International Federation of Football History & Statistics

International Federation of Football History & Statistics
Formation1984
HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
Official language
English, French, Spanish, German
President
Saleh Irfan Bahwini
Websiteiffhs.com

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to Bonn, Germany, and then in 2014 to Zürich.

From its early stages to 2002, the IFFHS concentrated on publishing the quarterly magazines Fußball-Weltzeitschrift, Libero spezial deutsch and Libero international. When these had to be discontinued for reasons which were not officially told, the organisation published its material in a series of multi-lingual books in co-operation with sponsors. The statistical organisation has now confined its publishing activities to its website. IFFHS has no affiliation with FIFA, but FIFA has cited awards and records conducted by IFFHS on their website.

In 2008, Karl Lennartz, a sports historian and professor at the University of Cologne, Germany, called the organisation "obscure", describing it as a one-man show of its founder Alfredo Pöge. IFFHS rankings and their significance have been a matter of criticism and the largest German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, refuse to publish them. Furthermore, German die Tageszeitung stated that the IFFHS rankings serves merely for publicity, although Bild, Deutsche Welle, Kicker-Sportmagazin, German Football Association (DFB), and former president of the Association of West German Sports Journalists (German: Verbandes Westdeutscher Sportjournalisten — VWS) Heribert Faßbender have referenced IFFHS.

The World's Best Club

Since 1991, the entity has produced a monthly Club World Ranking.

Barcelona, five-time winner of the world's Best Club award.

The ranking takes into consideration the results of twelve months of continental and intercontinental competitions, national league matches (including play-offs) and the most important national cup (excluding points won before the round of 16).

All countries are rated at four levels based upon the national league performance—clubs in the highest level leagues receive 4 points for each match won, 2 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. Level 2 is assigned 3 pts. (win), 1.5 (draw) and 0 (lost), and so on with the next lower levels.

In continental competitions, all clubs receive the same number of points at all stages regardless of the performance level of their leagues. However, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores yield more points than UEFA Europa League and Copa Sudamericana, respectively. The point assignment system is still lower for the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC continental tournaments. Competitions between two continents are evaluated depending upon their importance. Competitions not organised by a continental confederation, or any intercontinental events not recognized by FIFA, are not taken into consideration.

Men's winners

Winners (1991–present)
Club Wins Years
Spain Barcelona 5 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015
Spain Real Madrid 4 2000, 2002, 2014, 2017
England Liverpool 3 2001, 2005, 2019
Italy Juventus 2 1993, 1996
Italy Milan 1995, 2003
Spain Sevilla 2006, 2007
England Manchester United 1999, 2008
Italy Inter Milan 1998, 2010
Germany Bayern Munich 2013, 2020
England Chelsea 2 2012, 2021
Italy Roma 1 1991
Netherlands Ajax 1 1992
France Paris Saint-Germain 1 1994
Colombia Atlético Nacional 1 2016
Spain Atlético Madrid 1 2018
Brazil Palmeiras 1 2021
Brazil Flamengo 1 2022
England Manchester City 1 2023

Continental Men's Clubs of the Century (1901–2000)

Real Madrid, European club of the 20th century.
Boca Juniors, South American team of the decade (2001–2010).

In 2009, the IFFHS released the results of a statistical study series which determined the best continental clubs of the 20th century. The ranking did not consider the performance of the teams in national football tournaments (except in the Oceania's club ranking due to limited editions held under OFC club competitions), the performance in the intercontinental or worldwide club competitions or those submitted in the IFFHS Club World Ranking, available since 1991.

Based on this study, which assigned a weighted score criteria applied for each competition analysed, the below six clubs were named as "continental clubs of the century" by the IFFHS between 10 September and 13 October 2009. These clubs were awarded with a golden trophy and a certificate during the World Football Gala celebrated at Fulham, London, on 11 May 2010.

