Argentina: Clubs Ranked - 1961 to 2023

To say that Argentine football is organised in a chaotic way would be an understatement. I hope I managed to sort it out accurately. Success is quite well spread out compared to many countries in Europe.

To the right are the top sides listed. 'Arg' represents points awarded for domestic play and 'Tot' includes South America.

So how do the points work? In Primera División and the Campeonato Metro (and other names used) top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Copas (Cup) 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. In South America, the Copa Libertadores (Champions League) gives 8, 4 and 2 points. 

The Primera División - National or Clausura - has River Plate as the top side, ahead of Boca Juniors. The last six years have had six different winners. When did that last happen in a major European competition? The 2023 winner was River Plate. 

Another league competition played is the Campeonato Metro - Apertura or Inicial - has also often been held concurrently. It first was held from 1967 to 1984 and later reinstalled from 1991 to 2014. The same results have nearly been achieved for the top five at least. 

They haven't been big on cup competitions in Argentina, probably due to two league competitions that left no time to squeeze them in. They are the Copa Argentina and Copa Liga Profesional. 

The Copa Argentina was contested in 1969 and 1970, then from 2012 to today. There was no winner declared in 1970 due to the final being drawn but I shared the points with the finalists. 

The other cup Copa Liga Profesional is probably close to League Cups elsewhere. I'm unsure if it is viewed as important as the Copa Argentina so I awarded the same points for top achievers, unlike what I do for Europe. It commenced in 2020.

The Copa Libertadores has been a successful hunting ground for Argentine Clubs. As of now, they have taken the same number of points as Brazilian clubs. That's an impressive history.

Argentina was of their arch rival Brazil but have recently been caught. The last Argentinian title winner was River Plate in 2018 and before that the same club in 2015. Independiente was very successful in the 1960's and moreso the 70's but its last title was 1984. 

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. 

Most come from Buenas Aires which has 80% of all points scored. I called the next region Central, which is a similar latitude to BA and that region took 17.9%. The South and North are not prominent. It is all about the capital city. 

CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament: 1991 - 2023

The northerly America's Cup tournament goes back to 1991 when eight nations lined up hoping to take home the inaugural trophy. The USA succeeded on that occasion, one of seven successes it has enjoyed. Thirty one different countries have taken part, some invited from outside. The 'local' nations are darker purple, the invitees lighter.  

Of the seventeen tournaments held, two countries (the USA and Mexico) have won it sixteen times! They have also lost a final seven times between them. Six nations have been finalists at least once without achieving the ultimate success. Hopefully, another country can hold the trophy aloft next time in 2025. 

As for the 2023 edition, the group standings and knock out rounds are shown below.

Uruguay: Clubs Ranked - 1961 to 2024

There are two top clubs in Uruguay and a couple more trying to keep them honest. Virtually all the clubs hail from Montevideo as you will see later on. 

The 'Uru' column is for domestic success and 'Tot' includes South American success. The latter has benefitted the top two greatly.

So how do the points work? In the Primera División (Division 1) these are the Clausura, Apertura and briefly the Liga Mayor where the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Copa Uruguay (Cup) 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. In South America, the Copa Libertadores gives 8, 4 and 2 points. 

The Primera División confusingly has two competitions, the one constant I've put under what is now the Clausura. It is the second to be played in the season. 

Peñarol is the most successful. It has recently won the 2017, 2018 and 2021 titles. Liverpool FC won in 2020 and 2023 (current holder) and Nacional 2019 and 2022. 

Then there is the Apertura which is played first and was first held in 1994. There was also the Liga Major which went from 1975 to 1978 which I included here. Nacional last won it in 2020, Plaza Colonia, Liverpool and Peñarol (last two occasions) winning since. 

The Copa Uruguay started in 2022, with one other attempt in 1969. Defensor Sporting has won the two recent ones.

Knock out Cup tournaments aren't historically played in South America and are reluctant new additions. This has meant they have fiddled around with league competitions to fill the season. 

