The FIFA 70th anniversary retrospective awards was a published list of retroactive annual awards by FIFA for the period between 1904 and 1973 in order to celebrate its 70th anniversary in 1974. The first official award given by FIFA to the world's best football player was launched in 1991 under the name of FIFA World Player of the Year. [1] [2]
The 32nd FIFA Congress took place in Paris. In May 1974, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the founding of FIFA, a Technical study group of experts appointed by FIFA with the task to create a list of the best players per annum since the organization's inception. João Havelange was the FIFA president at the time, [3] succeding Stanley Rous [4] [5] in the year of West Germany's 1974 FIFA World Cup. [6]
The following list features the top three football players every year from 1904 until 1973 as published by FIFA.
Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid "João" de Havelange was a Brazilian lawyer, businessman, and athlete who served as the seventh president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998. His tenure as president is the second longest in FIFA's history, behind only that of Jules Rimet. He received the title of Honorary President when leaving office, but resigned in April 2013. He was preceded by Stanley Rous and was succeeded by Sepp Blatter. João Havelange served as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1963 to 2011. He was the longest-serving active member upon his resignation. In July 2012, a Swiss prosecutor's report revealed that, during his tenure on FIFA's Executive Committee, he and his son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira took more than 41 million Swiss francs (£21m) in bribes in connection with the award of World Cup marketing rights.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) (in French Confédération Africaine de Football) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan by the national football associations of: Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa. following formal discussions between the aforementioned associations at the FIFA Congress held on 7 June 1956 at Avenida Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Rous Cup was a short-lived football competition in the second half of the 1980s, contested between England, Scotland and, in later years, a guest team from South America. It was named after Sir Stanley Rous, an English football administrator.
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 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship. It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors in the cancelled 2001 tournament, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL), but since 2005 it has been held every year. Views differ as to the cup's prestige: it struggles to attract interest in most of Europe, and is the object of heated debate in South America.
The Romanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated to FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federation organizes the men's national team and the women's national team, as well as most of the Romanian football competitions.
FIFA is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer. It is one of the world's oldest and largest NGOs, being founded on 21 May 1904. It has since expanded to include 211 member associations.
The South African Football Association is the national administrative governing body that controls the sport of football in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). SAFA established in 1991. The South African Football Association is the second Football Association in South Africa to be named the South African Football Association and it is also the second football association in South Africa to affiliate to FIFA. The present day South African Football Association, unlike its predecessor allows for a mixed-race national team.
Arthur Drewry was an English football administrator who served as the fifth president of FIFA, the world governing body of association football, from 1955 to 1961. Drewry held several football administration posts in his native England, serving as chairman of The Football Association and president of The Football League.
Sir Stanley Ford Rous 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 referee.
Sir John Leman High School is a coeducational 11–18 secondary school with academy status serving part of the Waveney region in north Suffolk, England. The school is located on the western edge of the town of Beccles and serves the surrounding area, including Worlingham. Pupils from Norfolk villages such as Gillingham and Broome also sometimes attend the school. The school has approximately 1,400 pupils, including a sixth form of around 260 students.
Mutford is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk District of the English county of Suffolk. The village is 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Lowestoft and 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Beccles in a rural area. The parish borders Barnby, Carlton Colville, Gisleham, Rushmere, Henstead with Hulver Street, Ellough and North Cove. The village gave its name to the Half Hundred of Mutford which is named in the Domesday Book.
Eighteen countries have been FIFA World Cup hosts in the competition's twenty-two tournaments since the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The organization at first awarded hosting to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The choice of location was controversial in the earliest tournaments, given the three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centers of strength in football at the time.
Silvio Gazzaniga was an Italian sculptor. While working for the Stabilimento Artistico Bertoni company, he created the FIFA World Cup Trophy.
Peter Joseph "Peco" Bauwens was a German international footballer who played as a forward, referee and controversial administrator with the German Football Association (DFB). In total he was associated with the national game in that country from 1904 until 1962.
From a humble beginning in 1957, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has grown into a notable organisation with the membership of 54 football association. The confederation of African Football is also responsible for the organization of the major competitions within Africa.
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei", was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time as well as Benfica's best player ever. He was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and right-footed shot, making him a prolific goalscorer, accumulating 733 goals in 745 matches.
The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of the International Association Football Federation, commonly known by the acronym FIFA. FIFA is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer. The congress may be ordinary or extraordinary.
The Olympic Diploma of Merit was an award given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to recognise outstanding services to sports or a notable contribution to the Olympic Games. By 1974, the last time the awards were granted, just 58 people had received the award.
Ernst B. Thommen was the acting (interim) FIFA president from March 1961 to 28 September 1961. He spent 6 months in office, succeeding Arthur Drewry who died in office.
The Morocco–Portugal–Spain 2030 FIFA World Cup bid was a successful bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. The bid was first announced by the football federations of Portugal and Spain on 7 October 2020, with Morocco joining on 14 March 2023. On 4 October 2023, Morocco, Portugal and Spain were chosen as the host countries for the 2030 FIFA World Cup over the South American bid, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay being selected to host three inaugural matches on the occasion of the centenary of the 1930 World Cup.It will be ratified by the FIFA Congress in Late 2024.