Continent Club
Europe Spain Real Madrid
South America Uruguay Peñarol
Africa Ghana Asante Kotoko
Asia Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
CONCACAF Costa Rica Saprissa
Oceania Australia South Melbourne

The Best Men's Club of the Decade

In 2012, the IFFHS recognised Barcelona as the World's Best Club Team of the Decade for the first decade of the 21st century (2001–2010). In 2021, Barcelona were recognised as the world's best club also for the second decade (2011–2020).

Decade World Europe South America CONCACAF Africa Asia Oceania
2001–2010 Spain Barcelona Spain Barcelona Argentina Boca Juniors Mexico América Egypt Al Ahly Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal New Zealand Auckland City
2011–2020 Spain Barcelona Spain Barcelona Brazil Grêmio Mexico UANL Tunisia Espérance de Tunis South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors New Zealand Auckland City

Women's winners

Multiple winners (2012–present)
Club Wins Years
France Lyon 7 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Spain Barcelona 3 2021, 2022, 2023
Germany VfL Wolfsburg 2 2013, 2014
Lyon, seven-time winner of the Women's World's Best Club award.

The World's Strongest National League

Premier League, Strongest National League of the Decade (2001–2010).

Men's league

Multiple winners (1991–present)
League Wins Years
Spain Spain 13 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Italy Italy 12 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2020, 2023
England England 5 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019
Brazil Brazil 2 2021, 2022

The Strongest National League of the Decade

Decade World Europe South America CONCACAF Africa Asia Oceania
2001–2010 England England England England Brazil Brazil Mexico Mexico Egypt Egypt Japan Japan New Zealand New Zealand
2011–2020 Spain Spain Spain Spain Brazil Brazil Mexico Mexico Tunisia Tunisia South Korea South Korea New Zealand New Zealand

Women's league

Year League
2020 England England
2021 France France
2022 Spain Spain
2023 Spain Spain

The World's Best Player

Robert Lewandowski won the Best Player award in 2020 and 2021.

Men's winners

From 1991 until 2009, FIFA continued this distinction named "FIFA World Player of the Year"; this award was later replaced by the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and The Best FIFA Men's Player in 2016. The award was reinstated in 2020.

Winners (1988–1990,
2020–present)
Player Wins Years
Netherlands Marco van Basten 2 1988, 1989
Poland Robert Lewandowski 2020, 2021
Germany Lothar Matthäus 1 1990
Argentina Lionel Messi 2022
Norway Erling Haaland 2023
Alexia Putellas won the Best Player award in 2021 and 2022.

Women's winners

Year Winner Club(s)
2020 Denmark Pernille Harder Germany VfL Wolfsburg
England Chelsea
2021 Spain Alexia Putellas Spain Barcelona
2022 Spain Alexia Putellas Spain Barcelona
2023 Spain Aitana Bonmatí Spain Barcelona

The World's Best Man Player of the Century (1901–2000)

Pelé, Male Player of the Century (1901–2000).
Top 10 players
Rank Player Nationality Points
1 Pelé  Brazil 1705
2 Johan Cruyff  Netherlands 1303
3 Franz Beckenbauer  West Germany 1228
4 Alfredo Di Stéfano  Argentina 1215
5 Diego Maradona  Argentina 1214
6 Ferenc Puskás  Hungary 810
7 Michel Platini  France 722
8 Garrincha  Brazil 624
9 Eusébio  Portugal 544
10 Bobby Charlton  England 508

The World's Best Woman Player of the Century (1901–2000)

Mia Hamm, Female Player of the Century (1901–2000).

IFFHS gave out an award decided by votes which was conducted with the participation of journalists and former players (no further details given).

Top 10 players
Rank Player Nationality Points
1 Mia Hamm  United States 442
2 Michelle Akers  United States 411
3 Heidi Mohr  Germany 250
4 Carolina Morace  Italy 230
5 Sissi  Brazil 212
6 Linda Medalen  Norway 181
7 Liu Ailing  China 165
8 Kristine Lilly  United States 160
9 Heidi Støre  Norway 141
10 Pia Sundhage  Sweden 129

The World's Best Youth (U20) Player

Jude Bellingham (pictured in 2022) won the Best Youth (U20) Player award twice.

