A football match finishing 5–0 is a comfortable victory. Ten goals would be extraordinary.
But in Madagascar, one official league match ended 149–0.
Even stranger, the winning team did not score a single one of those goals themselves.
The remarkable match between AS Adema and Stade Olympique de l’Emyrne (SOE) took place on October 31, 2002, during Madagascar’s national championship. Guinness World Records recognises SOE’s 149 own goals as the most ever recorded by a team in a football match. Guinness World Records
Why did the match finish 149–0?
This was not a case of one team being dramatically better than the other.
SOE deliberately scored 149 own goals as a protest against refereeing decisions.
The controversy had begun in their previous playoff match. SOE believed a refereeing decision had gone against them and damaged their chances of retaining the Malagasy championship.
When they later faced AS Adema, SOE responded with an extraordinary protest.
After kick-offs, players repeatedly sent the ball towards their own goal. AS Adema’s players reportedly watched as their opponents continued scoring against themselves. Guardian
The final score: AS Adema 149–0 SOE.
Almost three own goals every minute
The numbers make the result even more remarkable.
Across a standard 90-minute match, 149 goals works out at an average of roughly one goal every 36 seconds.
SOE had been Madagascar’s champions the previous season, while AS Adema went on to finish as the 2002 champions. Historical results from the competition record AS Adema with 153 goals scored across six championship-round matches — 149 of them coming from this one extraordinary game. rsssf.org
What happened after the 149–0 match?
Madagascar’s football authorities took disciplinary action after the protest.
SOE coach Ratsimandresy Ratsarazaka was suspended for three years and banned from stadiums for the same period.
Four SOE players were also suspended until the end of the 2002 season and temporarily banned from stadiums. Other players involved received warnings, while the referee was not punished. Guardian
More than two decades later, the bizarre 149–0 result remains one of football’s most extraordinary scorelines.
And perhaps the strangest part is still this: AS Adema officially won by 149 goals without scoring any of them themselves.