Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Football World Championship The Football World Championship, also known as the United Kingdom Championship or the International Club Championship, was a exhibition association football match played between the English and Scottish club champions on a regular, but not annual ...

Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was an association football competition that took place twice, in Turin, Italy, in 1909 and 1911. It is regarded as an early European trophy.Coupe des Nations) may have been hailed as "the club world contest", Copa Rio was the first attempt at creating a Club World Cup with intercontinental reach. Two editions of the Copa Rio were held, in 1951 and 1952. Brazilian club

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

won the 1951 tournament, and

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

, also from Brazil and co-organizer of the 1952 edition, won the competition in 1952 (''CBD, the Brazilian FA, entitled Fluminense to organise the 1952 tournament as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations- the second edition of the tournament was originally scheduled to 1953, but was advanced to 1952 for the aforementioned anniversary celebrations''). In 1951 and 1952, Copa Rio suffered the concurrence of the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

, as some European clubs declined to participate in the former in order to participate in the latter; in 1952, Copa Rio suffered the concurrence of the 1952

Small Club World Cup The Small Club World Cup ( es, Pequeña Copa del Mundo) was a football tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1975 (with some journalists considering 1952–57 the period of greatest relevance, and the second period that took place between 1 ...

, as

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

declined to participate in the former in order to participate in the latter. The 1951-1952 Copa Rio was succeeded by another intercontinental club cup organised by the Brazilian FA, the 1953 Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Correa Meyer, which was then often referred to also as Copa Rio by the European press, which was won by

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

from Brazil. In 1953, the Uruguayan FA launched their own intercontinental club cup, based on Copa Rio, and named Copa

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...

, having been played in Uruguay in 1953 and 1954, won respectively by Nacional and

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

. The last attempt of the Brazilian FA to create an intercontinental club cup occurred in 1955, with the Charles Miller Trophy won by

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

,the same year the

European Cup 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 competit ...

emerged and became the main international priority of the European football clubs. In 1960, the

International Soccer League The International Soccer League was a U.S.-based soccer league which was formed in 1960 and collapsed in 1965. The League, affiliated with the American Soccer League, featured guest teams primarily from Europe and some from Asia, South America, C ...

rose in the USA as another attempt at creating a "Club World Cup" along the lines of Copa Rio, but, as a "world-champions honour", it was overshadowed in importance by the Intercontinental Cup.

History

Creation

The competition was the brainchild of Brazilian sports journalist

Mário Filho Mário Rodrigues Filho, better known as Mário Filho (Recife, June 3, 1908 – Rio de Janeiro, September 17, 1966) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Born in the capital of Pernambuco state, Mário Filho moved to Rio while still a child, in ...

, from

Jornal dos Sports ''Jornal dos Sports'' was a traditional Brazilian sports newspaper from Rio de Janeiro which was published between 13 March 1931 and 10 April 2010. It was the oldest Brazilian daily sports newspaper, distributed mainly in Rio de Janeiro state. '' ...

newspaper, who envisaged it as a Club World Cup (based on the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

for nations, held in Brazil in 1950) to be permanently held in Brazil, turning (according to him) Rio de Janeiro as "world's club football capital city".

Mário Filho Mário Rodrigues Filho, better known as Mário Filho (Recife, June 3, 1908 – Rio de Janeiro, September 17, 1966) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Born in the capital of Pernambuco state, Mário Filho moved to Rio while still a child, in ...

put the idea forward in 1950, during the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

, framing the idea as a possibly promising "club version" of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

, having the idea been praised by Jules Rimet, Ottorino Barassi and

Stanley Rous Sir Stanley Ford Rous (25 April 1895 – 18 July 1986) was an English football referee and the 6th President of FIFA, serving from 1961 to 1974. He also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 1962 and was an international ...

, who were in Brazil for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

. The Brazilian FA endorsed

Mário Filho Mário Rodrigues Filho, better known as Mário Filho (Recife, June 3, 1908 – Rio de Janeiro, September 17, 1966) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Born in the capital of Pernambuco state, Mário Filho moved to Rio while still a child, in ...

's idea, and organised the competition with a view to creating a Club World Cup. Two top-ranking FIFA officials helped organise the competition, framing the tournament model and helping convince European clubs to participate: Ottorino Barassi and

Stanley Rous Sir Stanley Ford Rous (25 April 1895 – 18 July 1986) was an English football referee and the 6th President of FIFA, serving from 1961 to 1974. He also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 1962 and was an international ...

(the latter having participated only for the 1951 tournament, while the former participated for both 1951-1952 tournaments and also for the 1953 successor tournament, having Barassi come personally to Rio de Janeiro often in 1951 for that reason).

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

president Jules Rimet made statements praising and bidding good luck to the initiative of the Brazilian FA. The Brazilian FA and press, at the time of the 1951 tournament, dubbed it a "Club World Cup" or "World Champions Cup", a label that would later be applied to the Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004) and the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

.

Organization

The idea was to gather together the reigning champions of the world's top football national leagues, in order to determine the world club champion, following the "champions cup" model of competitions such as the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

and the

South American Championship of Champions The South American Championship of Champions ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones, pt, Campeonato Sul-Americano de Campeões) was a football competition played in Santiago, Chile in 1948 and the first continental-wide football tournament in ...

