International Tournaments
FIFA World Cup
Federation Internationale de football Association (FIFA), governed by Swiss law, was founded in 1904. Gianni Infantino is the President of FIFA. The 2018 FIFA World Cup,the 21st in number,that Russia is going to host. The tournaments will be held from 14th June-15th July. Germany was the winner of the 2014 world cup.
UEFA Champions League
It was launched soon after UEFA’s first congress,which was held in Vienna on 2nd march 1955. It was founded in June 1954. It is simply known as Champion’s league and is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. This league begins in mid July. Winner of this league gets qualified for the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Cup. Real Madrid the most successful club in competitions’ history have won the tournaments ten times.
UEFA European Championship
It is the primary association football competition played by the senior men’s national team of UEFA. It was founded in 1960 and is held after every four years. European championship winners get the opportunity to compete in FIFA Confederations Cup. Till now 14 European Championship tournaments have been won by nine different national teams. One of the six major football union across the globe viz. CONCAF in North America, Conmebol in Latin America, CAF in Africa, AFC in Asia, UEFA in Europe and OFC in Oceania.
Copa America
It is formerly known as South American Football Championship. It is the oldest international competition. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments to be viewed widely in the whole world. Two trophies,Copa America and Copa Bolivia, are given at the end of the tournament to the winners and the runner ups respectively. In 2015, it was held in Chile and the host country emerged as the winner whereas Argentina got the trophy of runner-up. In 2019, Brazil will be conducting the tournament and in 2023 Ecuador is going to host the tournament.
Copa Libertadores
This is an annual international club football competition since 1960. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. The winner of this tournament becomes eligible to play in the FIFA World Cup. This tournament is sponsored by a group of multi-national corporations.
Indian tournaments
Federation Cup
It was founded in 1977 in India in which 10 teams participate. The current champion of this cup is Bengaluru FC, however Mohan Bagan is the most successful club with 13 titles. Before formation of I-League (NFL). In 1997, the federation cup was the most prestigious football cup in India
Durand Cup
The Durand football tournament started 128 years ago in 1888. The number of participating teams varies. Current champion is Salgaocar Football Club and Pune football cup was the runner-up. It is one of the leading prizes in Indian Football.
Indian Super Cup
It was founded in 1997 and it consists of 2 teams.Current championship that was held in New Delhi, 2011 witnessed East Bengal as a new champion. The winner team of the game receives the trophy while players receive individual medals.
Santosh Trophy
It was founded in 1942 and it comprises of 31 teams. Current champion is Services. The tournament was held in Maharashtra in 2016. Top six goal- scorers of this trophy are- (a) Inder singh (Punjab) 45 goals; (b) Mohammed Habib (Andhra and Bengal) 34 goals; (c) Shyam Thappa (Services and Bengal) 31 goals; (d) P.K.Banerjee (Bengal and Railways) 28 goals; (e) Surajit Sengupta (Bengal) 26 goals; and (f) Biswajit Bhattacharya (Bengal) 26 goals.
IFA Shield
It was organised by Indian Football Association 123 years ago in 1893. Ten teams participate in this tournament. In 2016 Tata Football Academy emerged as the winner and AIFF got the trophy of the runner-up. The most successful club in the history of this tournament is East Bengal as it has won it for 28 times.
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