It is common knowledge that for many years, the process for selecting host nations was flawed. Over the years, voting was increasingly not about what was fair or even good for the game but it was politically and strategically led.
So in that environment, some nations that didn't have sufficient influence were left in the cold. I do believe FIFA has acted to limit that typically unfair system, the sort that self serving humans specialise in. Despite that, the unevenness of it remains in the history of World Cups.
The yellow side below shows the year the tournament was - or will be - held, the number of participating countries, and the host or hosts. The 2030 WC will also feature Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, who will each hold opening celebration matches to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup.
The blue side shows the inequality starkly. Mexico first hosted in 1970 and now has done so on three occasions. Spain will soon become a second time host since the first time in 1982 and the USA twice since 1994.
It's good to see many first time nations are some of the recent hosts, from Portugal down to Russia. On the negative side is Argentina (not since 1978), and England inexplicably back at 1966. Those before them are smaller nations that could at best piggyback on larger hosts.
Twelve groups and forty eight teams. Thirty two qualifying for the next round. All the teams that achieved four points or more qualified as well as Senegal, the lone three point team. With more teams and more qualifying for the next round, there will be more positives.
Positive surprises:
Canada had by far their best ever tournament, two lasts and now through.
Bosnia-Herzegovina also through for the first time on a second attempt.
Egypt has much the same record as Canada, three lasts and now qualifying.
Scotland's equal best tournament, but still no play off place.
Cape Verde's first tournament and into the play offs!
Negative surprises:
South Korea don't have a great WC history, but I'm sure they will be disappointed.
Uruguay has won WCs, but Cape Verde outperformed them.
Turkey rarely make WC's but this was their worst of three.
Italy has now missed its third consecutive WC, despite a fine history at them!
The top two on the list are still playing. I'm surprised that Messi has one of the lowest average goals per game. Mbappe will surely pass him sooner or later, with youth on his side. C.Ronaldo has the lowest strike rate here, which is surprising.
Kane is making a charge, but still some way back. Below the listed players, there are not many still donning their boots and eligible to be added to this list if they get on a scoring spree.
The Emperor Cup is the longest competition but I decided to start counting from 1965 in line with the Japan Soccer League's inception. The JSL Cup started from the 1970's and it also became the J League Cup in 1993.
Before the J League, clubs were connected to companies and carried their names too. When the J League was initiated, most club names were changed and they are the ones used here.
Some clubs have been introduced during this period under consideration and a few have folded. With the introduction of the professional J League, the amount of success a club enjoyed changed too. So no club really dominates the list above.
The chart to the right / top shows points for the Japanese domestic competition (Jap) and then includes Asia (Tot). The points are: J League (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Emperor Cup competitions 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. The JSL Cup is 3 and 1 points. The Asia Club Championship is 8, 4 and 2 points. The Asian CC includes 2026.
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. Any suggestions? Please leave a comment.
Kantō covers Tokyo and the surrounding area so there is no surprise it has won 62.3% of all points among Japanese clubs. Kansai is two regions down from there and is next (15.5%). Chūbu is between them and third with 11.2%. The south is whatever is below Chūbu (9.8) and the north is above Kantō.
Over that time there have been many clubs that have managed to score points but there are some sides that shine. The lists you see here reflect that.
To the right are the top ten, with points for local competitions on the extreme right and European success added for the 'Tot' figure.
So putting it together and covering all the clubs that have accumulated points, what do we have? What is below, broken down into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place against all the other clubs.
The strongest region is the North West where the powerhouse football cities of Manchester and Liverpool are situated. They account for 46.9% of the total. Liverpool passed Manchester Utd in the 2024/25 season to become the most successful domestically but are well ahead when Europe is added.
London is next with several strong clubs and 30.0%. The Midlands total 10.7% and the last three 4.5% combined. So putting it together and covering all the clubs that have accumulated points, what do we have? What is below, broken down into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place against all the other clubs.
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.
For points, the A league has 6, 3, 2, and 1 point for the top four. The top sides go into playoffs to win the grand final, the points are 6, 4 and two receiving 2 points each. Slight variances to that for earlier years when there were fewer finalists. There was a preseason competition for the first four years of competition. One point for each winner.
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 41.5% of all points. Victoria is next with 27.8% West has 14.9%, Queensland 10.5%. and New Zealand 5.3%. NZ has been a one team affair until two years ago when Auckland FC joined. Auckland FC is already making a mark but has a lot of ground to make up on clubs with a much longer history.