The award was introduced in 2021.

Men's winners

Year Winner Club(s)
2021 Spain Pedri Spain Barcelona
2022 England Jude Bellingham Germany Borussia Dortmund
2023 England Jude Bellingham Germany Borussia Dortmund
Spain Real Madrid

Women's winners

Year Winner Club(s)
2021 Sweden Hanna Bennison Sweden FC Rosengård
England Everton
2022 Colombia Linda Caicedo Colombia Deportivo Cali
2023 Spain Salma Paralluelo Spain Barcelona

The World's Best Playmaker

Men's winners

Lionel Messi has won a record five IFFHS best playmaker awards.
Xavi won the award in a record four consecutive years.

The IFFHS World's Best Playmaker is a footballing award which, since 2006, is given annually to the best playmaker of the year, as chosen by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

The award is awarded at the end of the year at the World Football Gala: the winning playmaker is awarded a gold trophy. Argentina's Lionel Messi has won the award a record five times. Spain's Xavi won the award four times, all consecutively, while Belgian Kevin De Bruyne won the award three times.Barcelona is the club with the most wins, with ten in total.

Lionel Messi was named the Best Playmaker since 2006 and the Best Playmaker of the Decade 2011–2020.

Year Winner Club(s)
2006 France Zinedine Zidane Spain Real Madrid
2007 Brazil Kaká Italy Milan
2008 Spain Xavi Spain Barcelona
2009 Spain Xavi Spain Barcelona
2010 Spain Xavi Spain Barcelona
2011 Spain Xavi Spain Barcelona
2012 Spain Andrés Iniesta Spain Barcelona
2013 Spain Andrés Iniesta Spain Barcelona
2014 Germany Toni Kroos Germany Bayern Munich
Spain Real Madrid
2015 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
2016 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
2017 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
2018 Croatia Luka Modrić Spain Real Madrid
2019 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
2020 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne England Manchester City
2021 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne England Manchester City
2022 Argentina Lionel Messi France Paris Saint-Germain
2023 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne England Manchester City
Source:
Multiple winners (2006–present)
Player Wins Years
Argentina Lionel Messi 5 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022
Spain Xavi 4 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Belgium Kevin De Bruyne 3 2020, 2021, 2023
Spain Andrés Iniesta 2 2012, 2013
Source:

Women's winners

Aitana Bonmatí was named Best Playmaker in 2023.

Dzsenifer Marozsán was named the Best Playmaker since 2006 and the Best Playmaker of the Decade 2011–2020.

Year Winner Club(s)
2012 Brazil Marta Sweden Tyresö FF
2013 Germany Lena Goeßling Germany VfL Wolfsburg
2014 Germany Nadine Keßler Germany VfL Wolfsburg
2015 United States Carli Lloyd United States Houston Dash
2016 Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán France Lyon
2017 Netherlands Lieke Martens Sweden FC Rosengård
Spain Barcelona
2018 Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán France Lyon
2019 United States Megan Rapinoe United States Reign FC
2020 Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán France Lyon
2021 Spain Alexia Putellas Spain Barcelona
2022 Spain Alexia Putellas Spain Barcelona
2023 Spain Aitana Bonmatí Spain Barcelona

The World's Best Goalkeeper

Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas is tied with Gianluigi Buffon and Manuel Neuer (5), with a record five consecutive wins between 2008 and 2012.

Men's winners

Multiple winners (1987–present)
Player Wins Years
Spain Iker Casillas 5 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Italy Gianluigi Buffon 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2017
Germany Manuel Neuer 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020
Italy Walter Zenga 3 1989, 1990, 1991
Paraguay José Luis Chilavert 1995, 1997, 1998
Germany Oliver Kahn 1999, 2001, 2002
Denmark Peter Schmeichel 2 1992, 1993
Belgium Thibaut Courtois 2018, 2022

Women's winners

Multiple winners (2012–present)
Player Wins Years
United States Hope Solo 4 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
France Sarah Bouhaddi 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020
Chile Christiane Endler 2 2021, 2022

The World's Best Top Goal Scorer

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the Top Goal Scorer of the Year a record five times. He is also the All-time World's Best Goal Scorer.

