The History
The History
The FIFA Confederations Cup was first designated a FIFA competition in December 1997 when it was held in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Previously there had been two other tournaments in Riyadh, in 1992 and 1995, under the title of Intercontinental Championship.
In 1992, the winners were Argentina, then reigning South American champions. They came with a star-studded team including Batistuta, Redondo, Caniggia and Simeone and carried off the trophy after defeating the host country, despite their tremendous support from the home fans, in the final. The other two teams taking part on that occasion were the USA and Côte d’Ivoire.
Six teams took part in the 1995 competition and this time it was Denmark who took the honours, with strong performances from the Laudrup brothers earning them victory over Argentina. Mexico and Nigeria made it to the semi-finals, while Japan and the host country were eliminated after losing both of their group matches.
In 1997, Brazil promptly stamped their authority on the competition to win the striking new gold trophy. One of the main purposes of the tournament was clearly demonstrated when Australia made it to the final to take on the then World Champions.
In 1999, the Mexicans richly deserved to win the Cup as one of two teams unbeaten at group stage to make it to the final. The home "Azteca" factor - Mexico had not been beaten there for 18 years – could not be ignored. Brazil lived up to expectations as its talent factory continued to produce outstanding players.
The tournament also witnessed a standard of goalkeepers seldom seen in a single tournament with the likes of Keller (USA), Campos (MEX), Dida (BRA) and Utting (NZL) competing. Surprise package Saudi Arabia recovered after a 1-5 thrashing by Mexico in their opening match to qualify for the semi-finals, following a 5- 1 win in an all-Arab clash with Egypt. USA defeated giants Germany only to later narrowly fail through a Golden Goal by Mexico's top scorer Blanco. New Zealand went home happy after gamely facing up to Germany and USA.
In Korea/Japan in 2001, a near-capacity crowd of over 65,000 saw World Champions France defeat the home team Japan with the only goal of the final to win the tournament and complete an unprecedented hat-trick of three major trophies in as many years. But they had to defend resolutely at times as Japan staged a second-half fight-back.
In 2003, defending and European champions France hosted the Fifa Confederations Cup, organising matches in three of the 1998 World Cup stadiums - Lyons, St. Etienne and Paris/St. Denis.
Brazil had to accept an early flight home after the group stage, bowing out of a tough group of strong performers in the shape of Cameroon, Turkey and USA.
The revitalised hosts, on the other hand, won their group. Turkey consolidated their rise as a global football power and only just missed out on a place in the final. The event was overshadowed by the tragic death of Cameroonian mid-fielder Marc-Vivien Foe, whose team-mates conceded the title to France by a whisker in an emotionally-charged final against an equally shaken French side.
Despite the absence of superstar striker Ronaldo from the FCC 2005, Brazil dazzled in an exciting final against rivals Argentina to lift the trophy for the second time. Adriano gained justified recognition as a force to be reckoned with, earning both the adidas Golden Ball and Golden Shoe Awards. While Argentina's defeat was sore, their performance clearly showed a hint of great things to come with the competition shining a spotlight on the magical skills of their key-player, Riquelme.
The competition also displayed German prowess in the shape of a well-organised dry run for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ and the emergence of a young and promising German team - in particular, the partnership of up-and-coming starlets Podolski and Schweinsteiger - under the watchful eye of footballing legend, Jürgen Klinsmann, enabling them to secure third-place in a thrilling extra time play-off against Mexico.
20 things you need to know about the FIFA Confederations Cup
1 Edition no. 8: Strictly speaking, 2009 is the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup. The first event under FIFA’s wings took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1997. The two forerunner tournaments, however, also organised by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation in the Saudi capital in 1992 and 1995, are generally included in historical and statistical reviews.
2 Brazil & France: With two wins each, Brazil (1997 & 2005) and France (2001 & 2003) hold the record for the most title triumphs. In addition, the Seleçao also made it to the final in 1999 and the semi-finals in 2001.
3 Difficult title defence: Only one team, France (2003), has ever successfully defended its title.
4 2009 – a vintage year: Spain, Italy, Brazil: never before have three of the top five teams in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking featured in the same Confederations Cup. It is a line-up fit for the FIFA World Cup™. There will also be cause for celebration in Johannesburg on 18 June when Egypt and Italy meet in the 100th match in the history of the Confederations Cup.
5 Illustrious newcomers: Altogether, 26 teams have played in the FIFA Confederations Cup. The only newcomers in the 2009 edition are Iraq and the two European teams – reigning world champions Italy and European champions Spain.
6 Acid test for the LOC: Ever since the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup in Korea and Japan, the competition has been an acid test for the organisers of the FIFA World Cup™, who have the opportunity to fine-tune their preparations for the FIFA World Cup™.
7 Mixed outlook for Italy: Every edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup held in a pre-World Cup year has been won by the reigning world champions – who subsequently failed to defend their world title. All eyes are on Italy.
8 FIFA World Cup™ feeling: Italy are the third team, after Brazil and France, to enter the FIFA Confederations Cup as reigning world champions. Three other former world champions – Argentina, Uruguay and Germany – have also appeared in the competition. Only England are missing from this exclusive list of participants.
