The Real Reason for the Name 'Clean Sheet' When Goalkeepers Don't Concede a Goal

The reason why goalkeepers not conceding a goal has been named a 'clean sheet' is due to a tradition that goes back hundreds of years.

Although football is played across the world, there are some terms that are universal for any fans, players or pundits involved in the game.

When it comes to goalkeepers, the most obvious terminology associated with them is their clean sheet record, meaning the amount of games they have played in without conceding a goal.

At the end of every competition, the goalkeeper that has kept the most clean sheets is then awarded with a golden glove award to signify their achievement and showcase that they are the best.

In the Premier League last season, this honour was shared by Arsenal's David Raya and Nottingham Forest keeper Matz Sels who each kept 13 clean sheets across the 38 game domestic season.

But where does this terminology of 'clean sheets' meaning no goals conceded come from?

Matz Sels and David Raya both won the golden glove in the Premier League last season. (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

For a goalkeeper, nothing is more important than keeping a clean sheet as it means that, no matter what else happens, your team cannot lose the game.

Nowadays keepers can use all kinds of data and analytics online to evaluate their performances throughout the season but, of course, this wasn't always the case.

Back when football was first becoming popular, goalkeeper had to reply on notes kept by sports reporters and club officials who recorded the scoreline on a piece of paper.

If your team did not concede a goal throughout a match, the white sheet of paper they were using was kept clean and empty, and from there the term clean sheet was born.

Gianluigi Buffon is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper of all time. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Although it's much more rare for people to record performances in a football match on a piece of paper in the present day, the term has lived on and is still commonplace thanks to simpler times.

Across the entire 21st century, the goalkeeper that has kept a clean sheet more than anyone else was none other than Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon who kept 77 clean sheets in 176 games for Italy alone and a total of 506 across his career.

In the Premier League, it is Petr Cech who boasts the most clean sheers across his career with a total of 202.