This award is given annually since 2020, and retroactively from 2011 to 2019, to the world's top goalscorer in the calendar year.

Men's winners

Multiple winners (2010*–present)
Player Wins Years
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 5 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023
Argentina Lionel Messi 2 2012, 2016
Poland Robert Lewandowski 2020, 2021

All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking

Romário ranks 4th in the All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking with 755 goals.
As of 1 January 2024
Bold indicates players currently active.
Top 10 goal scorers of all-time
Rank Player Goals
1 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 873
2 Argentina Lionel Messi 821
3 Brazil Pelé 762
4 Brazil Romário 755
5 Hungary Ferenc Puskás 724
6 Austria Czechoslovakia Josef Bican 722
7 Northern Ireland Jimmy Jones 648
8 Germany Gerd Müller 634
9 Ireland Joe Bambrick 629
10 Netherlands Abe Lenstra 624
Jenni Hermoso scored 48 goals in 2021.

Women's winners

The women's award was introduced in 2021.

Year Winner Club Goals
2021 Spain Jennifer Hermoso Spain Barcelona 48
2022 Netherlands Fenna Kalma Netherlands Twente 45
2023 Malawi Temwa Chawinga China Wuhan Jianghan 63

The World's Best International Goal Scorer

This award is given annually since 1991 to the world's top international goalscorer in the calendar year.

Sam Kerr scored 17 goals for her country in 2022.

Men's winners

Multiple winners (1991–present)
Player Wins Years
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 5 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
Argentina Lionel Messi 3 2011, 2012, 2022
Iran Ali Daei 2 1996, 2004
Poland Robert Lewandowski 2015, 2021
Belgium Romelu Lukaku 2020, 2023

Women's winners

The women's award was introduced in 2021.

Year Winner Club Goals
2021 England Ellen White England Manchester City 21
2022 Australia Sam Kerr England Chelsea 17
2023 Zambia Barbra Banda China Shanghai Shengli 15

The World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer

Lionel Messi has won the award a record four times.

This award is given annually since 1997 to the player who scores the most goals in a league season (in a calendar year since 2020) in any of the top 60 leagues in the world (as ranked by IFFHS for that given year).

Men's winners

Year Winner Club(s) Goals
1997 Turkey Hakan Şükür Turkey Galatasaray 38
1998 Ecuador Iván Kaviedes Ecuador Emelec 43
1999 Brazil Mário Jardel Portugal Porto 36
2000 Brazil Mário Jardel Portugal Porto 38
2001 Bolivia José Alfredo Castillo Bolivia Oriente Petrolero 42
2002 Bolivia Joaquín Botero Bolivia Bolívar 49
2003 Paraguay José Cardozo Mexico Toluca 58
2004 Chile Patricio Galaz Chile Cobreloa 42
2005 Brazil Clemerson Araújo Japan Gamba Osaka 33
2006 Netherlands Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Netherlands Ajax 35
2007 Brazil Afonso Alves Netherlands Heerenveen 34
2008 Paraguay Lucas Barrios Chile Colo-Colo 37
2009 Austria Marc Janko Austria RB Salzburg 39
2010 Uruguay Luis Suárez Netherlands Ajax 35
2011 Latvia Aleksandrs Čekulajevs Estonia Narva Trans 46
2012 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 50
2013 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 46
2014 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Spain Real Madrid 31
Uruguay Luis Suárez England Liverpool
2015 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Spain Real Madrid 48
2016 Uruguay Luis Suárez Spain Barcelona 40
2017 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 37
2018 Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 34
Brazil Jonas Portugal Benfica
2019 Algeria Baghdad Bounedjah Qatar Al Sadd 39
Calendar year
2020 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Italy Juventus 33
2021 Poland Robert Lewandowski Germany Bayern Munich 43
2022 Argentina Germán Cano Brazil Fluminense 33
2023 England Harry Kane England Tottenham Hotspur
Germany Bayern Munich
38
Source:
Multiple winners (1997–present)
Player Wins Years
Argentina Lionel Messi 4 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018 (shared)
Uruguay Luis Suárez 3 2010, 2014 (shared), 2016
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 2014 (shared), 2015, 2020
Brazil Mário Jardel 2 1999, 2000

