Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is an American former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and helped the team win four NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a down. In flag football, contact is limited between players. The sport has a strong amateur following with several national and international competitions each year sponsored by various associations but is most popularly played in America where it was invented. The international governing body for the sport is the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). In 2022, flag football was shortlisted as a proposed discretionary event for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with inclusion being accepted on October 16, 2023.
The Sweden men's national football team represents Sweden in men's international football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Friends Arena in Solna and the team is coached by Jon Dahl Tomasson. From 1945 to late 1950s, they were considered one of the greatest teams in Europe.
The Germany women's national football team represents Germany in international women's football. The team is governed by the German Football Association (DFB).
The Norway women's national football team is controlled by the Football Association of Norway. The team is former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one of the most successful national teams. The team has had less success since the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The most popular sport in Mexico currently is association football followed by boxing. However, there are regional variations: for example, baseball is the most popular sport in the northwest and the southeast of the country. Charrería is the national sport of Mexico. American rodeo is also popular in Mexico, but primarily in the northern half of the country. Basketball, American football and bull riding are also popular. Other sports followed by Mexicans are ice hockey, mixed martial arts, motorsports, taekwondo, and cycling. The tradition of bullfighting remains strong in Mexico.
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
Marta Vieira da Silva, known as Marta, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Brazil national team. Marta is often regarded as the greatest female footballer of all time. She has been named FIFA World Player of the Year six times, five of them being consecutive and the latest award coming in 2018.
This page indexes the individual year in association football pages. Each year is annotated with one or more significant events as a reference point.
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of American football associations. The IFAF oversees the organisation and promotion of all amateur international competitions across both contact and non contact versions of the game, including the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a provisionary member of SportAccord in 2003, and became a full SportAccord member in 2005. The organization's head office is located in the French commune of La Courneuve, in the Île-de-France region.
Sport in Europe tends to be highly organized with many sports having professional leagues. The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lie in the codification of many traditional games, especially in the United Kingdom. However, a paradoxical feature of European sport is the extent to which local, regional and national variations continue to exist, and even in some instances to predominate.
American Football Association of Finland is the national governing body of American football in Finland. It was founded in 1979 and it is a founding member of the European Federation of American Football, EFAF and International Federation of American Football, IFAF. Since 2000, American football has grown steadily. In 2006 there were 27 clubs playing the sport with over 100 teams and over 1400 players. In 2012, the association's competitions fielded over 150 teams with more than 2200 licensed players.
Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, in each of these nations there are several established clubs, and organised men's, women's and juniors programs. The British AFL has now expanded into Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.
The IFAF Women's World Championship is the international championship for women in American football. The first event was held in 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden, with six countries competing. The United States took home the gold while not letting any team they played score. The second event was held in 2013, with Vantaa, Finland, hosting the games. The United States swept the competitors again, winning the gold medal. Third event was played in 2017 with Canada as the host nation. The U.S. took the gold medal for the third time, again beating the host nation Canada in the final.
The Guatemala women's national football team is controlled by the Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala. They are one of the top women's national football teams in the Central American region along with Costa Rica, having won the 1999 UNCAF championship.
The Costa Rica women's national football team represents Costa Rica in women's international football. The national team is controlled by the governing body Costa Rican Football Federation. They are one of the top women's national football teams in the Central American region along with Guatemala and Panama.
Women's soccer, also known as women's football, is a popular sport in Australia. The sport has a high level of participation in the country both recreational and professional. Football Australia is the national governing body of the sport in Australia, organising the A-League Women, the Australian women's national team, and the nine state governing bodies of the game, among other duties. Women's participation of modern soccer has been recorded since the early 1920s. It has since become one of Australia's most popular women's team sports.
Soccer in the United States has a varied history. Research indicates that the modern game entered the country during the 1850s with New Orleans' Scottish, Irish, German and Italian immigrants. Some of the first organized games, using modern English rules, were played in that city.
Women's football in China is one of the traditional powers of women's football. China has only 6,000 to 7,000 registered female players above age 12, according to the Chinese soccer federation statistics. China has fallen behind other countries in the 21st century in regards of developing quality footballers in terms of quality and quantity.
The following are the scheduled events of association football (soccer) for the calendar year 2023 throughout the world. This includes the following:
