 | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2013 |
| Region | CONCACAF UEFA Canada United States (hosts) |
| Number of teams | Varies |
| Television broadcasters | ESPN Univisión |
| Website | mlssoccer.com |
The World Football Challenge was an international club association football exhibition competition featuring club teams from Europe and North America, that was held from 2009 until 2012, when it was replaced by the International Champions Cup. [1]
The 2009 World Football Challenge was the first World Football Challenge event, featuring Chelsea from the Premier League in England, América from the Primera División de México in Mexico, and Internazionale and AC Milan from Serie A in Italy. Chelsea were the 2009 champions. [2]
The 2011 World Football Challenge was held in July and August 2011. It featured thirteen different squads meeting up in fourteen matches across the United States and Canada. The tournament format was very different from the 2009 event, due to the increase in number of teams, including five MLS teams. Four of the MLS teams played one match at home while L.A. Galaxy played one match on their home pitch and one at the larger Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Real Madrid emerged as the World Football Challenge winners for 2011 with 17 points, narrowly edging-out Manchester United on goal differential. [3] The only European clubs to play against each other in this tournament were Juventus and Sporting CP. This was Sporting CP's only match in the exhibition.
The 2012 World Football Challenge was held in seven American and one Canadian stadium in July and August 2012. Eleven clubs competed from UEFA and CONCACAF. Real Madrid played the most matches and went undefeated. [4]
On April 15, 2013, it was announced that the International Champions Cup would be replacing the World Football Challenge. [5]
| Tournament | Winner | Nation | Runner-up | Nation | Third | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea |  England | América |  Mexico | Internazionale |  Italy | |
| Real Madrid |  Spain | Manchester United | England | Manchester City | England | |
| Real Madrid | Spain | n/a (changed to unbalanced format) | ||||
David Robert Joseph Beckham is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, crossing ability and free-kick taking, Beckham has been hailed as one of the greatest and most recognisable midfielders of his generation, as well as one of the best free-kick takers of all time. He won 19 major trophies in his career, and is the first English player to win league titles in four different countries: England, Spain, the United States and France.
The UEFA Champions League is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout format, and a single leg final. It is the most-watched club competition in the world and the third most-watched football competition overall, behind only the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup. It is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champions of their national associations.
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The 2013 International Champions Cup was an exhibition association football tournament played in Spain and the United States. It began on Saturday, July 27 and culminated on Wednesday, August 7, 2013. This tournament replaced the World Football Challenge and was staged mainly throughout the United States, and with one match in Valencia, Spain. The participating teams were LA Galaxy of the United States, Real Madrid and Valencia of Spain, Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan of Italy, and Chelsea and Everton of England. In the United States, Fox Soccer televised 11 of 12 matches live, and Fox Sports broadcast one match live on August 3. ESPN Deportes televised all matches live on TV and on WatchESPN in Spanish.
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