, the same model that would be used in 1955 for the creation of 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 ...

. At first, a 16-club cup was envisaged, following the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

intended number of participants; however, this proposal was soon shortened to an 8-club cup. In 1951, there did not exist the FIFA Ranking, nor any "qualification tournament" for clubs to qualify to intercontinental club competitions (''from 1960 on, the UEFA Champions and

Libertadores ''Libertadores'' (, "Liberators") were the principal leaders of the Spanish American wars of independence from Spain and of the movement in support of Brazilian independence from Portugal. They are named that way in contrast with the ''Conquistad ...

cups would serve as "qualification tournaments" for the Intercontinental Cup''), so in 1951 the organisers of Copa Rio (the Brazilian FA, Ottorino Barassi, Stanley Rous, Mário Filho) had to rely on their view of football history (mainly the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

history) in order to elect which were the strongest national football leagues of the world, whose champion clubs would be invited to Copa Rio. According to Brazilian newspapers ''O Estado de São Paulo'' and ''

Jornal do Brasil ''Jornal do Brasil'', widely known as ''JB'', is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest extant Brazilian paper, after the '' Diário de Pernambuco'' and ''O Est ...

'', and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

newspaper ''El Mundo Deportivo'', the original 8-club plan of the Brazilian FA (organiser of Copa Rio) was to organise the competition with the reigning champion clubs of the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

state Leagues (''the first Brazilian national cup, named Taça Brasil, was not established until 1959, and the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo state leagues were – and still are – the strongest state leagues in Brazil''), as well as the reigning club champions from

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

(''participants at the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

, held in Brazil, not to mention the status of Uruguay and Italy as former

FIFA World Cup Champions The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the ' (FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football), the sport's global governing body. The championship has ...

and England as the founders of the sport''),

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

(''the Portuguese champions were invited in order to please the huge Portuguese community living in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo'') and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

(''based on Scotland being as successful as England in the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

''). It must be borne in mind that, in 1951, some countries (''such as

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, etc'') were not yet considered as strong-football countries (given their 1930-1950

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

history), and that

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

countries (

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

,

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

) were then excluded from international football due to the post-War, early

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

tensions. Though

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

was already a very relevant country in football, the Brazilian FA did not invite Argentinian teams to participate in Copa Rio, as the Argentines chose not to participate in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

held in Brazil (Brazil's and Argentina's Football Associations had severed relations after a brawl in a 1946 match between the two national teams, resulting in the absence of Argentina from the 1950 World Cup and hence from Copa Rio 1951). Some other countries were briefly considered by the Brazilian FA as possibilities for Copa Rio (''as

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, 3rd place in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

whose champion

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Associatio ...

was not invited as the club had not pleased the Brazilian football audience in a former visit to the country''), but the final plan of the Brazilian FA for the organisation of Copa Rio ended up consisting of an 8-team cup with the reigning champions (1950 South American season and 1950/1951 European season) of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. However, no British or Spanish clubs accepted to participate in Copa Rio:

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

, Hibernian,

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 ...

and Atlético Madrid were all invited to the 1951 Copa Rio and declined to participate (as for the Madrid team, they declined participation in Copa Rio supposedly due to its proximity of dates with the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

). Thus, the Brazilian FA invited/accepted teams from other countries to participate in Copa Rio:

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, from France, Austria Wien, from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(at the time, the most successful federation at the

Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...

), and Red Star, from

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

(the next highest-ranked nation at the 1950 World Cup). However, the Austrian representative, Austria Wien, were previous national champions (1949-1950 season), while another club,

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

, were the reigning (1950-1951 season) Austrian champions; Rapid Wien were not invited to Copa Rio by the Brazilian FA as the club had not pleased the Brazilian audience in a previous tour to the country. As for the Italian representative, the Brazilian FA invited the reigning (1950-1951) Italian champions

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

, who declined to participate (supposedly due to the proximity of dates between Copa Rio and the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

), whereupon the organisers invited the previous (1949-1950) Italian champions Juventus, who participated in Copa Rio. Also in 1951, for the first edition of the tournament, Mexican club

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

requested participation and were denied, while the

Indian Football Association The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers association football in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the oldest Football Association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was form ...

requested the participation of a representative club and were also denied. Therefore, the final list of participants of the 1951 Copa Rio ended up being:

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

(1950 Rio de Janeiro state champions),

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

(1950 São Paulo state champions),

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

(1950/51 Portuguese champions), Austria Wien (1949/50 Austrian champions), Nacional (1950 Uruguayan champions), Red Star (1951 Yugoslav champion), Juventus (1949/50 Italian champions) and OGC Nice (1950/51 French champions). The Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Portugal, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and France representatives were the reigning (the then current) champions of their leagues.

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

won the 1951 Copa Rio. In 1952, the Brazilian FA entitled

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

to organise the second edition of the tournament, as part of Fluminense's 50th anniversary celebrations (''the second edition of the tournament was originally scheduled to 1953, but was advanced to 1952 for the aforementioned anniversary celebrations''). In 1952, no British, Spanish, French or Italian clubs accepted the invitation to participate in Copa Rio: Juventus,

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

,

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

, Hibernian, Newcastle United, Manchester United,

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 ...

, Real Madrid and

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

were all invited to participate in the 1952 Copa Rio, and all of them declined. As for Juventus,

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 ...

and

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, the three participated in the 1952

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

, which was held in dates close to the dates of Copa Rio, being that the supposed reason of their declination; as for Real Madrid, they prioritised participation in the 1952

Small Club World Cup The Small Club World Cup ( es, Pequeña Copa del Mundo) was a football tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1975 (with some journalists considering 1952–57 the period of greatest relevance, and the second period that took place between 1 ...

, held in Caracas. Thus, Fluminense and the Brazilian FA invited teams from Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Switzerland and West Germany, which were not invited for the 1951 edition of the tournament. As for the Colombian invitee,

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

, they prioritised participation in the 1952

Small Club World Cup The Small Club World Cup ( es, Pequeña Copa del Mundo) was a football tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1975 (with some journalists considering 1952–57 the period of greatest relevance, and the second period that took place between 1 ...

. In 1952 the

Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Tor ...

refused to allow its national champion Racing Club to participate in Copa Rio, while FC Nürnberg (West Germany) were prevented from participating in 1952 due to a West Germany 1950-1952 federal law prohibiting national clubs from participating in tournaments abroad (

FC Saarbrücken FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

took its berth, since that law did not apply to clubs from the

Saar Protectorate The Saar Protectorate (german: Saarprotektorat ; french: Protectorat de la Sarre) officially Saarland (french: Sarre) was a French protectorate separated from Germany; which was later opposed by the Soviet Union, one side occupying Germany lik ...

due to political reasons). In 1952,

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

(then Yugoslavia, presently

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

) requested participation and were denied. Therefore, the final list of participants of the 1952 Copa Rio ended up being:

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

(1951 Rio de Janeiro state champions),

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

(1951 São Paulo state champions), Austria Wien (1951/52 Austrian runners-up), Grasshopper-Club (1951/52 Swiss champions), Libertad (1952 Paraguayan runners-up),

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

(1951 Uruguayan champions),

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

(1951/52 Portuguese champions) and

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. FC Saarbrücken (german: 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken e. V.) is a football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. The club began its existence as the football de ...

(1951/52 Southwest German champions and West German runners-up). The Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Portugal, Uruguay and Switzerland representatives were the reigning (the then current) champions of their leagues, while FC Saarbrücken were the reigning Southwest-Germany champions but lost the final match of the West German championship.

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

won the 1952 Copa Rio. Both editions of the competition were contested between eight teams from Europe and South America, divided into two four-team groups, one in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

and the other in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, with matches at

Pacaembu Pacaembu () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 ...

stadium in São Paulo and Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Impact in Europe

Among the six countries that would later on dominate European club football, as measured by

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 ...

conquests (

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

), two of them were not invited to Copa Rio 1951, as Germany and Netherlands did not participate in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

held in Brazil, bearing in mind that back then

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

was not yet seen as a relevant football powerhouse, and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

was then excluded from international football due to the post-War, early

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

political tension (as were then excluded from international football all the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

Countries:

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

). It must be pointed out also that German and Dutch clubs declined participation in the Intercontinental Cup (IC) in the 1970s, perhaps indicating indifference in these countries for intercontinental club competitions. As for the British clubs, both English and Scottish clubs were invited to Copa Rio, having declined participation, and their indifference to play Copa Rio can be paralleled to their indifference to play the Intercontinental Cup in the 1970s or to play the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

in the 1930s. As for the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an countries (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

), their clubs and national FAs entitled priority to the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

, created by Ottorino Barassi and Jules Rimet and organised jointly by the national associations of the four participating countries. As there was proximity of dates between Copa Rio and the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

(and the European clubs were obliged to grant vacation to their footballers after the end of the European season), 2 clubs in 1951 (AC Milan and Atlético Madrid) and 3 in 1952 (Barcelona, Juventus and Nice) declined participation in Copa Rio supposedly in order to prioritise the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

. This can be compared to the fact that, later on, European clubs would entitle to 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 ...

much more importance than entitled to the Intercontinental Cup and the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

. Differently from the others, in 1951 French champions Nice prioritised Copa Rio and relinquished their berth in the Latin Cup to French runners-up Lille, and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

played both the Latin Cup and the Copa Rio every year (1951 and 1952, and also Copa Rio's 1953 successor tournament). It must be pointed out that, as a competition organised by the Brazilian FA, participation in Copa Rio was non-compulsory for non-Brazilian clubs; the case being different from the IC from the 1980s onwards and the FCWC, in which participation of 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 ...

club champion was compulsory under

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

and

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

rules (as an example, Barcelona considered the possibility of not participating in the 1992 IC, and the contractual obligation with UEFA weighed in for its decision to participate). One Spanish club declined participation in the 1952 Copa Rio in order to play Pequeña Copa del Mundo in Caracas:

Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. In Italy, the only European country that had been champion of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

by 1951, the 1951 tournament was hailed enthusiastically: the Italian press regarded the competition as an "impressive project" that "was greeted so enthusiastically by FIFA officials