The Copa Libertadores was a happy hunting ground for two Uruguayan clubs. They were the top nation in the 1960's and strong in the 1980's, then it stopped abruptly. A few recent dabbles cannot hide the fact that their glory days on the bigger stage seem to be over. 

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. 

The football scene in Uruguay is a Montevideo comp with a few others added from mainly the shared south coastline. 98% of the points go to the capital city. 

Brazil: Clubs Ranked - 1961 to 2023

I have heard of a few Brazilian clubs but delving into the data confirmed my limited knowledge. One thing that stood out was the lack of a few teams dominating year after year. There are always some that excel and the way I allocate points rewards the most successful. Yet the spread is still broad. 

The 'Bra' column is points gained domestically and 'Tot' includes those accrued from South American competition.

So how do the points work? In the Serie A (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Copa do Brasil (Cup) 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. In South America, the Copa Libertadores gives 8, 4 and 2 points. 

Serie A is quite close, as mentioned. There were also changes to the format and for two years two competitions were played. Early on Santos dominated but things evened out after that.

Flamenco won in 2019 and 2020, Atlético Mineiro in 2021 and Palamerira 2022 and 2023. the 2024 competition hasn't concluded yet.

The Copa do Brasil only started in 1989, which surprised me. Cruziero and Grêmio made the Cup their specialty although not lately. Grêmio last won in 2016 while Cruziero won trophies in 2017 and 2018 but since then nada. For the next five years until 2023, it's been won by a different club. 

The Copa Libertadores is a hotly contested version of Europe's Champions League. Brazil's success has been variable but lately it's been red hot. Reflecting the lack of a few clubs dominating in Brazil, the same is so here with many having success. That's to be expected as they have all had turns representing Brazil.

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. 

São Paulo is the main population centre and takes 40.6% of the points. The South is a strong region along with Rio de Janeiro which both took about 20%. What I decided was Central amounted to 15.3% and the North 2.6%. Are the regions accurate? Let me know if you think otherwise by leaving a comment below. 

AFC Asia Cup Tournament: 1996 - 2023

This is an old tournament going back to 1956 with four participants. However, it really became established in 1996, with all of Asia taking part. That's why I pick up the story from there. The exception is Australia which left the Pacific region to join the 2007 event. 

Japan is the most successful country and has a handy advantage over the others. Korea is always competitive but is yet to win. Suadi Arabia was strong before this period and into it as well but has fallen away in recent tournaments. 

Australia arrived a little late for the party but have done well, including a title in 2015. Qatar may be an unlikely place to be leading the region but it has risen to win the last two tournaments. Jordan surprised many in making the most recent final. China has a large population but is struggling to impress of late. India is another large country but has much work to do. Surely the potential is there.  

Australasia: Clubs Ranked - 2006/07 to 2023/24

Football (or soccer) isn't the big sports code in Australia like it is in so many countries. Clubs are spread across the country and a team from New Zealand has always been a part of the competition. Was has happened is teams have been added names changed and other variances have occurred. The season is held in summer to avoid clashing with more popular codes.

Sydney FC is the most successful club, narrowly ahead of the Melbourne Victory. The Central Coast Mariners north of Sydney are next, followed by Adelaide Utd and the Brisbane Roar.

For points, I went with all sides that played getting something. The A league goes from 16 for the winner, to 14, 12, 10, 8 and then one down to a single point for 14th. For years with less than fourteen teams, the lower scores are not allocated. The top sides go into playoffs to win the grand final, the points are 16, 12, 6 and 2. Slight variances to that for earlier years when there were fewer finalists. 

There was a preseason competition for the first four years of competition. Two groups scored 5, 3, 2 and one point. The four finalists 6, 4 and two sides with 2 points. 

The A league has the same rankings as the overall points above except for Adelaide swapping places with the Central Coast club. Melbourne City don't feature here but the won three consecutive titles from 2021 to 2023. That run was ended in 2024 by the Mariners.

The preseason two group competition was fairly evenly spread due to the few games played. The Central Coast was the most successful club, ahead of three others which tied.  

The finals had Adelaide as the top club along with the Mariners. Melbourne Victory and the Perth Glory had did quite well. 