9 Africa… is the fourth continent to host the FIFA Confederations Cup after stops in three other regions (Asia 4x, Europe 2x, North America in 1999).
10 African hopes: Africa has yet to win a FIFA Confederations Cup. Cameroon came close in 2003 when they lost to defending champions France in Paris, becoming “the people’s champions” following the tragic death of Marc-Vivien Foé, who collapsed unchallenged during the semi-final against Colombia in Lyons.
11 South Africa… are playing in their second FIFA Confederations Cup and will be hoping for more luck than in their last match in December 1997 when they narrowly lost 4-3 to group winners Uruguay after a goal in the very last minute.
12 Home advantage: No more than a slight advantage for Bafana Bafana. Only Mexico (in 1999) and France (2003) have triumphed on home soil. Nevertheless, Japan reached the final in 2001 and Germany only narrowly missed out on a place in the final four years ago.
13 Popularity of football: The USA are the most populous participating country (304 million) and also the country with the highest number of footballers (almost 25 million). On a percentage basis, however, South Africa top the charts (10.4%) ahead of Italy (8.6.%).
14 Crowd-puller: On average, more than 60,000 fans flocked to each of the 16 matches in Mexico in 1999. A capacity crowd of 110,000 saw Mexico triumph over Brazil in the final. With an overall average attendance of 36,000, the FIFA Confederations Cup is not far behind the FIFA World Cup™ itself (44,000).
15 A chance for everyone: All confederations have been represented at least once in a FIFA Confederations Cup final. The biggest surprise was pulled off by Australia, then still part of the Oceania Football Confederation, when they qualified for the final in 1997.
16 Continental derbies... have been few and far between at the FIFA Confederations Cup. Two teams from the same confederation have only come up against each other on three occasions. The most recent encounter was the super clásico between Brazil and Argentina in the 2005 final. There could be an addition to this list in 2009 (if South Africa meet Egypt or if Spain play Italy).
17 Goals… do not tend to be in short supply at the FIFA Confederations Cup. The average of nearly three goals per game (2.91) is far superior to that of the FIFA World Cup™. At the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany in 2005, the average was actually 3.50, whereas one year later, the World Cup average was only 2.30.
18 Top overall goal scorers… Cuathemoc Blanco (MEX) and Ronaldinho (BRA) share top billing with nine goals each.
19 Hat-trick gala: Two hat-tricks in a FIFA final: Brazil’s 6-0 win over Australia in 1997, with three goals apiece for Romario and Ronaldo, was unprecedented at the time, and it has not happened again since.
20 Mr Confederations Cup: An honour that can only be bestowed upon Brazilian goalkeeper Dida, who played in all five FIFA-organised Confederation Cups from 1997 to 2005. 22 matches (in which he missed a mere eight minutes), not a single yellow card and, of course, the two wins in 1997 and 2005 speak for themselves.
The qualifiers at a glance
- Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF)
Egypt will represent the African continent at South Africa 2009 after clinching their second successive CAF Africa Cup of Nations title at the tournament's 26th edition. The competition, which was held in Ghana between 20 January to 10 February 2008 in the cities of Accra and Sekondi, saw the Pharaohs repeat their 2006 triumph by beating Cameroon 1-0 in the final.
- Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
AFC Asian Cup 2007, winner: Iraq even surprised their own supporters as they won their first continental title following overcoming three-time Asian champions Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final. Playing in only their sixth Asian Cup finals, Iraq swept past the likes of Australia and Korea Republic to set up a showdown with the Saudis.
- Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA)
UEFA EURO 2008, winner: Spain will be representing Europe after defeating Germany 1-0 in the final of the UEFA European Championships, held in Austria and Switzerland between 7 and 29 June 2008. Spain's triumph was their first major tournament title in 44 years; their only other success in the European Championships came in 1964.
- Confederation of North, Central American & Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, winner: Host nation USA mounted a successful defence of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2007 thanks to a dramatic 2-1 victory over Mexico in the final. The USA's second continental crown in succession was their fourth overall, bringing them level with arch-rivals Mexico. The triumph also means the USA sealed a berth at the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009.
- Oceania Football Confederation (OFC )
Nations Cup 2007-2008, winner: New Zealand out-muscled New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu in the OFC Nations Cup to earn the right to represent Oceania for the third time, having appeared at the competition in 1999 and 2003. The win over New Caledonia in early September 2008 also parachuted them into a playoff with Asia’s fifth best for a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.
- Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL)
Copa America 2007, winner: Brazil powered to their second consecutive continental title when they pulled an emphatic 3-0 win over Argentina in the final of the tournament held in Venezuela. In doing so they lifted the trophy for the eighth time in their history and the fourth time in the last five competitions.
- Host Country
As a host of the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009, South Africa automatically qualify for the tournament and will therefore be the second team from Africa, alongside Egypt as the winner of the CAF African Nations Cup 2008 in Ghana.
FIFA World Cup™ Champions
As the reigning world champions, Italy qualify automatically for the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009, and will be the second team from Europe alongside Spain.
Issued by: FIFA Communications & Public Affairs Division







