Editing Association football (section)

=== Contemporary era ===
For most of the 20th century, [[Football in Europe|Europe]] and [[Football in South America|South America]] were the dominant regions in association football. The [[FIFA World Cup]], inaugurated in [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]], became the main stage for players of both continents to show their worth and the strength of their national teams.<ref name=":continental kings">{{Cite web |last=Townsend |first=Jon |date=30 May 2015 |title=The continental kings of Europe and South America |url=https://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/05/30/the-continental-kings-europe-and-south-america/ |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=These Football Times |language=en |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006231607/https://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/05/30/the-continental-kings-europe-and-south-america/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In the second half of the century, the [[European Cup]] and the [[Copa Libertadores]] were created, and the champions of these two club competitions would contest the [[Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004)|Intercontinental Cup]] to prove which team was the best in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIFA Council approves key organisational elements of the FIFA World Cup |url=https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/fifa-council/media-releases/fifa-council-approves-key-organisational-elements-of-the-fifa-world-cu-2917722 |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=FIFA |date=27 October 2017 |language=en |archive-date=24 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224023446/https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/fifa-council/media-releases/fifa-council-approves-key-organisational-elements-of-the-fifa-world-cu-2917722 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Götze kicks the match winning goal.jpg|thumb|Game-winning German goal in [[2014 FIFA World Cup final]]]]
In the 21st century, South America has continued to produce some of the best footballers in the world,<ref name=":euro and south">{{Cite web |date=8 December 2022 |title=Why Europe and South America dominate World Cup |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/football/why-europe-and-south-america-dominate-world-cup-101670523150549.html |first1=Dhiman |last1=Sarkar |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228152150/https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/football/why-europe-and-south-america-dominate-world-cup-101670523150549.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but its clubs have fallen behind the still dominant European clubs, which often sign the best players from [[Latin America]] and elsewhere.<ref name=":continental kings" /><ref name=":euro and south" /> Meanwhile, football has improved in [[Football in Africa|Africa]], [[Football in Asia|Asia]] and [[Sports in North America#Association football (soccer)|North America]],<ref name=":euro and south" /> and nowadays, these regions are at least on equal grounds with South America in club football.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 February 2023 |title=The reasons why South American teams are now struggling at the Club World Cup |url=https://www.marca.com/en/football/2023/02/10/63e637ceca4741f4498b4573.html |first1=Alberto |last1=Rubio |last2=Sam |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=MARCA |language=en |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212064824/https://www.marca.com/en/football/2023/02/10/63e637ceca4741f4498b4573.html |url-status=live}}</ref> When it comes to national teams, countries in the [[Sport in the Caribbean|Caribbean]] and [[Sport in Oceania#Association football|Oceania]] regions (excluding [[Soccer in Australia|Australia]]) have yet to make a mark in international football,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Mark |date=31 August 2018 |title=Can Caribbean football make an impact at international level? |url=https://www.caribbean-beat.com/can-caribbean-football-make-an-impact-at-international-level |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=Caribbean Beat Magazine |language=en |archive-date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201034806/https://www.caribbean-beat.com/can-caribbean-football-make-an-impact-at-international-level |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 August 2003 |title=How Oceania fell off the FIFA map |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/how-oceania-fell-off-the-fifa-map-20030816-gdh9bx.html |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225032213/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/how-oceania-fell-off-the-fifa-map-20030816-gdh9bx.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while Europeans and South Americans continue to dominate the men's FIFA World Cup, as no team from any other region has managed to even reach the final.<ref name=":continental kings" /><ref name=":euro and south"/>

Football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/oct/09/theknowledge.sport |title=Baseball or Football: which sport gets the higher attendance? |last1=Ingle |first1=Sean |last2=Glendenning |first2=Barry |date=9 October 2003 |location=UK |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=5 June 2006 |archive-date=11 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411002757/http://football.guardian.co.uk/news/theknowledge/0,9204,1059366,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while billions more watch the game on television or on the internet.<ref name="billions">{{cite web |title=TV Data |publisher=FIFA |url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/marketingtv/factsfigures/tvdata.html |access-date=2 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922225713/http://fifa.com/aboutfifa/marketingtv/factsfigures/tvdata.html |archive-date=22 September 2007}}</ref><ref name="billions2">{{cite web |title=2014 FIFA World Cup reached 3.2&nbsp;billion viewers, one billion watched final |publisher=FIFA |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2015/m=12/news=2014-fifa-world-cuptm-reached-3-2-billion-viewers-one-billion-watched--2745519.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219010501/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2015/m=12/news=2014-fifa-world-cuptm-reached-3-2-billion-viewers-one-billion-watched--2745519.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 December 2015 |access-date=17 March 2017 |date=16 December 2015}}</ref> A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240&nbsp;million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football.<ref>{{cite web |title=FIFA Survey: approximately 250 million footballers worldwide |publisher=FIFA |url=http://access.fifa.com/infoplus/IP-199_01E_big-count.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060915133001/http://access.fifa.com/infoplus/IP-199_01E_big-count.pdf |archive-date=15 September 2006 |url-status=dead |access-date=15 September 2006}}</ref> Football has the highest global television audience in sport.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/marketing/news/newsid=111247/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111225008/http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/marketing/news/newsid=111247/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2012 |title=2006 FIFA World Cup broadcast wider, longer and farther than ever before |publisher=FIFA |date=6 February 2007|access-date=11 October 2009}}</ref>

In many parts of the world, football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual [[Fan (aficionado)|fans]], local communities, and even nations. [[Ryszard Kapuściński]] says that Europeans who are polite, modest, or humble fall easily into rage when playing or watching football games.<ref name="soccer war">{{cite book |title=The Soccer War |last=Kapuscinski |first=Ryszard |year=2007}}</ref> The [[Ivory Coast national football team]] helped secure a truce to the nation's [[First Ivorian Civil War|civil war]] in 2006<ref>{{cite web |title=More than a game |work=Common Ground News Service |url=http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?sid=1&id=2079 |last=Stormer |first=Neil |date=20 June 2006 |access-date=2 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626030739/http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?sid=1&id=2079 |archive-date=26 June 2010}}</ref> and it helped further reduce tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a match in the rebel capital of [[Bouaké]], an occasion that brought both armies together peacefully for the first time.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Best Feet Forward |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/ivorycoast200707 |first=Merrill |last=Austin |date=10 July 2007 |access-date=2 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228162619/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/ivorycoast200707 |archive-date=28 February 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> By contrast, football is widely considered to have been the final proximate cause for the [[Football War]] in June 1969 between [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Has football ever started a war? |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/feb/21/theknowledge.sport |last1=Dart |first1=James |last2=Bandini |first2=Paolo |date=21 February 2007 |access-date=24 September 2007 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029181328/http://football.guardian.co.uk/theknowledge/story/0%2C%2C2017161%2C00.html |archive-date=29 October 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the [[Croatian War of Independence]] of the 1990s, when a match between [[Dinamo Zagreb]] and [[Red Star Belgrade]] degenerated into [[Dinamo–Red Star riot|rioting]] in May 1990.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=The Soccer Wars |last=Drezner |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel W. Drezner |date=4 June 2006 |page=B01 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201401.html |access-date=21 May 2008 |archive-date=3 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003150914/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201401.html |url-status=live}}</ref>