International Federation of Football History & Statistics

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organization that chronicles the history of football. It was founded in 1984 and is based in Bonn, Germany.

Club World Ranking

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

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 Libertadores Cup yield more points than minor competitions UEFA Cup and Copa Sudamericana, respectively. The point assignment system is still lower for African, Asian, CONCACAF and Oceaniac 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.

Year-end leaders

The following table shows the clubs that finished top of the ranking for each year:

* 1991 - AS Roma
* 1992 - Ajax
* 1993 - Juventus
* 1994 - Paris Saint-Germain
* 1995 - AC Milan
* 1996 - Juventus
* 1997 - FC Barcelona
* 1998 - Internazionale
* 1999 - Manchester United
* 2000 - Real Madrid
* 2001 - Liverpool
* 2002 - Real Madrid
* 2003 - AC Milan
* 2004 - Valencia
* 2005 - Liverpool
* 2006 - Sevilla
* 2007 - Sevilla
* 2008 - Manchester United

Criticism

In a wide range of media there is massive doubt about the significance of IFFHS rankings and elections. German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur abstains from publishing news relating to the IFFHS. Karl Lennartz, a sports historian from Cologne, Germany, calls the organization "obscure", describing it as a one man show of its chairman Alfredo Pöge. [" [http://www.taz.de/1/sport/artikel/1/statistisches-phaenomen/?src=SE&cHash=bf8ad42243 Statistisches Phänomen] " in "taz.de" (German)]

References

External links

* [http://www.iffhs.de/ Official site]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/iffhs-various.html Annual Awards]
* [http://www.iffhs.de/?42d03e32a16f43809fa3c17c13c09e20a15ff3c09f32b17f7370eff3702bb0a35bb6e28fc380de43110f83d00e15 HISTORY PLAYERS]