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. 

The state of New South Wales is the leader with 40.1% of all points. Victoria is next with 22.6% I combined Queensland with New Zealand for third and 19%%. Lastly the West with 18.3%.

I will explain the symbols that come after some of the names below. Melbourne City was the Melbourne Heart, the Brisbane Roar was Queensland Roar, the Wellington Phoenix previously were in Auckland and were the NZ Knights. Finally, the Gold Coast and North Queensland clubs folded after three and two years respectively. 

FIFA Women's World Cup Tournaments : 1991-2023

The first tournament was held in 1991 in China. Nine have now been held and under the @/WC column, the number of times a country has participated is shown. To rank how nations have performed, I created the chart you see below. So how does it work?

Points are allocated according to where teams finished each World Cup and those points are added together in the 'Tot' column. 

The 'Avg' figure is arrived at by dividing the 'Tot' number with the @/WC one. So a country that has done well when they did attend will have a higher average figure than those performing poorly when they attended, regardless of how often they did so. 

The lowest part of the chart reveals how each region did. The three rows show - total points accrued, the number of nations each region sent and finally the average points. As the number of participating countries increases, the points do not increase at the same rate so average points reduce with additional countries being admitted. 

Taking the Americas as an example, it started with just two countries and had the highest average of 10 points each. In 2024, with nine countries it had the lowest average per nation of 2.4. I wonder if the organisers will react to that or view it as a long term project where the experience gained will rectify that next time. 

Summary: The USA is clearly the most successful country, ahead of Germany. That despite neither doing that well in the 2023 event. England, the Netherlands and Spain have missed some tournaments but both have been successful when attending. New Zealand is notable for the opposite reason. 

Sweden: Clubs Ranked - 1960/61 to 2023/24

If you are like me, you know next to nothing about football in Sweden. What we learn from the chart to the right is that Malmö FF is the most successful club in the country. IFK Göteborg is next and AIK third, just ahead of Djurgårdens IF. The 'Swe' column is points for domestic football and 'Tot' includes European success. 

So how do the points work? In the Allsvenskan (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Svenska Cupen (Cup) 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. In Europe, the Champions League (European Cup) 8, 4 and two from the semi finals forward. The Europa League (UEFA Cup) got 6, 3 and 1. 

No surprise that the top club in the Allsvenskan is Malmö from Göteborg and AIK. In other words, the same as the total figures above. As European success is limited, it doesn't affect what's going on at home. The 2024 league is in progress so isn't included. Malmö won in 2021 and 2023, with BK Häcken top in '22.

The Svenska Cupen features the top clubs but all closer together as knock out competitions add more jeopardy. The 2024 edition has been held with Malmö defeating Djurgårdens. Häcken won in '22.

European success is limited although Göteborg won the Europa League in 1982 and 1987.

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. I divided the clubs into regions which I hope correctly reflects reality. 

The South is the most successful thanks to Malmö with 38.7% of the total. Stockholm and its environs are next (22.2%), Göteborg and nearby 19.5%, The central which is west of Stockholm (18.5%) isn't too far behind. The less populated north is where you would expect it to be. For any suggestions just leave a comment.

FIFA Men's World Cup Tournaments : 1954-2022

The World Cup of football wasn't universally accepted when it was introduced back in 1930. Some countries didn't see the need for it as it was an Olympic sport so that was good enough to define a world champion. The problem with that was only amateur players were allowed to compete.

When the World Cup was introduced, when played on one continent, countries on another continent wouldn't attend. This became a tit for tat affair which diluted the genuineness of the title World Cup. It was only by 1954 that it was accepted by all and at that point it became a bona fida world tournament. That's where this analysis kicks off. 

Countries that have been basically the same throughout are purple, those disbanded pink and for new entrants light blue. The Av column on the extreme right highlights the average points for each attendance at a cup. 

Below are all the results and how points are allocated. All participants get something although success is especially rewarded. Sixteen points for a win down to one for last in a group.  

Below the country list, there is a section showing how regions have fared. Then a breakdown of points is available for any who have a nerdy stats side to them.