Football
How Many Countries Play Football Worldwide?
Association Football is the world’s most popular sport. Football is played in every country in the world. These are how many countries play football worldwide.
Ronaldo of Brazil with World Cup trophy//Getty Images
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) recognises 211 national football associations worldwide. FIFA is the worldwide governing body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal. SportsBoom breaks down all of FIFA’s officially recognised football associations and the most successful countries at the World Cup. We also take a look at viewing figures and social media reach.
The majority of national football teams in the world are members of FIFA or one of its affiliated continental confederations. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have the most football associations within their organisations. UEFA has 55 official football associations, and CAF has 54.
Germany national football team lifting the FIFA 2014 World Cup trophy//Getty Images
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has 46 members. The fourth largest continental football association is the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). It has 41 representatives across three American continents.
Argentina has won the most world and continental tournaments. La Albiceleste have won three FIFA World Cups and 16 CONMEBOL Copa América titles.
The Oceana Football Federation (OFC) has 11 recognised football associations. South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has ten members, the fewest of FIFA’s six continental football associations.
Lionel Messi holding FIFA World Cup//Getty Images
Who are the Most Successful FIFA World Cup Nations?
The FIFA World Cup was founded 94 years ago. Since the first competition in 1930, there have been 22 finals tournaments. The World Cup is the most prestigious football competition. Eighty countries have participated since the inaugural tournament in Uruguay.
Despite having played in 22 World Cups, only seven nations have lifted the sport’s most illustrious trophy. Brazil is the most successful country. The Samba Boys have triumphed five times and are the only country to play in every tournament. Germany and Italy are the second-most successful teams; they have won four titles each.
Argentina is the next best, with three wins. Uruguay and France have two triumphs, while England and Spain have won one World Cup title apiece. Uruguay won the inaugural tournament on home soil. Argentina is the current world champion. They won the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Most Successful FIFA World Cup Countries
| Rank | Country | World Cup Finals | Champions | Runners Up |
| 1 | Brazil | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| =2 | Germany | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| =2 | Italy | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Argentina | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| =5 | France | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| =5 | Uruguay | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| =7 | Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| =7 | England | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| =10 | Czechoslovakia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =10 | Croatia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =12 | Hungary | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =12 | Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Fabio Cannavaro of Italy lifts the World Cup trophy//Getty Images
How Many Viewers Watched the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar?
The 2022 Qatar World Cup was the most-watched sports event in history. According to Inside FIFA, the last tournament drew an estimated five billion television viewers worldwide. Figures for the Argentina-France final were estimated at one and a half billion, globally. FIFA estimated almost six billion engagements on social media, with a 262 billion cumulative reach across all media platforms in 2022.
For perspective, the 2008 Beijing Olympics is the second-most watched sports event. According to figures, 4.7 billion television viewers tuned in to watch the summer games in China. Social media was in its infancy, some platforms were not invented, so engagements and reach figures are unavailable.
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Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.