All-time World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer ranking

Ferenc Puskás
As of 27 May 2023
Bold indicates players currently active.
Top 10 top division goal scorers of all-time
Rank Player Goals
1 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 527
2 Hungary Ferenc Puskás 514
3 Argentina Lionel Messi 496
4 Hungary Imre Schlosser 417
5 Hungary Gyula Zsengellér 416
6 Scotland Jimmy McGrory 410
7 Germany Gerd Müller 405
Cameroon Roger Milla
9 Mexico Hugo Sánchez 400
10 Sweden Zlatan Ibrahimović 394

The World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer of the Second Decade (2011–2020)

The final list includes the 36 players who scored 150 or more goals in top-tier national leagues in the period of time from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020.

The results were posted on the IFFHS' official website on 6 January 2021.

Players with at least 200 goals
Rank Player Nation Goals Club(s)
1 Lionel Messi  Argentina 346 Spain Barcelona (2011–20)
2 Cristiano Ronaldo  Portugal 332 Spain Real Madrid (2011–18)
Italy Juventus (2018–20)
3 Robert Lewandowski  Poland 248 Germany Borussia Dortmund (2011–14)
Germany Bayern Munich (2014–20)
4 Zlatan Ibrahimović  Sweden 236 Italy Milan (2011–12; 2019–20)
France Paris Saint-Germain (2012–16)
England Manchester United (2016–18)
United States LA Galaxy (2018–19)
5 Luis Suárez  Uruguay 224 England Liverpool (2011–14)
Spain Barcelona (2014–20)
Spain Atlético Madrid (2020)
6 Carlos Saucedo  Bolivia 213 Bolivia San José (2012–13; 2017–19)
Costa Rica Saprissa (2014)
Bolivia Oriente Petrolero (2015)
Bolivia Blooming (2015–16)
Bolivia Real Potosí (2016)
Bolivia Guabirá (2017)
Bolivia Royal Pari (2020)
7 Edinson Cavani  Uruguay 209 Italy Napoli (2011–13)
France Paris Saint-Germain (2013–20)
England Manchester United (2020)
Lucie Martínková was the top women's goal scorer for club in 2021.

Women's winners

The women's award was introduced in 2021.

Year Winner Club Goals
2021 Czech Republic Lucie Martínková Czech Republic Sparta Prague 38
2022 United States Mia Fishel Mexico UANL 33
2023 Mexico Charlyn Corral Mexico Pachuca 34

The World's Most Effective Top Division Goal Scorer

Masashi Nakayama is the only Japanese player to win the award.

This award was given annually from 1997 to 2004 to the player with the best goal ratio (goals/matches played) in a league season in any of the top 60 leagues in the world (as ranked by IFFHS for that given year).

Men's winners

Year Winner Club Ratio
1997 Turkey Hakan Şükür Turkey Galatasaray 1.188
1998 Japan Masashi Nakayama Japan Júbilo Iwata 1.276
1999 Brazil Mário Jardel Portugal Porto 1.125
2000 Saudi Arabia Hamzah Idris Saudi Arabia Al Ittihad 1.320
2001 Brazil Romário Brazil Vasco da Gama 1.167
2002 Brazil Mário Jardel Portugal Sporting CP 1.400
2003 Paraguay José Cardozo Mexico Toluca 1.381
2004 Uzbekistan Shuhrat Mirkholdirshoev Uzbekistan Navbahor Namangan 1.192

The World Team

Sergio Ramos made four appearances in the World Team since 2017.

