http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/sports/terms.html (PC Press Internet CD, 03/1996)
Terminology
Terminology
If you are new to the game or were too afraid to ask here is a brief
list of commonly used terms and abbreviations.
FIFA
Short for 'Ferderation Internationale de Football Association', the
international ruling body of our game.
UEFA
Union Europeene de Football Association, the European Federation.
CONMEBOL
CONfederacion sudaMEricana de futBOL, the South American Football
Federation. The acronym was not CSF or similar because the
organisers wanted to use the first, middle and last letters
rather than just the initials.
CONCACAF
COnfederation of North, Central American and CAribbean Football.
EC1, EC2, EC3 (aka the European Champions Cup, European Cup Winners
Cup, and the UEFA Cup respectively)
Each country usually has a league competition where each team in
the division plays against every other team in the same division,
several divisions are possible. The winner of the top division
in each country is given a spot in the European Champions Cup in
the following season.
In addition each country conducts a knockout tournament open to
teams from all divisions, the most well known of these tournaments
is the FA Cup. The winner of this tournament from each country is
awarded a spot in the European Cup Winners Cup in the following
season.
According to the performance of the clubs from various countries
in these three competitions a number of places is allocated to each
country in the UEFA Cup. Some countries will have no entries in
this Cup and some will have 4. The team(s) who finish below the
EC1 entrant and did not win a spot in EC2, may be eligible for EC3.
EC
Used in reference to the European Championships, held every four
years. The last tournament was in 1992 and was won by Denmark.
WC, WM, Mundial
This refers to the World Championship held every 4 years since
1930 (there were no 1942 or 1946 championships). Sometimes the
year of the championship is affixed (eg WC'90), and is sometimes
referred to by the name of the host (eg Italia 90 or USA 94).
Only six teams have won this tournament, Uruguay (1930, '50),
Italy ('34, '38, '82), Germany ('54, '74, '90), Brazil ('58, '62,
'70), England ('66) and Argentina ('78, '86).
Bastard in Black
an affectionate name for the referee, also known as the 'Man in the
Middle' or the poor sod required to enforce FIFA's latest
directive. Linesmen are generally not considered worthy of such
pet names.
Copa Libertadores
The Copa Libertadores de America (America's Liberators Cup) was
created in 1960 as a tournament between the champions of the
10 FA's members in the CSF (South American Football Confederation).
In 1966 its format was changed to allow the participation of two
teams from each country, with 5 groups formed by pairs of countries.
In most editions the group winers advanced to the semifinals
together with the last champion, but in the current format
(in force since 1989) 3 teams from each group advance to the next
round, together with the last champion, starting a series of 4
knock-out rounds with home-away games (including the final). The cup
has traditionally been won by teams from Argentina (15 times),
Uruguay (8 times) and Brasil (7 times)
but in the last years teams from Paraguay, Colombia
and Chile have also managed to win it. The most successful teams
have been Independiente (Argentina), with seven cups, and Pe%tildenarol
(Uruguay) with five.
Copa America
The Copa America has traditionally been a tournament between the
10 national teams representing the FA's members in the CSF, but
two invited teams from CONCACAF (Mexico and USA) will participate
for the first time this year. Regularly played since 1917, this
cup is one of the world's oldest international soccer events.
Although it was officially played every 4 years (except for the
1971 edition, which was canceled), there have been many special
editions so that the frequency has not been constant. However,
since 1987 the tournament is played every two years, so that in
years preceding a World Cup it also serves as a preparation for
the qualifying groups which start a few weeks later. With the only
exception of the 1975, '79, and '83 editions, which were played on
a home-away basis, the tournament takes place in a host country.
Most cups have been won by Argentina (the current champion) and
Uruguay, which are virtually tied at the top of the ranking,
followed far behind by Brazil, and with occassional wins by Peru,
Paraguay, and Bolivia.
Toyota Cup or Intercontinental Cup
The one-off game held between the winners of EC1 and the Copa
Libertadores and played in Tokyo. It passes itself off as the
World Club Championship, and although it is effectively only
open to teams from Europe and South America there is a fair
amount of substance to the claim. The South Americans hold an
18-13 lead over Europe in terms of Cups won.
IMHO, BTW, :-)
Not really soccer specific the first two stand for 'In my humble
opinion' and 'By the way' respectively. The smiley, drawn sideways,
is indicative of intended humour or a jest.
Correspondence to sports@atm.ch.cam.ac.uk.
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