Stanley Rous Sir Stanley Ford Rous (25 April 1895 – 18 July 1986) was an English football referee and the 6th President of FIFA, serving from 1961 to 1974. He also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 1962 and was an international ...

and Jules Rimet to the extent of almost giving it an official FIFA stamp;"Corriere dello Sport: Claudio Carsughi - Tra Rio de Janeiro e San Paolo l´avvio del "Torneo dei Campioni" - página 3(acervo)
30 June 1951 Describing Juventus's acceptance to participate in the 1951 tournament, the Italian press stated that "an Italian club could not be missing in such an important and worldwide-reaching event". Giampiero Boniperti, Juventus's main star at Copa Rio 1951 (thus, the main European star in the competition), declared, in a 2007 interview to

Placar ''Placar'' ( en, Score) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on foot ...

, that he and his teammates played Copa Rio 1951 seeing it as the legitimate Club World Cup. In at least five European countries (Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and Italy), the competition was hailed as either "Club World Championship/Cup" or simply as "Champions Cup".

Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Fil ...

was the great star of

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

at the 1952 Caracas tournament, when he played 2 matches against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, the club for which he would later become one of the world's greatest football idols ever. These historic matches might have occurred in Brazil, as both clubs were invited to the 1952 Copa Rio, but relinquished it in order to play the Caracas tournament.

Impact in South America

In 1951, the whole Brazilian press (all of the 15 Brazilian newspapers that have been researched on the issue) hailed the competition as the "World Champions Cup". In 1951

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

cancelled a trip to Europe in order to play in the Copa Rio, and in 1953 Vasco da Gama declined the invitation to play the 1953 " Pequeña Copa del Mundo" in order to play the 1953 Copa Rio-successor-tournament. The reigning Uruguayan champion participated in both editions of Copa Rio, what can be interpreted as a sign of the competition's prestige in that country, the only South American one that had been champion of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

by 1951. Moreover, the Uruguayan League was interrupted in 1951 in order to allow for its reigning champion

Club Nacional de Football Club Nacional de Football (, ''National Football Club'' or simply as Nacional) is a Uruguayan professional sports club based in Montevideo. The club was founded on 14 May 1899 as a result of the merger between ''Uruguay Athletic Club'' and ''Mon ...

to participate in Copa Rio, and in the same year the Uruguayan FA proposed to the Brazilian FA that Uruguay should host the 2nd edition of the tournament. However, in 1952 Uruguayan club

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

withdrew from the Copa Rio in their semi-final second leg match, resulting in a

walkover John_Carpenter_was_disqualified,_prompting_his_teammates_John_Taylor_(athlete).html" ;"title="John_Carpenter_(athlete).html" "title="Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres">men's 400 metres running in a walkover. Americ ...

forfeiture against

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

, citing "lack of security" after their first semi-final match ended in a brawl. One South American club declined participation in the 1952 Copa Rio in order to play Pequeña Copa del Mundo in Caracas:

Millonarios F.C. Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Estadio El Campín, El Campín stadium. Millonarios wa ...

Extinction

Already in 1951, the competition received criticism in the Brazilian press, as the quality of participants ended up being far below the original plan, as many European clubs were invited and declined participation. Among the European countries originally envisaged to be represented in Copa Rio, Portugal was chosen in order to please the huge Portuguese-Brazilian community, not due to football-based criteria. Among the 4 European countries originally envisaged to be represented in Copa Rio due to their footballing force (Italy, Spain, England, Scotland), only one (Italy) was represented in the 1951 Copa Rio, and their representative club (Juventus) were not the reigning national champions (AC Milan were the reigning Italian champions). On the verge of the 1951 Copa Rio, Brazilian newspaper ''O Estado de São Paulo'' published an article stating that the following editions of the cup should be called neither a "World" nor a "Champion Clubs" cup, for it merited neither labels. The same newspaper also sustained that competitions such as Copa Rio should ideally be organised by FIFA, in dates set and announced by FIFA in due advance, as there was the perception that the dates set by the Brazilian FA for Copa Rio did not fit the interest of the European clubs, thus resulting in a number of them declining to participate. As the final list of the 1951 participants turned out to be not of the same quality of the original plan, this fact was also criticized by the Italian press; as an example,

Vittorio Pozzo Vittorio Pozzo (; 2 March 1886 – 21 December 1968) was an Italian football player, manager and journalist. The creator of the '' Metodo'' tactical formation, Pozzo is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and is the only man ...

wrote an article criticising Copa Rio for not featuring representatives of Argentina, Scotland and England (the Brazilian newspaper

Jornal dos Sports ''Jornal dos Sports'' was a traditional Brazilian sports newspaper from Rio de Janeiro which was published between 13 March 1931 and 10 April 2010. It was the oldest Brazilian daily sports newspaper, distributed mainly in Rio de Janeiro state. '' ...

criticised him back, stating that the 1934 and 1938

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

won by Italy under Pozzo's guidance did not feature Uruguay, Scotland and England either). Italian newspaper

Corriere dello Sport ''Corriere dello Sport'' is an Italian national sports newspaper based in Rome, Italy. It is one of three major Italian sports daily newspapers and has the largest readership in central and southern Italy, the fourth most read throughout the co ...

