 | |
| 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 current president and co-owner of Inter Miami and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending free-kicks as a right winger, Beckham has been hailed as one of the greatest and most recognisable midfielders of his generation, as well as one of the best set-piece specialists of all time. Due to his talent and achievements for both club and country, Beckham is additionally lauded as one of the greatest Manchester United footballers of all time, as well as one of the best English players in the history of the sport. He is the first English player to win league titles in four countries: England, Spain, the United States and France.
LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional men's soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play in 1996 as one of the league's 10 charter members.
The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference Final. The MLS Cup winner is awarded the title of league champion.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (123) and international appearances (200). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 800 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the highest goalscorer of all time.
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho FélixGOIH, is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Dubbed "The Special One" by the British media, Mourinho is one of the most decorated managers ever and is widely considered to be among the greatest managers of all time.
Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2005 as an expansion team of the league. The club was founded in 2004 when the club's first owner and founder was awarded an expansion berth in Major League Soccer.
Carlo Ancelotti, is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Madrid. Nicknamed "Don Carlo", he is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. Ancelotti is the most decorated manager in UEFA Champions League history, having won the trophy a record four times as coach. He is also the first and only one to have managed teams in five Champions League finals. As a player, he won the European Cup twice with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, making him one of seven people to have won the European Cup or Champions League as both a player and a manager. Ancelotti is also the first and only manager ever to have won league titles in all of Europe's top five leagues. He has won the FIFA Club World Cup a joint-record three times, and is also the manager with the most UEFA Super Cup triumphs, having won the trophy on four occasions, managing Milan and Real Madrid.
This page details statistics of the European Cup and Champions League. Unless noted, these statistics concern all seasons since the inception of the European Cup in the 1955–56 season, and renamed since 1992 as the UEFA Champions League. This does not include the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, unless otherwise noted.
The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 2002 throughout the world.
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed El Pipita or Pipa, Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and offensive movements. He won six European league titles across La Liga and Serie A.
Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz, known as Fredy Montero (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfɾeði monˈteɾo], is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. He is Seattle's all-time top scorer in official club competitions, scoring 76 goals with the club between two stints: 2009 and 2012, and since 2021. Montero has been called up to the Colombia national team five times, scoring once in an unofficial match against Catalonia.
The 2010 UEFA Champions League final was an association football match played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid, on 22 May 2010, to determine the winners of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. It was the first Champions League final to be played on a weekend, rather than the traditional weekday. The match was won by Inter Milan, who beat Bayern Munich 2–0 to complete the treble, a feat never before achieved by any team from either Italy or Germany. The refereeing team came from England and was led by Howard Webb.
The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer.
Álvaro Borja Morata Martín is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team.
Michael Oliver is an English professional football referee from Ashington, Northumberland. His county FA is the Northumberland Football Association. He belongs to the Select Group of Referees in England and officiates primarily in the Premier League. He received his FIFA badge in 2012, allowing him to officiate in major international matches. Oliver was appointed to take charge of the final of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Oliver was promoted to the UEFA Elite Group of Referees in 2018.
The 2012 Los Angeles Galaxy season was the club's 18th year of existence as well as their 17th season in Major League Soccer (MLS) and their 17th consecutive year in the top-flight of American soccer. The Galaxy entered the season as both the defending MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield winners.
The 2011 World Football Challenge was the second World Football Challenge event, a series of friendly association football matches played in the United States and Canada in July and August.
The year of 2011 in CONCACAF marked the 48th year of CONCACAF competitions.
The 2013 International Champions Cup was an exhibition association football tournament played in the United States and Spain. 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.
The International Champions Cup (ICC) was an annual club association football (soccer) exhibition competition staged from 2013 to 2019. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports resulted in the 2020 edition being cancelled. The tournament has been abolished.