Theo Walcott attempted the Dizzy Goals challenge with hilarious consequencesThe Dizzy goals challenge is part of a Global Goals campaign started by the United Nations to raise awareness about sustainable development by asking famous sportspersons, celebrities and any interested people to score a goal while being in the state of dizziness. The idea is to reach out to as many people as possible courtesy any type of media, so that world leaders can be aware of important issues such as poverty, inequality and climate change and hopefully work towards bringing them all to an end by 2030. The rules for the challenge are: There need to be 2 footballs and a goal present (anything will do as long as there are two goalposts)The balls have to be lined up at least 6m apart before beginning the challengeThe participant must put his/her hand on the ball and spin around it 13 timesAfter finishing the spin, the participant has to run to the other ball and try to score a goal.If the participant fails in his effort to get the ball into the back of the net then he/she must say: “I missed my goal so that world leaders don’t miss theirs.” If the participant successfully scores the goal, then he/she needs to say: “If I can score a dizzy penalty then together we can all score The Global Goals.”Here are 5 stars who took the dizzy goals challenge, among many others.
#1 Gareth Bale
Welshman Gareth Bale may be one of the fastest players around and has the ability to strike the ball cleanly, but he was left to face a different proposition when he took on the dizzy goals challenge. The Real Madrid winger found the task next to impossible though, showing that the challenge is not as easy as it’s set out to be.
After completing the required number of spins, Bale charged at the ball and tried to fire it into an open net. His dizziness almost made him run past it although he did manage to connect in the end, smashing his effort well wide before tumbling to the ground.
A couple of the 26-year-old’s friends took on the tough challenge right after him and managed mixed results, with only one of them completing the challenge successfully.
#2 Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott
Arsenal teamed up with their foundation’s global charity partner ‘Save The Children’ to support the UN’s Global Goals initiative, and the Gunners had Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott taking part in the dizzy goals challenge. The club captain and the English international had to undergo the crazy challenge in the rain at London Colney and were joined by Arsene Wenger and Gunnersaurus who both got involved towards the end of things.
Arteta took responsibility to step up for the first penalty and somehow managed to put his spot-kick into the net as he veered to the left after completing 13 spins on the ball. The 26-year-old Walcott, on the other hand, barely kept his balance and slipped to the ground after his round of spins. He did eventually manage to get the ball into the back of the net, albeit barely.
When the two players finished their respective challenges, a drenched Arsene Wenger introduced the club mascot Gunnersaurus to do the next one and hilarious scenes ensued.
#3 Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer, who is the king of scoring goals in the EPL, accepted the opportunity to help out with the Global Goals initiative by participating in the dizzy goals challenge. The former Newcastle United legend is considered to be one of the greatest strikers to have ever played in the Premier League era and is the current all-time top scorer of England’s first division league with 260 goals.
The retired England International took the challenge while being barefoot in his backyard. He hilariously tumbled over the ball after completing his 13 spins around it, before taking a wayward effort at goal that saw him fall down and miss the target by a hige margin.
#4 Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker is another famous retired English forward who took part in the dizzy challenge. The 54-year-old is famous these days for being the face of BBC’s flagship show Match of the Day (MOTD) but was actually a lethal striker during the 1980’s and 1990’s, which saw him play for a host of clubs including the likes of Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur.
With his sons and a few friends to cheer him on, Lineker finished his 13 spins around the first ball but his dizziness ended up taking him far away from the second ball. He did manage to get a strike on the ball in the end, although the effort was never likely to go in due to the angle he approached the ball with.
#5 Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt has been in the spotlight ever since he picked up gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events at the 15th IAAF World Championships in Bejiing, so it was only natural that he would use the moment to show his support for a good cause and raise awareness for it. The 100m world record holder began his challenge a little aggressively on his way to completing 13 spins but felt the consequences of moving too fast as he stumbled to finish the rounds.
Bolt barely made it to the other ball but hit a surprisingly controlled effort to score a goal, after which he laid down flat on the ground and exhaustedly said: “Oh, I can’t get up!” He went on to dismiss the easiness of the challenge when asked about it and followed it up with a laugh as he rested to recover from the intense challenge.
