The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
.
It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
.
The IFFHS was based in
Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
, Germany, and then in 2014 to
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
.
From its early stages to 2002, the IFFHS concentrated on publishing the quarterly magazines ''Fußball-Weltzeitschrift'', ''Libero spezial deutsch'' and ''Libero international''. When these had to be discontinued for reasons which were not officially told, the organisation published its material in a series of multi-lingual books in co-operation with sponsors.
[Rafa Jiménez, ''IFFHS: La calculadora del fútbol''. '' Don Balón'' (1656), 9/15 July 2007, p. 50 (in Spanish).] The statistical organisation has now confined its publishing activities to its website. IFFHS has no affiliation with FIFA, but FIFA has cited awards and records conducted by IFFHS on their website.
In 2008, Karl Lennartz, a sports historian and professor at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...
, Germany, called the organisation "obscure", describing it as a one-man show of its founder Alfredo Pöge.
IFFHS rankings and their significance have been a matter of criticism and the largest German news agency,
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (dpa) is a German news agency founded in 1949. Based in Hamburg, it has grown to be a major worldwide operation serving print media, radio, television, online, mobile phones, and national news agencies. News is ava ...
, refuse to publish them.
Furthermore, German ''
die Tageszeitung'' stated that the IFFHS rankings serves merely for publicity,
although ''
Bild'',
Deutsche Welle, ''
Kicker-Sportmagazin'',
German Football Association (DFB), and former president of the Association of West German Sports Journalists (german: Verbandes Westdeutscher Sportjournalisten — VWS)
Heribert Faßbender have referenced IFFHS.
The World's Best Club
Since 1991, the entity has produced a monthly Club World Ranking.
![FC BARCELONA - ARSENAL 8 MAR 2011 5511901212](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/FC_BARCELONA_-_ARSENAL_8_MAR_2011_5511901212.jpg)
The ranking takes into consideration the results of twelve months of continental and intercontinental competitions, national league matches (including play-offs) and the most important national cup (excluding points won before the round of 16).
All countries are rated at four levels based upon the national league performance—clubs in the highest level leagues receive 4 points for each match won, 2 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. Level 2 is assigned 3 pts. (win), 1.5 (draw) and 0 (lost), and so on with the next lower levels.
In continental competitions, all clubs receive the same number of points at all stages regardless of the performance level of their leagues. However, the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
and the
Copa Libertadores yield more points than
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
and
Copa Sudamericana, respectively. The point assignment system is still lower for the
AFC,
CAF,
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
and
OFC continental tournaments. Competitions between two continents are evaluated depending upon their importance. Competitions not organised by a continental confederation, or any intercontinental events not recognized by
FIFA, are not taken into consideration.
Men's winners
Continental Men's Clubs of the Century (1901–2000)
![Boca Juniors stadium logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Boca_Juniors_stadium_logo.JPG)
In 2009, the IFFHS released the results of a statistical study series which determined the best
continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas t ...
al clubs of the 20th century. The ranking did not consider the performance of the teams in national football tournaments (except in the Oceania's club ranking due to limited editions held under OFC club competitions), the performance in the intercontinental or
worldwide club competitions or those submitted in the IFFHS Club World Ranking, available since 1991.
Based on this study, which assigned a
weighted score criteria applied for each competition analysed, the below six clubs were named as "continental clubs of the century" by the IFFHS between 10 September and 13 October 2009. These clubs were awarded with a golden trophy and a certificate during the ''World Football Gala'' celebrated at
Fulham, London, on 11 May 2010.
The Best Man Club of the Decade
In 2012, the IFFHS recognised Barcelona as the ''World's Best Club Team of the Decade'' for the first decade of the 21st century (2001–2010).
In 2021, Barcelona were recognised as the world's best club also for the second decade (2011–2020).
Women's winners
The World's Strongest National League
Men's league
The Strongest National League of the Decade
Women's league
The World's Best Player
Men's winners
''From
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
until
2009,
FIFA continued this distinction named "
FIFA World Player of the Year
The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representati ...
"; this award was later replaced by the
FIFA Ballon d'Or
The FIFA Ballon d'Or ("Golden Ball") was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and ''France Football'', the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Ye ...
in
2010, and
The Best FIFA Men's Player
The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. The award was formerly known ...
in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
. The award was reinstated in 2020.''
The World's Best Man Player of the Century (1901–2000)
Women's winners
The World's Best Woman Player of the Century (1901–2000)
![Mia Hamm 2010 cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Mia_Hamm_2010_cropped.jpg)
IFFHS gave out an award decided by votes which was conducted with the participation of journalists and former players (no further details given).
The World's Best Youth (U20) Player
![Pedri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Pedri.png)
The award was introduced in 2021.
Men's winners
Women's winners
The World's Best Playmaker
Men's winners
The IFFHS World's Best Playmaker is a footballing award which, since 2006, is given annually to the best
playmaker of the year, as chosen by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).
The award is awarded at the end of the year at the ''World Football Gala'': the winning playmaker is awarded a gold trophy. Argentina's
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
and Spain's
Xavi have won the award a record four times each (Xavi four consecutive times), and Spanish compatriot
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of hi ...
has won the award two times.
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
is the club with the most wins, with ten in total.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
was named the Best Playmaker since 2006 and the Best Playmaker of the Decade 2011–2020.
Women's winners
Dzsenifer Marozsán
Dzsenifer Marozsán (; born 18 April 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Olympique Lyonnais, as well as the Germany national team. She previously played for 1. FC Saarbrücken and 1. FFC Frankfurt in t ...
was named the Best Playmaker of the Decade 2011–2020.
The World's Best Goalkeeper
Men's winners
Women's winners
The World's Best Top Goal Scorer
![Ronaldo in 2018 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Ronaldo_in_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg)
This award is given annually since 2020, and retroactively from 2011 to 2019, to the world's top goalscorer in the calendar year.
Men's winners
All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking
![Posse Senadores 2019 (33077513788) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Posse_Senadores_2019_%2833077513788%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
:Bold indicates players currently active.
Women's winners
The women's award was introduced in 2021.
The World's Best International Goal Scorer
This award is given annually since 1991 to the world's top international goalscorer in the calendar year.
Men's winners
Women's winners
The women's award was introduced in 2021.
The World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer
![Lionel Messi, Player of FC Barcelona team](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Lionel_Messi%2C_Player_of_FC_Barcelona_team.JPG)
This award is given annually since 1997 to the player who scores the most goals in a league season (in a calendar year since 2020) in any of the top 60 leagues in the world (as ranked by IFFHS for that given year).
Men's winners
All-time World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer ranking
:Bold indicates players currently active.
Women's winners
The women's award was introduced in 2021.
The World's Most Effective Top Division Goal Scorer
![Masashi Nakayama-signature-1994](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Masashi_Nakayama-signature-1994.jpg)
This award was given annually from 1997 to 2004 to the player with the best goal ratio (goals/matches played) in a league season in any of the top 60 leagues in the world (as ranked by IFFHS for that given year).
Men's winners
The World Team
Men's winners
In 2017, IFFHS started to nominate a world team of the year.
All-time Men's Dream Team (2021)
Women's winners
In 2017, IFFHS started to nominate a world team of the year.
All-time Women's Dream Team (2021)
The World Youth (U20) Team
![Rodrygo 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Rodrygo_2020.png)
The award was introduced in 2020.
Men's winners
Women's winners
The World's Best Club Coach
Men's winners
Women's winners
The World's Best National Coach
Men's winners
Women's winners
The World's Best Referee
Men's winners
Felix Brych
Felix Brych (born 3 August 1975) is a German football referee. He referees for SV Am Hart München of the Bavarian Football Association. He is a former FIFA referee and was ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.
Refereeing career
Brych started ...
was awarded the prize for Men's Referee of the Decade 2011–20.
Women's winners
Bibiana Steinhaus
Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb (born 24 March 1979) is a German football referee. She referees for MTV Engelbostel-Schulenburg of the Lower Saxony Football Association, but since October 2020 only as video assistant referee. She was a FIFA referee, an ...
was awarded the prize for Women's Referee of the Decade 2011–20.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Federation of Football History and Statistics
Association football organizations
Sports organizations established in 1984
1984 establishments in Germany
Association football websites
+
History of association football