Men's winners

In 2017, IFFHS started to nominate a world team of the year.

Multiple appearances (2017–present)
Player Apps Years
Argentina Lionel Messi 7 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Belgium Kevin De Bruyne 6 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 5 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
Spain Sergio Ramos 4 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
France Kylian Mbappé 4 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023
Canada Alphonso Davies 4 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Croatia Luka Modrić 3 2017, 2018, 2022
Brazil Marcelo 2 2017, 2018
England Trent Alexander-Arnold 2 2019, 2020
Netherlands Virgil van Dijk 2 2019, 2020
Italy Leonardo Bonucci 2 2017, 2021
Poland Robert Lewandowski 2 2020, 2021
Belgium Thibaut Courtois 2 2018, 2022
Morocco Achraf Hakimi 2 2021, 2022
Portugal Rúben Dias 2 2021, 2023
Norway Erling Haaland 2 2022, 2023

All-time Men's Dream Team (2021)

Lev Yashin was selected as the goalkeeper for the All-time Men's Dream Team as well as the Men Team of the Century, both times for the World's and Europe's first team.
The Argentine Diego Maradona was part of the World and South America team.
Continent Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
World Soviet Union Lev Yashin Brazil Cafu
West Germany Franz Beckenbauer
Italy Franco Baresi
Italy Paolo Maldini
Spain Xavi
Argentina Diego Maradona
Netherlands Johan Cruyff
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
Brazil Pelé
Argentina Lionel Messi
World B Italy Gianluigi Buffon Brazil Carlos Alberto Torres
England Bobby Moore
Argentina Daniel Passarella
Brazil Roberto Carlos
Germany Lothar Matthäus
France Zinedine Zidane
France Michel Platini
Brazil Ronaldo
West Germany Gerd Müller
ArgentinaSpain Alfredo Di Stéfano
Europe Soviet Union Lev Yashin Germany Philipp Lahm
West Germany Franz Beckenbauer
Italy Franco Baresi
Italy Paolo Maldini
Spain Xavi
France Zinedine Zidane
France Michel Platini
Netherlands Johan Cruyff
West Germany Gerd Müller
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo
South America Argentina Amadeo Carrizo Brazil Cafu
Chile Elías Figueroa
Argentina Daniel Passarella
Brazil Roberto Carlos
Brazil Didi
Argentina Diego Maradona
Brazil Zico
Argentina Alfredo Di Stéfano
Brazil Pelé
Argentina Lionel Messi
CONCACAF Mexico Antonio Carbajal Mexico Carlos Salcedo
Mexico Claudio Suárez
Mexico Rafael Márquez
Mexico Andrés Guardado
Costa Rica Bryan Ruiz
Mexico Raúl Cárdenas
Mexico Luis de la Fuente
Panama Julio Dely Valdés
Mexico Hugo Sánchez
United States Clint Dempsey
Africa Cameroon Thomas N'Kono Ghana Samuel Kuffour
Cameroon Rigobert Song
Morocco Noureddine Naybet
Ivory Coast Yaya Touré
Nigeria Nwankwo Kanu
Nigeria Jay-Jay Okocha
Ghana Abedi Pele
Cameroon Samuel Eto'o
Liberia George Weah
Ivory Coast Didier Drogba
Asia Saudi Arabia Mohamed Al-Deayea Iran Mehdi Mahdavikia
South Korea Hong Myung-bo
Japan Yasuhiko Okudera
China Wu Lei
Japan Shinji Kagawa
Australia Mile Jedinak
South Korea Park Ji-sung
South Korea Son Heung-min
Saudi Arabia Majed Abdullah
South Korea Cha Bum-kun
Oceania New Zealand Stefan Marinovic New Zealand Ryan Nelsen
New Zealand Tommy Smith
New Zealand Winston Reid
New Zealand Ryan Thomas
New Zealand Steve Sumner
New Zealand Marco Rojas
Fiji Roy Krishna
New Zealand Rory Fallon
New Zealand Chris Wood
New Zealand Wynton Rufer
Dzsenifer Marozsán shares the third place for most appearances in the Women World Team (4) with Alex Morgan, behind Lucy Bronze (5) and Wendie Renard (7).

