Football is one of the biggest sports played on the planet, played by over 250 million people in over 200 countries.
With the sheer amount of people who love the game, it makes sense that football tournaments are some of the biggest and most impressive displays of sporting prowess in the world. When a sport has this scale of players involved, some tournaments will always rise to the top as the most sought after and prestigious tournaments in the world.
FIFA World Cup
In 2018 the FIFA World Cup reached over 1.1 billion people. That number alone dwarfs any other sporting tournament in the world. The first FIFA World Cup was played in 1930 and there hasn’t been any looking back since. It’s as popular as https://onlineblackjack.co.nz/mobile-blackjack/ and it also gets bigger and better all the time.
Every four years, teams battle out for a month in the biggest tournament in the world. Not only is it the biggest, but one of the most expensive too, with the hosting cost hitting an all-time high in the last world cup at over $14 billion. There are also very few other sporting events that can rally a country together like this can, even none sports fans gather to support their teams during the world cup period.
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League is the main watched league for all the normal football fans. Taking place every year, running from the initial qualifying in June until the final in the following year in May. This Champions League is the one for the real fans who want football action throughout the majority of the year.
Unlike the World Cup, UEFA Champions League is made up of teams rather than separate countries playing. There are 32 teams who get grouped into four team pools for a round-robin style of tournament. UEFA may not gross as much as FIFA does, but with $1.5 billion spent on marketing alone every year, it is still one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League operates on a similar structure to the Champions League, with 32 teams competing in a round-robin style of playoff. The Europa League is in essence a level down from the Champions League, but still an extremely prestigious league at that. These matches are some of the most fiercely contended and enjoyable football around. A slightly scaled down version of the Champions League, but the UEFA Europa League is still one of the most watched leagues in the world.
Copa América
Copa América is the biggest football league in South America and one of the biggest leagues in the world. Started in 1916 this is one of the longest running leagues in the world with 100 countries taking part every year. The main league includes ten teams taking part in 28 matches, within 5 different venues.
Copa América may not be even close to FIFA World Cup in size, but this tournament is said to be the most passionate tournament in the world, with fans almost worshipping their favourite teams.