Christ the King Student Finn Smith – who became the youngest ever scorer in the 151-year history of the FA Cup on 6th August – has hit the headlines across the world.
Finn scored his record-breaking goal in the extra-preliminary round of the FA Cup in Newport’s 3-1 win against Fleet on Saturday 6th August. Island Echo was the first media outlet to report that Finn had become the youngest ever scorer in the history of the competition – aged just 16 years and 1 day – on Monday 8th August.
On Friday 12th August, the FA officially confirmed that Finn – according to their records – had indeed broken the record. At this point, other local publications became aware of Finn’s record-breaking feat with articles appearing in the County Press on 13th August and Isle of Wight Radio on 15th August.
The story then started to appear in the national media. Mail Online reported on the goal on 20th August – 2 weeks after Finn scored – and followed this up with a piece on the Mail on Sunday. A further article about Finn appeared in The Times too. Bringing up the rear was the local website OntheWight on Monday (22nd August).
Finn’s feat has also hit the headlines in the international media, showing the popularity of English football worldwide. His story appeared in The Times of India on 20th August. The same day, Polsat Sport in Poland announced: Puchar Anglii: 16-latek najmłodszym strzelcem gola (English Cup: 16-year-old is youngest goalscorer).
The headline in France was Finn Smith, 16 ans, de l’île de Wight, confirmé comme le plus jeune buteur de la FA Cup (Finn Smith, 16 years old, confirmed as youngest scorer in the FA Cup).
A simple Google search will reveal how Finn’s name has spread across the globe. The story has seen in publications in Hungary, Malaysia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand.
But you heard it first on Island Echo! First for football…
A ready replacement for Ronaldo at Man.Utd – or possibly Mane at Liverpool. That’s if Man City or Newcastle haven’t already offered Finn a multi-million pound contract.
(Well done Finn – make the most of it and enjoy all the fuss.)