Football in Venezuela

Football is a widely practiced and popular sport in Venezuela, although the sport has lagged behind baseball in popularity.[1][2][3][4] The country has proven one of the biggest underachievers in CONMEBOL and was formerly known as the Cenicienta of the region.[5]

Football in Venezuela
CountryVenezuela
Governing bodyFederación Venezolana de Fútbol
National team(s)Venezuela
First played1867
National competitions
FIFA World Cup
Confederations Cup
Copa América
Club competitions
International competitions

History

The Federación Venezolana de Fútbol was established in 1926 following the creation of the Liga Venezolana in 1921. Professionalism was not established until 1957 with the Copa de Venezuela arriving two years later. Caracas Fútbol Club are the country's most successful club side. A second division was added in 1979[6] with a third added in 1999 and a fourth in 2006.[7]

Men's professional soccer
Main article: Venezuelan football league system

International

Venezuela national football team played their first game in 1938 and since then have been one of South America's weakest teams.[8] Following Ecuador's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Venezuela are now the only CONMEBOL member to never have appeared at a World Cup finals. However the team are no longer seen as pushovers and are now recognised as stern opposition.[9] Their growing status was further demonstrated by their hosting of the Copa América 2007 during which they reached the quarter finals. Furthermore, during the Copa América 2011, held in Argentina, they even improved this performance and reached the semifinals, after knocking out the Chilean team in the quarter-finals. They eventually lost in the semifinals against Paraguay.[10][11]

An under-20 team, an under-17 team and a women's team also compete.[12]

In 2017, Venezuela achieved one of its biggest ever feat in its football history, by becoming the fourth South American country after Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, to reach the final of any FIFA competitions, when its U-20 side reached the final of 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time.[13] Chile would follow this step in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup later.

References
  1. "Venezuelan football making strides both at home and internationally". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  2. "Richards: Peru, Venezuela redefining Copa, South America - Copa America News | FOX Sports on MSN". Msn.foxsports.com. 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  3. "La vinotinto: South America's footballing exception". The Economist. Economist.com. 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  4. "When Saturday Comes - Venezuela". Wsc.co.uk. 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  5. "When Saturday Comes - When Saturday Comes". Wsc.co.uk. 2012-07-09. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  6. "Venezuela - List of Second Level Champions and Runners Up". Rsssf.com. 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  7. "Venezuela - List of Third and Fourth Level Champions and Runners Up". Rsssf.com. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  8. Jamie Rainbow (2011-07-04). "Venezuelan football: a brief history". Worldsoccer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  9. Vickery, Tim (2004-10-07). "BBC SPORT | Football | World Football | Venezuela no longer a joke". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  10. Vickery, Tim (2013-03-04). "BBC Sport - Venezuela's paradox illustrates the perils of football globalisation". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  11. Alejandro Pérez and Tim Sturtridge (2011-03-19). "Venezuela's brightest star Yohandry Orozco ready to shine - European - Football". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  12. "Under-20 World Cup: Can Venezuela shock England in the Suwon final?". BBC Sport. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. "Under-20 World Cup: Can Venezuela shock England in the Suwon final?". BBC Sport. June 9, 2017 – via www.bbc.com.


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