Growing up playing and watching soccer in Colombia, I never saw a player in my country wearing the number 0 or even double zeros (00). I believed that was part of soccer: players could start wearing numbers starting at number 1, not 0. My perspective quickly changed when I came to the US to play collegiate soccer.
There is no specific requirement in the IFAB (International Football Association Board) mentioning whether soccer players are or are not allowed to wear the number 0 or 00. In fact, the shirt numbers allowed in soccer are determined by the organization in charge of the competition.
In this article, I share whether the number 0 is allowed around the most important soccer leagues in the world. Also, you will learn about the iconic player who wore number 0. Finally, I share my reasons why soccer players don’t wear number 0.
Table of Contents
- Is number 0 allowed in the most important soccer leagues?
- The “Zero”uali Player
- Why do soccer players not wear the number 0?
Is number 0 allowed in the most important soccer leagues?
If wearing the number 0 is dependent on the football association in charge of soccer competitions, I decided to research which of the most important soccer leagues around the world, such as the Premier League, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and MLS, allow players wearing the number 0.
Here’s what I found.
Premier League
According to the English Premier League handbook, there is no explicit statement that says soccer players cannot wear the number 0. However, according to section M.6 – Player’s Identification and Strip which states:
Each Club shall forthwith provide to the Board on Form 10 full details in writing of
Premier League Handbook
shirt numbers allocated so that throughout each Season the Board is aware of the
names of members of the first team squad of each Club and the shirt numbers
allocated to them.
Meaning, the club must provide the shirt numbers allocated to each player by filling out the Notification of Shirt Numbers Allocated form 10 (see the screenshot of the form below) which starts from number 1 all the way to 46. Having said that, it is inferred the number 0 is not allowed in the Premier League.
LaLiga
Unfortunately, I couldn’t confirm whether the Spanish soccer league LaLiga does or does not allow wearing number 0.
According to sources like The prohibited numbers and the controversies that hide behind the “88″ and the “69″ from Spain newspaper La Razón, LaLiga clubs are required to reserve numbers 1 – 25 for first-team squad players and 26 – 50 for reserve players. This would mean wearing number 0 is not allowed in La Liga.
On the other hand, after doing exhaustive research on the General Regulation of LaLiga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, the closest information found related to the number of regulations states the following:
ARTICLE VII.11.- NUMBERS
1.- A number, perfectly legible, must appear centered on the bib number of the
General Regulation of LaLiga
shirt. The digits of the number must measure 25 cm.
2.- A number, perfectly legible, must appear on the right leg of the upper part.
front of pants The figures must measure 10 cm x 15 cm.
3.- The colors of the number must clearly contrast with the colors of the
equipment, or be inserted in a neutral background. Said color must be recognizable
by viewers or viewers.
4.- The design of the numbers is free.
As you notice from the General Regulation of LaLiga, it is not clear whether the number 0 is allowed or prohibited. On the other hand, I didn’t find sources of any soccer player participating in LaLiga wearing the number 0.
Ligue 1
According to the French’s highest professional soccer league Ligue 1 for the 2022-2023 season, players are allowed to wear a shirt number ranging from 1 to 99, with number 1 being exclusively reserved for goalkeepers.
Therefore, it is not allowed to wear the number 0 in Ligue 1.
Bundesliga
The German Bundesliga does not allow soccer players to wear the number 0. According to sources found on their official site, Bundesliga clubs can assign members of their squad any number from 1 through 40 at the beginning of a season. Similarly to Ligue 1, the number 1 is reserved for goalkeepers.
MLS
Based on the information found in the competition guidelines and the roster rules and regulations, it is not clear whether there is an existing rule preventing soccer players participating in the MLS from wearing the number 0.
NCAA
If you are unfamiliar with the NCAA, the NCAA is the competition created for collegiate soccer in the US. I included this competition despite not being well-known by many soccer fans unless they live in the US, but also because this was the competition when I saw players wearing the number 0.
There is nothing in NCAA soccer rules stating that wearing the number 0 isn’t allowed. For instance, section 3.2.1 of the NCAA rules don’t restrict the numbers players are allowed to wear.
3.2.1 An official NCAA game roster, including the names, numbers and total
NCAA Soccer Rules
number of cautions and ejections of all players, coaches and other bench
personnel, shall be submitted to the official scorekeeper not later than 30
minutes before game time. In addition, the roster shall include the name(s)
and number(s) of the suspended player(s) and date(s) of the suspension(s).
The NCAA soccer rules also include rule 4, a section focused on the players’ equipment. There, it talks about the requirements of the numbers in the uniform but doesn’t state which numbers players can wear either.
This goes along with what I experienced when I played soccer in the NCAA division 2, players are allowed to wear the number 0 in NCAA soccer leagues.
The “Zero”uali Player
Hicham Zerouali, a forward from Morocco became part of the history of Scottish soccer not only because of his skill set and talent as a forward but also because of the number he wore while he played for Aberdeen FC when he joined the club on December 1 of 1999.
Zerouali, nicknamed Zero, became the first and only player in the Scottish Premier League to wear the number 0 in the early 2000s. Later after the season, the Scottish Football Association (SPF) and English Football Association (FA) banned the use of the number 0 in both competitions.
Unfortunately, Zerouali had a short soccer career due to a car accident in Rabata in December 2004. Despite passing away at the age of 27 and a relatively short time (3 years) of playing for Aberdeen FC, the club fans will always have a special memory whenever they hear the story of the only player who ever wore the number 0.
Why do soccer players not wear the number 0?
One of the primary reasons soccer players don’t wear the number 0 is that official competition rules do not allow the use of that number as I earlier described in this article.
Now, some of these regulations have been updated “recently”, meaning, in the early 2000s with the main purpose of easily identifying players based on a set of allowed numbers per competition, which typically range between numbers 1 through 25, at the very least.
That being said, that means there were opportunities for players throughout the history of soccer to wear the number 0 starting in the middle of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, but that number was not considered by players.
As an ex-soccer player and fan of the sport, I always looked up to the best players in the world and wanted to wear the same numbers they wear. However, that never occurred with the number 0, which is another reason why it never became “normal” to wear the number 0 in the first place.
If legendary players, such as Beckenbauer, Platini, Ronaldo, Pele, Maradona, or Messi had ever worn the number 0 at some point in their career, probably the history of the number 0 in soccer would have changed just like it did for the number 10, considered the number reserved for the most talented players of a team.
