Major international competitions
The major international competition in football is the World Cup , organised by FIFA. This competition
takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within
the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every
four years, now involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period. The 2006 FIFA World Cup
took place in Germany; in 2010 it will be held in South Africa .
After the World Cup, the most important football competitions are the continental championships, which are
organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European
Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup (OFC). Two of the most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores de América in South America . The most prestigious competition until 2005 was the Intercontinental Cup which was contested by the winner club of the European Champions League cup and the winner of the Copa Libertadores. This was a single match played in Tokyo , Japan and went from 1980 until 2004. This was also known as the Toyota Cup. Due to the growing number of audience and interest of people from Africa, North America and Asia , this
"cup" was replaced in 2005 by the FIFA Club World Championship in which there is no single match, but a whole tournament between the winners of the six club championships of each FIFA confederation.
The governing bodies in each country operate league systems , normally comprising several divisions , in which the teams gain points throughout the season depending on results. Teams are placed into tables , placing them in order according to points accrued. Most commonly, each team plays every other team in its league at home and away in each season, in a round-robin tournament . At the end of a season, the top team are declared to be the champions, and the top few teams may be promoted to a higher division; and one or more of the teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division. The teams finishing at the top of a country's league may be eligible also to play in international club competitions in the following season. The main exceptions to this system occur in some Latin American leagues, which divide football championships into two sections named Apertura and Clausura, awarding a champion for each.
In addition to a league system, most countries operate one or more cup competitions during the season. These are organised on a knock-out basis, the winner of each match proceeding to the next round; the loser takes no further part in the competition.