See also
- Benefit (sports)
- Benefit season, a similar concept in cricket.
- Len Cantello Testimonial Match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for service to the club. These matches are always non-competitive. [1]
The practice started at a time when player compensation, even those at top professional clubs, was at a level that made it difficult to maintain it as a primary form of employment therefore retirement savings might not exist. These matches are generally well-attended and the gesture by the club can give the honoree income that enables a retirement income base or enable the honoree an opportunity to establish themselves in other employment when they finished playing. This is still the main objective of testimonials in Australia, Ireland and some other countries.
Clubs typically grant testimonials to players upon reaching ten years of service with a club, although in recent years they have been given to players for particular circumstances such as approaching retirement. Typically, the club invites (depending on the career of the honoree) current or retired teammates (typically the honoree's club and national team) to participate in the match or with the associated festivities. All proceeds from the match go to the player which depending on the applicable country laws may be tax-free. These matches have become less frequent as changes have occurred in football that make the original purpose less needed or appreciated. Wages have increased, players may not stay with a club as long as they had formerly and those top players that have the esteem of the public and in the past had financial need for such assistance make it less likely for the public to support the purpose of these matches. [2] [3] However, testimonial matches for players who have given many years of service to the club (i.e. one-club men) and are popular with fans have a higher turnout.
Testimonials in top-level football have continued to honour a player but have increasingly become charitable affairs, in which the player gives part or all of the proceeds to charitable activities. For example, longtime Sunderland and Republic of Ireland star Niall Quinn, in a "friendly" in 2002 at the Stadium of Light, donated all of the nearly-£1-million proceeds of the match to the charitable foundation he started that go to the support of children's hospitals in Tyne and Wear, Ireland, and India. [3] Another high-profile charitable testimonial was that of England rugby player Martin Johnson, held at Twickenham on 4 June 2005. This event, which featured many rugby union stars, benefited children's and cancer charities. On 4 September 2010, a crowd of 35,682 attended Jamie Carragher's testimonial match at Anfield, after fifteen years of service to Liverpool, and helped to raise more than £1 million for the defender's "23 Foundation" charity. [4]
In addition to many exhibition matches which have been organised to raise funds for good causes, [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] often in the style of an all-star game (such as annual Soccer Aid and Match Against Poverty events), some similar matches have been arranged to honour a particular player at the end of their career, with the proceeds going to charity – examples being Gheorghe Hagi [29] and Tomáš Rosický [30] – but these are not testimonials as they are not organised by a club. There are some other cases of matches to honour deceased players as a mourning as Liam Miller's case. [31]
Enzo Francescoli Uriarte, nicknamed "El Príncipe", is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of Uruguay's and South America's greatest ever players. He represented his nation at two FIFA World Cups, in 1986 and 1990, also winning the Copa América in 1983, 1987 and 1995.
Antonio Vespucio Liberti was a former chairman of Club Atlético River Plate. He presided the club four times, becoming the president who was most often in charge of the club, with 20 non-consecutive years in office.
Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, officially Estadio Mâs Monumental for sponsorship reasons, and popularly known as "River Plate Stadium", "Monumental de Núñez", or simply "El Monumental", is a stadium in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, home venue of Club Atlético River Plate.
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.
River Plate may refer to:
Torneos de Verano are a series of short friendly football pre-season tournaments held during the southern summer in Argentina every year, usually in January and February. They serve as preparation for the teams for the season coming; however, as the years went by the competitiveness in the tournaments increased, and they are now considered as important competitions. This is clearly reflected in the high crowd attendance for the games.
The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw ten teams competing for places in the finals in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL. Matches were scheduled so that there were always two games within a week, which was aimed at minimizing player travel time, particularly for players who were based in Europe.
This page details the records and statistics of the Copa Libertadores. The Copa Libertadores is an international premier club tournament played annually by the top football clubs of South America. It includes 3–5 teams from all ten CONMEBOL members plus Mexico, whose clubs are sometimes invited as guests to the tournament. It is now held from January to November and it consists of eight stages.
The 1966 Copa Libertadores de América was the seventh edition of the competition, the premier South American club football tournament, organized by CONMEBOL. Colombia and Brazil did not send their representatives. This edition became the first club competition of the world to include the runners-up of each of its participating association. Despite the fact that Colombian and Brazilian clubs did not participate, this tournament saw a record 95 matches being played out to determine this year's champion.
The 1966 Copa Libertadores finals were the two-legged final that decided the winner of the 1966 Copa Libertadores, the 7th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
The final stages of the 2014 Copa Sudamericana were played from October 1 to December 10, 2014. A total of 16 teams competed in the final stages.
The 2015 Copa Libertadores final stages played from April 28 to August 5, 2015. A total of 16 teams competed in the final stages to decide the champions of the 2015 Copa Libertadores.
Club Atlético River Plate is a professional Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The football team is one of the most successful of Argentina, having won the Primera División professional title a record 38 times. The club has also won 15 National cups.
The 2019 CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana was the 27th edition of the CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana, the football competition organized by CONMEBOL between the winners of the previous season's two major South American club tournaments, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana.
The 2018 Copa Libertadores final stages were played from 7 August to 9 December 2018. A total of 16 teams competed in the final stages to decide the champions of the 2018 Copa Libertadores.
The 2018 Copa Libertadores finals was the two-legged final to decide the winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores, the 59th edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier international club football tournament organised by CONMEBOL.
The 2019 Copa Libertadores final stages were played from 23 July to 23 November 2019. A total of 16 teams competed in the final stages deciding the champions of the 2019 Copa Libertadores, with the final played in Lima, Peru at the Estadio Monumental.
Pablo Agustín Minissale is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Central Córdoba SdE, on loan from Argentinos Juniors.
The 2022 Copa Libertadores group stage was played from 5 April to 26 May 2022. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the final stages of the 2022 Copa Libertadores.