stated in 1951 that, after the declination of Spanish, English and Scottish clubs to participate in Copa Rio, the competition "was reduced to an ''ad inviti'' cup". ("a cup by invitation", apparently meaning a cup without well-defined qualification criteria). Therefore, in June 1951, the Brazilian FA announced that the following editions of the competition (after the 1951 one) were to be hailed only as ''Taça Rio'', or ''Copa Rio'' (Portuguese for ''Rio Cup''), without the label "World Champions Cup" any more. Besides, as for the 1952 Copa Rio, ''O Estado de São Paulo'' published an article on the brink of the competition, stating that Uruguayan

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

was the only really valuable of the 6 foreign participants; for among the 4 European countries originally envisaged to be represented in Copa Rio due to their footballing force (Italy, Spain, England, Scotland), none was represented in the 1952 Copa Rio. Probably as a consequence of these facts, only 3 Brazilian newspapers (amongst 15 researched) referred to the 1952 edition as being the "World Champions Cup" (compared to all of 15 Brazilian newspapers researched on the 1951 edition): these were

Mário Filho Mário Rodrigues Filho, better known as Mário Filho (Recife, June 3, 1908 – Rio de Janeiro, September 17, 1966) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Born in the capital of Pernambuco state, Mário Filho moved to Rio while still a child, in ...

's ''

Jornal dos Sports ''Jornal dos Sports'' was a traditional Brazilian sports newspaper from Rio de Janeiro which was published between 13 March 1931 and 10 April 2010. It was the oldest Brazilian daily sports newspaper, distributed mainly in Rio de Janeiro state. '' ...

'', ''Última Hora'' (also connected to

Mário Filho Mário Rodrigues Filho, better known as Mário Filho (Recife, June 3, 1908 – Rio de Janeiro, September 17, 1966) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Born in the capital of Pernambuco state, Mário Filho moved to Rio while still a child, in ...

, as his brother headed the sports section) and ''Diário - Minas Gerais'' (''soon after the 1952 cup,

Mário Filho Mário Rodrigues Filho, better known as Mário Filho (Recife, June 3, 1908 – Rio de Janeiro, September 17, 1966) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Born in the capital of Pernambuco state, Mário Filho moved to Rio while still a child, in ...

wrote an article being sorry that the Brazilian audience regarded the 1952 Copa Rio as being of a lower technical level compared to the 1951 one, and being sorry that, while in 1951

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

hailed themselves as club world champions after winning Copa Rio,

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

did not regard their 1952 conquest in the same manner''). According to the ''Estado de São Paulo'', due to the difficulties in bringing strong European sides to compete in Brazil, the CBD (Brazilian Sports Confederation - then the Brazilian FA) decided that its 1953 intercontinental competition should feature four Brazilian clubs and four foreign clubs, rather than six foreign sides. The schedule of the 1953 competition (the ''Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer'') followed this decision; however, the Uruguayan Football Association prohibited Nacional from participating due to the close scheduling of the Uruguayan domestic league, and the club was replaced by Brazilian side

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

, as there was not enough time to search for a foreign substitute; after the said Uruguayan withdrawal, both

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

and

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

demanded the berth, and the Brazilian FA gave it to Fluminense, due to Fluminense's position in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo. Thus the competition ended up including five Brazilian sides and three foreign sides. The 1953 competition also saw some clubs being invited and declining to participate.

Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 195 ...

(West Germany) and

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

(from Belgrade, Serbia, then Yugoslavia) were invited and accepted to participate but were then uninvited by the Brazilian Sports Confederation. In the case of Rot-Weiss Essen, their invitation followed their

German Cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

win, and the un-invitation followed a 4–0 defeat in a friendly match in Essen against America (not viewed in Brazil as a top club). Rot-Weiss Essen sued the CBD for financial compensation, taking the case to FIFA (the results of the case are unknown). Despite the competition's new name and different distribution of domestic and foreign clubs, some sources (1953 editions of both ''

O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to berliner on October 17, 2021. It has t ...

'' and '' Mundo Deportivo'') referred to the 1953 competition as the same tournament of 1951–52, while other sources (

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around th ...

and 1953 editions of the ''

Jornal do Brasil ''Jornal do Brasil'', widely known as ''JB'', is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest extant Brazilian paper, after the '' Diário de Pernambuco'' and ''O Est ...

'') treated it as a successor tournament. Therefore, the final list of participants of the 1953 tournament ended up being:

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

(second-best placed among Rio de Janeiro teams in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo),

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

(third-best placed among Rio de Janeiro teams in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo, entering the berth left open by the withdrawal of Nacional),

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

(best placed among Rio de Janeiro teams in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo),

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

(best placed among São Paulo teams in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo),

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

(second-best placed among São Paulo teams in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo), Olimpia (runners-up of the Paraguayan Championship in 1953), Hibernian (Scottish Champions) and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

(reigning Portuguese Champions).The 1953 competition was won by

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, from Rio de Janeiro. The main European attraction of the 1953 cup was Hibernian, a club that, as Scottish champions, were among the first to be invited to both editions of Copa Rio (1951-1952), and had declined on both occasions. That Hibernian line-up was famous for their "

The Famous Five ''The Famous Five'' is a series of children's Adventure fiction, adventure novels and short stories written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, ''Five on a Treasure Island'', was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures ...

