The Small World Cup () was a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
tournament held in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
between 1952 and 1975 (with some journalists considering 1952–57 the period of greatest relevance, and the second period that took place between 1963 and 1975 as of minor relevance).
[ In most of the occasions, the competition was played by four participants from Europe and South America. In the first period, ]clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands a ...
from three countries would win the tournament: Spain, Brazil and Colombia. Five clubs have won the trophy in this period: Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
, São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, Millonarios, Corinthians, and Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...
.
When the Europeans Champions Clubs' Cup was started in 1955, the Venezuelan competition lost importance and was discontinued in 1957. Although the tournament was relaunched in 1963, its relevance decreased as another competition was happening at the time, the Intercontinental Cup (first held in 1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events January
* Janu ...
) was then established as the major, official intercontinental competition for both South American and European clubs.
During the 1963–75 period, the trophy was also named "Copa Ciudad de Caracas". However, there is controversy surrounding this name, as during this period the Taça Ciudad de Caracas was named after different trophies taking place in the same city, different championships, so in 1966 Botafogo was considered the winner and competed against Santos in the grand final, winning the Trophy called Journalists Circle Cup (Copa Círculo de Pediodicos Deportivos), however Valencia also competed with Vitoria Guimares and won the Símon Bolivar trophy. Thus, the winner of the Caracas tournament that year is controversial, as the greatest relevance was the Botafogo and Santos game, where great players such as Garrincha and Pelé starred. Then, in 1967, the tournament in Caracas was between, again, the Journalists Circle Cup (Copa Círculo de Pediodicos Deportivos), where teams such as Barcelona, Botafogo and Peñarol played. And, later in the year, the so-called Copa Cuadricentenario de Caracas took place, which was played between the teams Athletic Bilbao, Platense and Académica Coimbra, super regional teams that no longer exist.
In 1968 the Tournament took place in Caracas in which the Oldemario Ramos Trophy was offered, played between the teams of Benfica, Botafogo and Argentina XI. in which Botafogo became the great champion.
This competition is considered by some journalists as a predecessor of Intercontinental Cup, in that it regularly featured clubs from Europe and South America.[El primer torneo internacional de clubes](_blank)
by José Quesada on Fútbol Retro.esEL RAPTO DE DI STÉFANO ARRUINÓ LA PEQUEÑA COPA DEL MUNDO
by Iván Castelló on Eurosport, 18 Apr 2020 However, there has come to light no 1952–1960 original source indicating that it had any influence for the creation of the Intercontinental Cup, or that it was effectively hailed in 1952–1957 as a club world trophy. Nevertheless, some clubs like Real Madrid highlight this trophy in their history as a world championship in the trophy sections of their web-sites and publications.
List of champions
;Notes
Titles by country
Performances by continent
References
{{Friendly association football tournaments in South America
Small Club World Cup
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