Women's winners

In 2017, IFFHS started to nominate a world team of the year.

Multiple appearances (2017–present)
Player Apps Years
France Wendie Renard 7 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
England Lucy Bronze 5 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán 4 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
United States Alex Morgan 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Spain Aitana Bonmatí 3 2021, 2022, 2023
France Sarah Bouhaddi 2017, 2018, 2020
Denmark Pernille Harder 2017, 2018, 2020
Australia Sam Kerr 2017, 2021, 2023
Chile Christiane Endler 2 2021, 2022
Norway Ada Hegerberg 2018, 2019
France Amandine Henry 2018, 2019
Spain Jennifer Hermoso 2021, 2023
Japan Saki Kumagai 2018, 2020
Netherlands Lieke Martens 2017, 2021
GermanyLena Oberdorf 2022, 2023
Germany Alexandra Popp 2020, 2022
Spain Alexia Putellas 2021, 2022

All-time Women's Dream Team (2021)

Hope Solo was selected in the World and CONCACAF All-time Women's Dream Team.
Homare Sawa was selected in the World and Asia All-time Women's Dream Team.
Continent Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
World United States Hope Solo England Lucy Bronze
France Wendie Renard
United States Christie Pearce
United States Joy Fawcett
Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán
Japan Homare Sawa
Brazil Marta
United States Megan Rapinoe
Norway Ada Hegerberg
United States Alex Morgan
World B Germany Nadine Angerer Germany Ariane Hingst
Sweden Nilla Fischer
Japan Saki Kumagai
Norway Hege Riise
United States Michelle Akers
United States Kristine Lilly
Brazil Formiga
United States Abby Wambach
United States Carli Lloyd
Germany Birgit Prinz
Europe Germany Nadine Angerer England Lucy Bronze
France Wendie Renard
Sweden Nilla Fischer
Norway Linda Medalen
Germany Nadine Keßler
Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán
France Camille Abily
Sweden Lotta Schelin
Norway Ada Hegerberg
Germany Birgit Prinz
South America Chile Christiane Endler Brazil Fabiana
Brazil Aline
Brazil Elane
Brazil Tamires
Brazil Formiga
Brazil Sissi
Brazil Roseli
Brazil Pretinha
Brazil Cristiane
Brazil Marta
CONCACAF United States Hope Solo United States Kelley O'Hara
United States Joy Fawcett
United States Christie Pearce
United States Ali Krieger
Costa Rica Shirley Cruz
United States Carli Lloyd
United States Megan Rapinoe
United States Abby Wambach
United States Mia Hamm
United States Alex Morgan
Africa Cameroon Annette Ngo Ndom Nigeria Onome Ebi
South Africa Janine van Wyk
Nigeria Florence Omagbeni
Nigeria Ngozi Ezeocha
Nigeria Perpetua Nkwocha
Nigeria Mercy Akide
Cameroon Gabrielle Onguéné
Cameroon Gaëlle Enganamouit
Nigeria Asisat Oshoala
Malawi Tabitha Chawinga
Asia Australia Lydia Williams Australia Ellie Carpenter
Australia Cheryl Salisbury
Japan Saki Kumagai
China Fan Yunjie
Japan Homare Sawa
South Korea Ji So-yun
Japan Aya Miyama
China Liu Ailing
Australia Samantha Kerr
China Sun Wen
Oceania New Zealand Erin Nayler New Zealand Rebekah Stott
New Zealand Rebecca Smith
New Zealand Abby Erceg
New Zealand Ria Percival
New Zealand Hayley Bowden
New Zealand Katie Duncan
New Zealand Betsy Hassett
New Zealand Ali Riley
New Zealand Amber Hearn
New Zealand Sarah Gregorius

The World Youth (U20) Team

Eduardo Camavinga is one of only three players to have appeared three times in the Men's World Youth (U20) Team, the others are Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham.

