FIFA U-17 World Cup

The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The current champion is Brazil, which won its fourth title at the 2019 tournament on home soil.

FIFA U-17 World Cup
Organising bodyFIFA
Founded1985 (1985)
RegionInternational
Number of teams24 (finals)
Related competitionsFIFA U-20 World Cup
Current champions Brazil (4th title)
Most successful team(s) Nigeria (5 titles)
Websitefifa.com/u17worldcup
2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Tournaments
  • 1985
  • 1987
  • 1989
  • 1991
  • 1993
  • 1995
  • 1997
  • 1999
  • 2001
  • 2003
  • 2005
  • 2007
  • 2009
  • 2011
  • 2013
  • 2015
  • 2017
  • 2019
  • 2021
  • 2023

History

The FIFA U-17 World Cup is a competition that was inspired by the Lion City Cup that was created by the Football Association of Singapore in 1977. The Lion City Cup was the first under-16 football tournament in the world. Following FIFA's then secretary-general Sepp Blatter's recommendation after he was in Singapore for the 1982 Lion City Cup, FIFA created the FIFA U-16 World Championship.[1]

The first edition was staged in 1985 in China,[2] and tournaments have been played every two years since then. It began as a competition for players under the age of 16 with the age limit raised to 17 from the 1991 edition onwards. The 2017 tournament which was hosted by India became the most attended in the history of the tournament, with the total attendance of the FIFA U-17 World Cup reaching 1,347,133.[3]

Nigeria is the most successful nation in the tournament's history, with five titles and three runners up. Brazil is the second-most successful with four titles and two runners-up. Ghana and Mexico have won the tournament twice.

A corresponding tournament for female players, the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, began in 2008, with North Korea winning the inaugural tournament.

Structure

Each tournament consists of a group phase, in which four teams play against one another and standings in the group table decide which teams advance, followed by a knockout phase of successive matches where the winning team advances through the competition and the losing team is eliminated. This continues until two teams remain to contest the final, which decides the tournament winner. The losing semi-finalists also contest a match to decide third place.

From 1985 to 2005 there were 16 teams in the competition, divided into four groups of four teams each in the group phase. Each team played the others in its group and the group winner and runner up qualified for the knockout phase. From 2007 the tournament was expanded to 24 teams, divided into six groups of four teams each. The top 2 places in each group plus the four best third-placed teams advanced to the knockout phase.

Competition matches are played in two 45-minute halves (i.e., 90 minutes in total). In the knockout phase, until the 2011 tournament, if tied at the end of 90 minutes an additional 30 minutes of extra time were played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if still tied. Starting with the 2011 tournament, the extra time period was eliminated to avoid player burnout, and all knockout games progress straight to penalties if tied at the end of 90 minutes.

Qualification

The host nation of each tournament qualifies automatically. The remaining teams qualify through competitions organised by the six regional confederations. For the first edition of the tournament in 1985, all of the teams from Europe plus Bolivia appeared by invitation of FIFA.

Confederation Championship
AFC (Asia) AFC U-17 Asian Cup
CAF (Africa) African Under-17 Championship
CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) CONCACAF Under-17 Championship
CONMEBOL (South America) South American Under-17 Football Championship
OFC (Oceania) OFC U-16 Championship
UEFA (Europe) UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship

Results
Tournament names
  • 1985–1989: FIFA U-16 World Championship
  • 1991–2005: FIFA U-17 World Championship
  • 2007–present: FIFA U-17 World Cup
Keys
Ed. Year Host First place game Third place game Num.
teams
Champion Score Runner-up Third Score Fourth
1 1985 China
Nigeria		 2–0
West Germany
Brazil		 4–1
Guinea		 16
2 1987 Canada
Soviet Union		 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Nigeria
Ivory Coast		 2–1 (a.e.t.)
Italy		 16
3 1989 Scotland
Saudi Arabia		 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
Scotland
Portugal		 3–0
Bahrain		 16
4 1991 Italy
Ghana		 1–0
Spain
Argentina		 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–1 p)
Qatar		 16
5 1993 Japan
Nigeria		 2–1
Ghana
Chile		 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Poland		 16
6 1995 Ecuador
Ghana		 3–2
Brazil
Argentina		 2–0
Oman		 16
7 1997 Egypt
Brazil		 2–1
Ghana
Spain		 2–1
Germany		 16
8 1999 New Zealand
Brazil		 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(8–7 p)
Australia
Ghana		 2–0
United States		 16
9 2001 Trinidad and Tobago
France		 3–0
Nigeria
Burkina Faso		 2–0
Argentina		 16
10 2003 Finland
Brazil		 1–0
Spain
Argentina		 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
Colombia		 16
11 2005 Peru
Mexico		 3–0
Brazil
Netherlands		 2–1
Turkey		 16
12 2007 South Korea
Nigeria		 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–0 p)
Spain
Germany		 2–1
Ghana		 24
13 2009 Nigeria
Switzerland		 1–0
Nigeria
Spain		 1–0
Colombia		 24
14 2011 Mexico
Mexico		 2–0
Uruguay
Germany		 4–3
Brazil		 24
15 2013 UAE
Nigeria		 3–0
Mexico
Sweden		 4–1
Argentina		 24
16 2015 Chile
Nigeria		 2–0
Mali
Belgium		 3–2
Mexico		 24
17 2017 India
England		 5–2
Spain
Brazil		 2–0
Mali		 24
18 2019 Brazil
Brazil		 2–1
Mexico
France		 4–1
Netherlands		 24
— 2021 Peru (Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)[4] 24
19 2023 Peru 24

Teams reaching the top four
Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place
 Nigeria 5 (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, 2015) 3 (1987, 2001, 2009)
 Brazil 4 (1997, 1999, 2003, 2019) 2 (1995, 2005) 2 (1985, 2017) 1 (2011)
 Ghana 2 (1991, 1995) 2 (1993, 1997) 1 (1999) 1 (2007)
 Mexico 2 (2005, 2011) 2 (2013, 2019) 1 (2015)
 France 1 (2001) 1 (2019)
 Russia1 1 (1987)
 Saudi Arabia 1 (1989)
  Switzerland 1 (2009)
 England 1 (2017)
 Spain 4 (1991, 2003, 2007, 2017) 2 (1997, 2009)
 Germany2 1 (1985) 2 (2007, 2011) 1 (1997)
 Mali 1 (2015) 1 (2017)
 Scotland 1 (1989)
 Australia 1 (1999)
 Uruguay 1 (2011)
 Argentina 3 (1991, 1995, 2003) 2 (2001, 2013)
 Netherlands 1 (2005) 1 (2019)
 Ivory Coast 1 (1987)
 Portugal 1 (1989)
 Chile 1 (1993)
 Burkina Faso 1 (2001)
 Sweden 1 (2013)
 Belgium 1 (2015)
 Colombia 2 (2003, 2009)
 Guinea 1 (1985)
 Italy 1 (1987)
 Bahrain 1 (1989)
 Qatar 1 (1991)
 Poland 1 (1993)
 Oman 1 (1995)
 United States 1 (1999)
 Turkey 1 (2005)
1includes results representing Soviet Union
2includes results representing West Germany

Performances by continental zones
Map of the best results for each country

Africa is the most successful continental zone with 7 tournament wins (5 for Nigeria, 2 for Ghana) and 6 times as runner up. Notably the 1993 final was contested by two African teams, when the final has been contested by two teams from the same confederation. The African teams repeated the 1993 final with Mali replacing Ghana (Disqualified for age violation) in 2015 when Nigeria and Mali made it to the last two standing and Nigeria got their sixth win.

South America has 3 tournament wins and has been runner up three times. Additionally Argentina has finished in third place on 3 occasions, Chile has done so on one occasion and Colombia has finished in fourth place twice, but neither of the latter two have ever appeared in the final.

Europe has 4 tournaments wins (1 each for France, USSR, Switzerland and England) and has been runner up 6 times. Spain has been runner up on 4 occasions. Additionally Portugal and Netherlands have won third-place medals in 1989 and 2005 respectively.

The CONCACAF zone has 2 tournament wins (for Mexico in 2005 and 2011), this confederation has reached the final four times (with Mexico).

Asia has 1 tournament win (for Saudi Arabia in 1989), the only time that a team from this confederation has reached the final and the only time an Asian team won a FIFA tournament in male category. (Australia was runner up in 1999 but at that time was in the Oceania Football Confederation).

