5 most prestigious football tournaments in the world
There are some footballing competitions that simply outweigh others: in every way but the monetary one. England’s FA Cup is regularly described as one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world owing to how old the tournament is and how it relates to every British citizen who followed the sport from a young age.
With all the teams within the top ten tiers of English football eligible to participate in the tournament, you can see just why it’s often described as ‘magical’. Whether you’re from a well-developed city or from a small town miles away from one, it’s likely a team within walking distance from your house will participate in the FA Cup.
The competition brings together a large number of fans and has also attracted interest from fans from abroad owing to the competitive nature of the cup format in recent years. But while the FA Cup only caters to English – and Welsh – clubs, there are other tournaments that bring about similar magic in the eyes of fans.
Here’s looking at five of the most prestigious football tournaments from across the world:
#5 Copa Libertadores
The Copa Libertadores is the UEFA Champions League equivalent of Latin American football. The literal translation of the name is ‘Liberators of the America Cup’ owing to the roots of its inception – the South American wars of independence.
With 47 teams from eleven South American countries – and Mexico – the Copa Libertadores is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world. The qualification process for the competition varies from country to country but in summation, Brazil and Argentina get five teams to represent their leagues in competition while the rest of the participating countries get three each.
With over 135 countries capable of following the tournament through television deals, it’s no wonder there are a host of clubs fighting tooth and nail to win it. The 2009 edition of the tournament was the first one to break the 1 billion views mark – spanned over the course of the competition.
The most successful Libertadores club is Argentina’s Independiente who have won it a total of seven times while the current champions are Atletico Nacional.