A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
.png) | |
| Formation | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Zürich, Switzerland |
Official language | English, French, Spanish, German |
President | Saleh Irfan Bahwini[1] |
| Website | iffhs |
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football.[2][3][4] It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig.[2] The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to Bonn, Germany, and then in 2014 to Zürich.[5]
From its early stages to 2002, the IFFHS concentrated on publishing the quarterly magazines Fußball-Weltzeitschrift, Libero spezial deutsch and Libero international.[6] 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.[7] The statistical organisation has now confined its publishing activities to its website. IFFHS has no affiliation with FIFA,[8] but FIFA has cited awards and records conducted by IFFHS on their website.[9][10][11][12]
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.[13] IFFHS rankings and their significance have been a matter of criticism and the largest German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, refuse to publish them.[13] Furthermore, German die Tageszeitung stated that the IFFHS rankings serves merely for publicity,[13] although Bild,[14] Deutsche Welle,[15] Kicker-Sportmagazin,[16] German Football Association (DFB),[17] and former president of the Association of West German Sports Journalists (German: Verbandes Westdeutscher Sportjournalisten — VWS) Heribert Faßbender have referenced IFFHS.[18]
The World's Best Club
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 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
| Club | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
 Barcelona
|
5 | 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 |
| Real Madrid
|
4 | 2000, 2002, 2014, 2017 |
 Liverpool
|
3 | 2001, 2005, 2019 |
 Juventus
|
2 | 1993, 1996 |
| Milan
|
1995, 2003 | |
| Sevilla
|
2006, 2007 | |
| Manchester United
|
1999, 2008 | |
| Inter Milan
|
1998, 2010 | |
 Bayern Munich
|
2013, 2020 | |
| Chelsea
|
2 | 2012, 2021 |
| Roma
|
1 | 1991 |
 Ajax
|
1 | 1992 |
 Paris Saint-Germain
|
1 | 1994 |
 Atlético Nacional
|
1 | 2016 |
| Atlético Madrid
|
1 | 2018 |
 Palmeiras
|
1 | 2021 |
| Flamengo
|
1 | 2022 |
| Manchester City
|
1 | 2023 |
Continental Men's Clubs of the Century (1901–2000)
In 2009, the IFFHS released the results of a statistical study series which determined the best continental clubs of the 20th century.[20] 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.[21]
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.[22][23][24]
| Continent | Club |
|---|---|
| Europe | Real Madrid
|
| South America |  Peñarol
|
| Africa |  Asante Kotoko
|
| Asia |  Al-Hilal
|
| CONCACAF |  Saprissa
|
| Oceania |  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).[25] 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 | Barcelona[25]
|
Barcelona[26]
|
 Boca Juniors[27]
|
 América[28]
|
 Al Ahly[29]
|
Al-Hilal[30]
|
 Auckland City[31]
|
| 2011–2020 | Barcelona[32]
|
Barcelona[33]
|
Grêmio[34]
|
UANL[35]
|
 Espérance de Tunis[36]
|
 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors[37]
|
Auckland City[38]
|