", and nowadays the club refer to their participation in the 1953 cup as being "''the first British club to play in the World Club Championship tournament in 1953''". The other European participant was

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

, a club that, as in 1951 and 1952, in 1953 played both the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

and the Brazilian FA's international club competition. Also in 1953, the Uruguayan FA launched their own worldwide club cup, based on Copa Rio, and named Copa

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...

, having been played in Uruguay in 1953 and 1954, won respectively by Nacional and

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

, with each edition featuring 6 South American clubs and only 2 European ones. The 1953 edition featured Nacional (its eventual champions),

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

,

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

,

First Vienna First Vienna FC is an Austrian association football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there. It is familiarly k ...

,

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

,

Colo Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional Association football, football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have List of unrelegated a ...

,

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

and Presidente Hayes, and the 1954 one featured

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

(its eventual champions), Nacional,

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

, America,

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

, Alianza Lima, Norrköping and

Sportivo Luqueño Club Sportivo Luqueño is a Paraguayan football club, based in the city of Luque on the outskirts of the capital Asunción. The club has won two Paraguayan championships. History The club was founded in 1921 when three teams from the city of L ...

. In 1955, the Brazilian FA organised another international club competition, named in homage to

Charles William Miller Charles William Miller (24 November 1874 – 30 June 1953; ) was a Brazilian sportsman, who is considered to be the father of football in Brazil. Early life He was born in São Paulo to John Miller, a Scottish railway engineer and Brazilian m ...

, with 4 Brazilian clubs (

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

,

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

, Palmeiras, America), and only 2 foreign clubs, SL Benfica (Portugal) and

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

(Uruguay). The competition was won by Corinthians, and played in 1955, the same year of the inaugural edition of the

European Cup 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 competit ...

, which would go on to become the top priority of the European clubs, thus definitely burying the hopes of the Brazilian FA to create an intercontinental club cup with meaningful European participation. Therefore, in 1955 the Brazilian FA decided to stop organising intercontinental club competitions altogether. In communication to journalist Janos Lengyel in 1955, published in Brazilian newspaper ''Diário da Noite'', Ottorino Barassi provided his opinion on why the Brazilian FA failed to attract the most important European clubs to compete in Brazil: ''"as long as we'' (meaning: Brazilians, the Brazilian FA) ''insist upon creating an international cup by scheduling its beginning for the dates that best fit us; as long as we establish by ourselves the technical-financial conditions of this cup; and just after all of that is decided, go looking for European clubs that accept to participate in the cup; as long as it so happens, we will have great difficulties. The right way, in case the Brazilian FA wants to keep regularly organising international cups in Brazil, is the following: establish in advance the countries whose champions or top clubs should be included in the cup; establish the right time basis of the cup (establish if the cup should be held every 2 years, or every 4 years); gather together representatives of the countries which were to be included; and then establish the dates and all the conditions of participation in the cup. Therefore, all the interested parts'' (all the interested national football associations) ''would be aware, in advance, that their champion clubs (their champion club or whatever club should be elected) should go to Brazil in appropriate moment, without the need of desperate démarches that always have little chance of success'' (meaning: desperate démarches of the Brazilian FA to try to bring European clubs to compete in Brazil). ''And such a cup would have the blessing and all guarantees from FIFA, what would ensure its follow-through, perfect under the managerial point of view''." Ottorino Barassi's 1955 words resonate for example the

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

, organised jointly by the national FAs of all the 4 participating countries.

Afterwards

The 1951 edition of Copa Rio was one of the "champions cups" organised by clubs or national football associations, before the 1955 onset of the

European Cup 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 competit ...

, other pre-1955 examples being

Copa Aldao The Copa Ricardo Aldao (English: ''Ricardo Aldao Cup''), popularly called Campeonato Rioplatense and Copa Río de La Plata, was an official AFA- AUF football club competition contested annually, albeit irregularly, between the league champions of ...

, Coupe des Nations,

South American Championship of Champions The South American Championship of Champions ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones, pt, Campeonato Sul-Americano de Campeões) was a football competition played in Santiago, Chile in 1948 and the first continental-wide football tournament in ...

and

Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...

. In May 1955,

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

agreed to recognise the

European Cup 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 competit ...

as an official competition only provided that

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

was its organiser. Thenceforth, international club competitions organised uniquely by clubs and national football associations (not by continental confederations such as

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

), such as Copa Rio, would decline in importance, being either extinguished or regarded as merely friendly cups. One attempt was made in 1960 in the USA to create a Club World Cup along the lines of Copa Rio: the ISL. However, in 1960 the Intercontinental Cup came into existence as a

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

/ CONMEBOL-endorsed "best club of the world" contest, overshadowing the ISL or any other attempt at creating another "club world cup", until the creation of the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

in 2000 and its merger with the Intercontinental Cup in 2005.

