Ranking the Top Four Football Tournaments in the World

While there are a plethora of domestic and international football tournaments, some football competitions have a massive fan base and offer whopping monetary rewards to their winners. In this article, we list the best knockout competitions in world football. Continue reading!

Without a doubt, the FIFA World Cup is the best and most popular global football competition. First played in 1930, the FIFA World Cup takes place every four years and sees the world’s top football cup competing for the World Champions title.

Initially, the FIFA World Cup was contested between just six nations. But today, the tournament has expanded to include 32 teams from across the globe. The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Mexico in 2026, is expected to have 48 national teams.

Having won the World Cup five times, Brazil is the most successful national side in the competition. Also, Brazil happens to be the only team which has taken part in every World Cup tournament. It is followed by Italy and Germany, with four titles each to their names.

The UEFA Champions League takes the number 2 position on our list of the world’s best knockout tournaments. It is a yearly continental club event conducted by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA).

UEFA Champions League involves several renowned clubs and receives coverage from top worldwide media channels. So, it’s no wonder that it’s a highly prestigious football competition in both European and global football. Also, the UEFA Champions League attracts some of the best football odds and is a highly popular choice when it comes to football betting.

Introduced in the mid-1950s, the UEFA has undergone several transformations to become the league that we know today. Currently, the competition sees 32 clubs competing for the coveted European Cup.

This is another football competition that’s organized by the European football body UEFA. The UEFA European Champions is a highly watched football competition that brings in some of the world’s best football clubs.

Before being able to participate in this tournament, all teams need to go through a qualifying process. The only exception to this is the host nation, as it automatically qualifies. Currently, a total of 24 teams compete in the UEFA European Championship, but only 10 of them have managed to grab the European Championship title. Having won in 2008 and 2012, Spain is the only nation that has two consecutive European Championship titles to its name.

While not as widespread as the other tournaments on our list, Copa America is a highly popular football competition in South America. Copa America was first held in Argentina in 1916, meaning it’s one of the world’s oldest football competitions.

Copa America is highly enjoyed by South American football fans, though it has gone through its own set of ups and downs. As of now, a total of 100 nations take part in the Copa America tournament. Having won 15 Copa America titles to date, Uruguay and Argentina happen to be the most successful teams in the competition.

Besides these, other great football competitions include the Copa Libertadores, UEFA Europa League, Africa Cup of Nations, FA Cup, Confederations Cup and Copa del Rey.