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. Western Utd was recently forced out due to financial issues after five years of competing.
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. Some of them have now ceased to exist and others have changed names but I've used the latest ones.
I've divided the clubs up into four regions. Zagreb has about 28% of the total population and took 46.7% of the total points. South 29.7%, West 13.1% with the other two are the same with a 5.2% average. Crowd trouble is a problem, with the rivalry between the two top clubs intense.
So how do the points work? In the Bundesliga (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The DFB-Pokal Cup 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. The DFB-ligapokal Cup (League Cup) was a brief affair but still scored 3 and 1 for the finalists.
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. The new Conference League I added to the long defunct Cup Winner's Cup. They get 4 and 2 for the finalists.
2023/24 hurt when Bayer Leverkusen went on a freakish unbeaten run to take the title. BM's pride was dented further when VfB Stuttgart pipped them for second place. However since there has been a resumption of normality with BM taking the title.
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 West of Germany is the most successful with 41.5% of the total, due to having the most population and clubs. The South cannot be saved by one club although 38.9% is a fine effort. North and East make up the other regions. The East region isn't helped in that it only joined in 1990 and the RB Leipzig club only joined in 2009/10.
When I did a report on AFCON 2025 I mentioned the final had some bizarre moments, without elaborating. Highlights of the game by CAF are sanitised, restricted to areas that I'm excluded from or such poor quality. I'll try to piece what happened together.
In regular time late in the second half, Senegal had a goal disallowed for a foul in the build up. The game ends 0-0. I found the extra time timelines vague. Sometime in extra time, Morocco were awarded a penalty and the Senegal players walked off the pitch in protest. The game was help up for at least 15 minutes until the Senegalese players returned. The penalty kick was taken and not scored.
Senegal went on to score a goal and win the tournament. Morocco felt the walk off should have ended the match and it be awarded to them and lodged an appeal. It finally came, back in Morocco's favour and they were awarded the game 3-0. Now Senegal is going to appeal that decision.
This whole thing could have been handled differently. I thought that the referee should have gone to the Senegal camp and said if all the players aren't back in five minutes and in their places for the penalty, you will forfeit the game.
The referee is the final arbiter and if he handled it poorly, so be it. By allowing the walkoff not to be punished at the time, that was his call. I don't agree with it, but that should stand. By making a retrospective decision, this could establish a precedent for other games having decisions overturned after the match is concluded.
The referee was weak and CAFs belated ruling makes the game in Africa look poorly run. Senegal should be the winners despite their petulant behaviour because the referee didn't act against it at the time. What a farce but then again, it is Africa we're talking here.
Once upon a time, players stood in the 18 yard box and waited for the ball to be crossed before moving. Somewhere along the line, it was decided that an advantage could be achieved by jostling, pushing, pulling and obstructing opponents. The calm has been replaced by the chaotic.
Is there an easy fix? Some suggest harsh penalties for offenders but I don't think that is the answer. Determining when a defender has gone too far in trying to put an attacking player off is difficult, because it can be slyly done. What about an attacker standing right in front of the goalie? At what point has he got too close. Again, open to interpretation.
One possibility is having all players outside the 18 yard box until the kick is taken. Once the ball is kicked, say four from each team are allowed to run into the box and contest for the ball. Only when the ball is cleared out of the box is the minimum player restriction lifted.
It sounds simple and would make it easier for officials to police a smaller number of players. There could still be rules around players pushing or obstructing unfairly, but that probably wouldn't be a major issue.
The 30th tournament (that I count and show in the second chart) has concluded. The biennial event is changing. After the 2027 tournament, it will be held in 2028 and thereafter every four years.
The 2025 results are immediately below. Senegal won its second tournament, in the process denying Morocco its second. The final had some bizarre moments.
Points are allocated for each participating country. The weighting of points favours success but any participation gets some recognition.
Nigeria leads the way, not in the number of titles but through overall points, which total 193. That's an average of 9.7 points for each tournament it has been involved in. Now for some detail.
More than one title: Egypt, Cameroon (5). Ivory Coast, Nigeria (3). Algeria, DR Congo, Ghana, Senegal (2). Those with one title number 7. 14 Different winners in all.
Origin: It started in 1957 but switched to a biannual format in 1968 and that was the first year eight nations took part. That is where this data starts.
Regions: At the base of the chart, the countries listed are put into regions. In reality, there is no perfect way of doing it but that didn't stop me from trying. West Africa is the most successful region, from Northern Africa and Central Africa.