List of champions

Copa Rio successor

In 1953, the Brazilian Sports Confederation organised the Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Correa Meyer as a successor of Copa Rio. The tournament also featured teams from Europe and South America and had a similar format than its predecessor, being also held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

from 7 June to 4 July. This competition was held only once, and won by Vasco da Gama.Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer 1953
by Marcelo Leme on the RSSSF

Status of Copa Rio as the Club World Cup

The status of the competition as a "club world cup" is heatedly debated in Brazil, as both the 1951 winning club

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

and the 1952 winning club

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

regard themselves as the first ever club football world champions. A number of requests for official FIFA recognition, or acknowledgment (thenceforth the expressions "recognition"/"recognise" will be used in this text), of Copa Rio as an officially recognized "club world champions-crowning" tournament have been made to

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, primarily by 1951 Copa Rio winners

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

and the Brazilian FA (nowadays named CBF- ''Confederação Brasileira de Futebol''). Since 2007, the issue has turned into a matter of controversy: on the one hand, Copa Rio was unquestionably created in order to determine the "club world champions" and Palmeiras was celebrated in this manner in Brazil in 1951 (as proved by the 1951 Brazilian newspapers); on the other hand, the competition fell short of the aim of representing the best of European and South American football, as can be seen through the list of clubs that were invited and declined to participate. In 2006, Palmeiras prepared a document for FIFA, detailedly describing the 1951 Copa Rio, in order to request official confirmation of their conquest as the first ever club football world championship. The document sustained that the participation of FIFA officials

Stanley Rous Sir Stanley Ford Rous (25 April 1895 – 18 July 1986) was an English football referee and the 6th President of FIFA, serving from 1961 to 1974. He also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 1962 and was an international ...

and Ottorino Barassi in the organisation of the 1951 competition was a clear indication of FIFA's blessing to it in 1951, sustaining that FIFA had assigned Barassi to represent FIFA in the organisation of the tournament (in reality, in a 1951 interview, the FIFA president Jules Rimet, while praising the Brazilian initiative for Copa Rio, denied any FIFA involvement or responsibility for it). Rous and Barassi were primarily involved in negotiations with European clubs, while Barassi also helped organize the framework of the competition, having been present in Brazil several times in 1951, for example for the cup final match. Barassi was involved in the recruiting of European clubs also in 1952, and also in its 1953 successor-tournament, though only through telephone contact, with no evidence that he came to Brazil personally in 1952 and 1953, as he did several times for the 1951 edition. In May 2007, Palmeiras received a letter from FIFA, signed by then Secretary-General Urs Linsi, recognizing Palmeiras as club world champions of 1951. However, this decision was later withdrawn by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who declared that the matter was still being evaluated. On 26 April, FIFA announced that the proceedings to make this decision had not been completed yet, and that the issue had been dealt with only at administrative level, by the General-Secretariat, though, given the importance of the matter, it should be submitted to the FIFA Executive Committee. In December 2007, FIFA declared that the first Club World Cup was played in Brazil in 2000, thus not recognizing Copa Rio as an official FIFA event. The clarification that Copa Rio was not an official FIFA event happened as the presence of Ottorino Barassi in the 1951 Copa Rio Organising Committee was understood to be a sign of FIFA endorsement (at least a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' endorsement) to Copa Rio in 1951. In April 2013, in communication to then Brazilian Minister of Sports, Aldo Rebelo, then FIFA General-Secretary, Jérôme Valcke, stated that FIFA recognised Palmeiras as champions of the "''first Club World Cup ever held''" (as written in the document). In 2014, the

FIFA Executive Committee The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress. ...

recognized Palmeiras as champions of the "''first worldwide club competition''" (as written in the document). Also in 2014,

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

president

Joseph Blatter Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result o ...

stated to the Brazilian press that Palmeiras's 1951 conquest has effectively been recognised by FIFA and thus Palmeiras should be regarded as club world champions. A week after Blatter's statement, FIFA stated to the Brazilian press that the FIFA Executive Committee "agreed to recognise the 1951 cup as the first club cup at world level". On 22 July 2016, FIFA celebrated the 65-year anniversary of the 1951 Copa Rio won by Palmeiras. On instagram, FIFA posted: ''"Green is the color of envy. 'The Big Green' were the envy of the wide world # On this day 65 years ago. A Liminha-inspired Palmeiras edged a Juventus team including Giampiero Boniperti & a Danish triumvirate to become the sport's first intercontinental world club champions. 100,000 watched that at the Maracanã. One million flooded the streets of São Paulo to welcome their heroes home"''. (as written in the post). A distinction between a "worldwide competition" (''worldwide in reach but that does not necessarily indicate the world champion'') and a "competition awarding the label of world champion" rose in January 2017, when FIFA issued the following statement, whereby FIFA mentioned both Copa Rio and the Intercontinental Cup as ''examples'' (by using the expression ''such as'') of competitions whose existence FIFA hailed as positive: "''At its meeting in Sao Paulo on 7 June 2014 the FIFA Executive Committee agreed to the request presented by CBF to acknowledge the 1951 tournament between European and South American clubs as the first worldwide club competition, and Palmeiras as its winner. FIFA acknowledges and values the initiatives to establish worldwide club competitions throughout history. This is the case of tournaments involving European and South American clubs, such as the pioneering Copa Rio, played in 1951 and 1952, and the Intercontinental Cup. However, it was not until 2000 that FIFA organised the maiden FIFA Club World Cup, with representatives from all six confederations. The winners of this competition, which went on to be staged annually from 2005 onwards, are the ones officially considered by FIFA as club world champions''. After the aforementioned 2017 FIFA statement, the Brazilian football