Oceania has no tournament wins and 1 occasion as runner up (for Australia in 1999). Australia has since moved to the Asian confederation.

This tournament is peculiar in that the majority of titles have gone to teams from outside the strongest regional confederations (CONMEBOL and UEFA). Of the fifteen editions held so far, nine (60 percent of the total) have been won by teams from North and Central America, Africa and Asia.

Confederation (continent) Performances
Winners Runners-up Third Fourth
CAF (Africa) 7 times: Nigeria (5), Ghana (2) 6 times: Nigeria (3), Ghana (2), Mali (1) 3 times: Ghana (1), Ivory Coast (1), Burkina Faso (1) 3 times: Ghana (1), Guinea (1), Mali (1)
UEFA (Europe) 4 times: France (1), Soviet Union (1), Switzerland (1), England (1) 6 times: Spain (4), Germany (1), Scotland (1) 9 times: Germany (2), Spain (2), Belgium (1), France (1), Netherlands (1), Portugal (1), Sweden (1) 5 times: Germany (1), Italy (1), Netherlands (1), Poland (1), Turkey (1)
CONMEBOL (South America) 4 times: Brazil (4) 3 times: Brazil (2), Uruguay (1) 6 times: Argentina (3), Brazil (2), Chile (1) 5 times: Brazil (1), Argentina (2), Colombia (2)
CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) 2 times: Mexico (2) 2 times: Mexico (2) None 2 times: Mexico (1), United States (1)
AFC (Asia) 1 time: Saudi Arabia (1) None None 3 times: Bahrain (1), Qatar (1), Oman (1)
OFC (Oceania) None 1 time: Australia (1) None None

Awards

The following awards are now presented:

  • The Golden Ball is awarded to the most valuable player of the tournament.
  • The Golden Boot is awarded to the top goalscorer of the tournament.
  • The Golden Glove is awarded to the most valuable goalkeeper of the tournament.
  • The FIFA Fair Play Trophy is presented to the team with the best disciplinary record in the tournament.
Tournament Golden Ball Golden Boot Goals Golden Glove FIFA Fair Play Trophy
1985 China William Marcel Witeczek 8 Not Awarded  West Germany
1987 Canada Philip Osundu Moussa Traoré 5  Soviet Union
1989 Scotland James Will Fode Camara 3  Bahrain
1991 Italy Nii Lamptey Adriano 4  Argentina
1993 Japan Daniel Addo Wilson Oruma 6  Nigeria
1995 Ecuador Mohammed Al-Kathiri Daniel Allsopp 5  Brazil
1997 Egypt Sergio Santamaría David 7  Argentina
1999 New Zealand Landon Donovan Ishmael Addo 7  Mexico
2001 Trinidad and Tobago Florent Sinama Pongolle Florent Sinama Pongolle 9  Nigeria
2003 Finland Cesc Fàbregas Cesc Fàbregas 5  Costa Rica
2005 Peru Anderson Carlos Vela 5  North Korea
2007 South Korea Toni Kroos Macauley Chrisantus 7  Costa Rica
2009 Nigeria Sani Emmanuel Borja 5 Benjamin Siegrist  Nigeria
2011 Mexico Julio Gómez Souleymane Coulibaly 9 Jonathan Cubero  Japan
2013 United Arab Emirates Kelechi Iheanacho Valmir Berisha 7 Dele Alampasu  Nigeria
2015 Chile Kelechi Nwakali Victor Osimhen 10 Samuel Diarra  Ecuador
2017 India Phil Foden Rhian Brewster 8 Gabriel Brazão  Brazil
2019 Brazil Gabriel Veron Sontje Hansen 6 Matheus Donelli  Ecuador
2021 Peru — — — — —
2023 Peru TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

See also
  • List of association football competitions
  • National team appearances in the FIFA U-17 World Cup
  • FIFA U-20 World Cup
  • FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

References
  1. "Youth Cup revived". eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
  2. "India could shatter Under 17 World Cup attendance record".
  3. "FIFA U-17 WC in India becomes most attended in event's history".
  4. "Update on FIFA Women's World Cup™ and men's youth competitions". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
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