The award was introduced in 2020.

Men's winners

Multiple appearances (2020–present)
Player Apps Years
France Eduardo Camavinga 3 2020, 2021, 2022
England Jude Bellingham 2021, 2022, 2023
Germany Jamal Musiala 2021, 2022, 2023
Brazil Rodrygo 2 2020, 2021
Spain Ansu Fati 2020, 2022
Spain Pedri 2021, 2022
Portugal Nuno Mendes 2021, 2022
Spain Gavi 2022, 2023
Linda Caicedo is one of only two players to have appeared three times in the Women's World Youth (U20) Team, the other being Melchie Dumornay.

Women's winners

Multiple appearances (2020–present)
Player Apps Years
Colombia Linda Caicedo 3 2020, 2022, 2023
Haiti Melchie Dumornay 2021, 2022, 2023
Spain Cata Coll 2 2020, 2021
Germany Lena Oberdorf 2020, 2021
Australia Mary Fowler 2021, 2023
Spain Meritxell Font 2022, 2023
Spain Vicky López 2022, 2023
Spain Andrea Medina 2022, 2023
Spain Salma Paralluelo 2022, 2023
Brazil Tarciane 2022, 2023

The World's Best Club Coach

José Mourinho, World's Best Club Coach with three different clubs (Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid).

Men's winners

Multiple winners (1996–present)
Coach Wins Years
Portugal José Mourinho 4 2004, 2005, 2010, 2012
Italy Carlo Ancelotti 3 2007, 2014, 2022
Spain Pep Guardiola 2009, 2011, 2023
Italy Marcello Lippi 2 1996, 1998
Germany Ottmar Hitzfeld 1997, 2001
Argentina Carlos Bianchi 2000, 2003
Scotland Alex Ferguson 1999, 2008
France Zinedine Zidane 2017, 2018
Sonia Bompastor, first person to win the UEFA Women's Champions League as both a player and a manager.

Women's winners

Year Winner Club
2020 France Jean-Luc Vasseur France Lyon
2021 Spain Lluís Cortés Spain Barcelona
2022 France Sonia Bompastor France Lyon
2023 Spain Jonatan Giráldez Spain Barcelona

The World's Best National Coach

Joachim Löw, World's Best National Coach with Germany in 2014 and 2017.

Men's winners

Multiple winners (1996–present)
Coach Wins Years
Spain Vicente del Bosque 4 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
Germany Joachim Löw 2 2014, 2017
Portugal Fernando Santos 2016, 2019
France Didier Deschamps 2018, 2020
Argentina Lionel Scaloni 2022, 2023
Sarina Wiegman, World's Best National Coach for Netherlands and England.

Women's winners

Year Winner National team
2020 Netherlands Sarina Wiegman  Netherlands
2021 England Bev Priestman  Canada
2022 Netherlands Sarina Wiegman  England
2023 Netherlands Sarina Wiegman  England

The World's Best Referee

Felix Brych, World's Best Referee in 2017 and 2021.

Men's winners

Felix Brych was awarded the prize for Men's Referee of the Decade 2011–20.

Multiple winners (1987–present)
Referee Wins Years
Italy Pierluigi Collina 6 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
Hungary Sándor Puhl 4 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
Germany Markus Merk 3 2004, 2005, 2007
France Michel Vautrot 2 1988, 1989
Denmark Peter Mikkelsen 1991, 1993
England Howard Webb 2010, 2013
Italy Nicola Rizzoli 2014, 2015
Germany Felix Brych 2017, 2021
Poland Szymon Marciniak 2022, 2023
Stéphanie Frappart, World's Best Referee for five years in a row.

Women's winners

Bibiana Steinhaus was awarded the prize for Women's Referee of the Decade 2011–20.

Multiple winners (2012–present)
Referee Wins Years
France Stéphanie Frappart 5 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Germany Bibiana Steinhaus 4 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018

This page was last updated at 2024-03-25 00:20 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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