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informati ...

started to question if the expression "''first worldwide club competition''" (used in the document of the 2014 meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee on the recognition of the 1951 Copa Rio) meant the equivalent of a "Club World Cup", or meant merely a club cup worldwide in reach but without indicating the club world champions (e.g.: the

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. ...

is a European-wide club cup but does not indicate the European Champions). In April 2019, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, interviewed by the Brazilian media, reiterated the perspective that only the winners of the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup are officially recognised as club world champions: "''We have (the FIFA) already decided to give the title of world champion to everyone who has won the Cup between Europe and South America since 1960. 1951 is a little further back''"; "''The world title of Palmeiras... For miracles, you need ask another, not me...''". Also in April 2019, former

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

president

Joseph Blatter Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result o ...

(who held office until December 2015) stated to the Brazilian press that Palmeiras has been effectively recognised by FIFA in 2014 and thus should be regarded as club world champions. As far as

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

official-web-site documents are concerned, in October 2017 FIFA changed its long-standing position on the Intercontinental Cup, and has officially recognised (with official FIFA Council approval) all its champions (from 1960 to 2004) as club world champions. Both Intercontinental Cup and

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

winners are listed as club world champions in the ''FIFA Club World Cup Statistical Kit'', FIFA's official document on its club world competition, with the aforementioned recognition being expressly mentioned in all annual editions of the aforementioned document since 2017. Copa Rio has never been mentioned in this document since its supposed FIFA-recognition in 2014, prompting controversy in Brazil on the extent to which FIFA recognised, or did not recognise, Copa Rio. On the verge of Palmeiras's first match at the

2021 FIFA Club World Cup The 2021 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 18th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament be ...

, FIFA published, on its web-site, a text on Palmeiras's history. On the 1951 Copa Rio, the text read: ''Global glory for 'The Big Green': A world championship had been dreamed of and discussed for years by some of football’s foremost shot-callers – Jules Rimet, Ottorino Barassi and Stanley Rous among them – and was finally scheduled for 1951 in Brazil, which had recently hosted the FIFA World Cup™. The eight-team competition involved some of Europe’s top teams, Uruguayan behemoths Nacional and Brazilian duo Vasco da Gama and Palmeiras, who qualified as Rio-Sao Paulo Tournament winners. The favourites were Juventus, who boasted an exceptional attack featuring Karl Aage Hansen, Karl Aage Praest, John Hansen and Giampiero Boniperti, and Vasco, who supplied eight members of Brazil’s World Cup squad the previous year. The duo’s status as favourites was strengthened in the group stage, with the Carioca colossuses thrashing Sporting Lisbon and Austria Vienna 5-1 and the Turin titans thumping Palmeiras 4-0. The Paulista powerhouses, however, had other ideas and, brushing aside injury blows, beat Vasco 2-1 over 180 minutes in the semi-finals and stunned Juve 1-0 in the first leg of the final. Rio de Janeiro was packed on the day of the decider, with a reported 10,000 Italians cramming into its hotels, certain Juventus would emerge triumphant. Yet Liminha, a 21-year-old who had begun the tournament on the bench, helped set up the first equaliser and scored a late, title-clinching goal in a 2-2 draw in front of over 100,000 at the Maracana.''''Superheroes in green''. FIFA web-site. 6 February 2021.
/ref> Brazilian clubs

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

and

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

declared in 2007 that they would follow suit in case

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

was successful about the 1951 Copa Rio recognition-request, and therefore they would ask FIFA recognition for their titles of 1952 (Fluminense's Copa Rio) and 1953 (Corinthians's Pequeña Copa del Mundo), with other clubs following suit later on ( Bangu's 1960 ISL,

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

's Caracas trophies 1967–1970), thus prompting speculation that a possible FIFA recognition of Copa Rio 1951 as a Club World Cup might propel other clubs to make similar "recognition requests" for other competitions, thus creating a "free-for-all" of requests, mainly on competitions held in the 1950s, before the onset of the Intercontinental Cup in 1960 as a

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

/ CONMEBOL-endorsed "best club of the world" contest. These are often cited in Brazil as explanations for Palmeiras's failure to achieve recognition for Copa Rio 1951 in the same full-fledged manner in which FIFA recognised the Intercontinental Cup as a Club World Cup.

Notes

References

External links

Copa Rio 1951
on the RSSSF

on the RSSSF

on the RSSSF {{Friendly association football tournaments in South America International club association football competitions hosted by Brazil R Recurring sporting events established in 1951 1951 establishments in Brazil 1952 disestablishments

History

Creation

Organization

Impact in Europe

Impact in South America

Extinction

Afterwards

List of champions

Copa Rio successor

Status of Copa Rio as the Club World Cup

See also

Notes

References

External links