a blow, but sheer deluded optimism that this will be the year remains high.
If my first match of August finishes 470 - 0, I’ll be back soon with a new challenge. If not, see you at the end of the month for another update!