“What tea do footballers drink?”/“Penaltea.”

A “penalty” is not a tea drink (“penaltea”), but there have been several puns. A football/soccer riddle has been cited in print since at least 2001 and has been printed on many images:
 
Q: What tea do footballers drink?
A: Penaltea.

 
A soccer version has been cited in print since at least 2005:
 
Q: Which tea do soccer players drink?
A: Penaltea!

 
A hockey version was posted on Twitter on May 1, 2015:
 
Q: What tea do hockey players drink?
A: Penaltea.

 
       
10 June 2001, Sunday Telegraph (Surry Hills, New South Wales) “THe FUnday Telegraph” by Matthew Frilingos, pg. F1:
What tea do footballers drink?
Penaltea.
   
8 May 2005, The Sunday Mail (Brisbane, Queensland), “Soccer Jokes,” Sunday Magazine, pg. 103:
Which tea do soccer players drink?
Penaltea!
 
Google Groups: Humor Club
Humor & Sports
R.K.
11/12/05
-: HUMOR AND SPORTS ! ! :-
>>1. What tea do footballers drink ?  Answer: Penal-tea.
   
Google Books
Key Lardo:
A Chet Gecko Mystery

By Bruce Hale
Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc.
2006
Pg. 42:
“What tea do soccer players drink?”
 
“Huh?”
 
“PenalTea!” She cackled.
 
13 June 2006, Liverpool (UK) Echo, “Your JOKES,” pg. 22:
What tea do footballers drink?
Penaltea.
     
Twitter
❤️ FizzyDuck ❤️‏
@FizzyDuck
What do footballers drink? Penaltea!
2:28 PM - 19 Jun 2009
 
Twitter
Marlen Treviño‏
@MarlenTrevino
What tea do soccer players drink?... > PenalTea! (super silly hahahaha!)
5:48 PM - 22 Aug 2009
         
Google Books
Sensible Nonsense.. Frank’s Comic Pack:
Humour Pack Series

By Frank Paul
BookBaby
2014
Pg. ?:
What tea do footballers drink ?Penaltea !
 
Twitter
Emma Nagy‏
@emmajnagy
What tea do hockey players drink?
Penaltea
10:48 AM - 1 May 2015
   
Twitter
Dragon‏
@Dracostian
What tea do hockey players drink? Penaltea!
#puns
3:36 PM - 6 May 2015
 
Twitter
Creepy Catches‏
@REALLlFEHEROES
What tea do hockey players drink? Penaltea!
7:16 PM - 21 May 2015
   
Google Books
Martha Mayhem Goes Nuts!
By Joanne Owen
London, UK Piccadilly Press
2018
Pg. ?:
‘What kind of tea do footballers drink?’
 
‘I don’t know, Jack,’ said Martha, sounding as sad as a deflated balloon.
 
‘Penaltea! Get it?’
 
Twitter
Lucky Score‏
@LuckyScoreNet
What tea do footballers drink ?
Penaltea !
#Joke from #SportJokes in #Jokes, #Humor and #Satire
5:30 AM - 26 Jan 2018