IFFHS

International Federation of Football History & Statistics
Formation1984
HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
Official language
English, French, Spanish, German
President
Saleh Irfan Bahwini[1]
Websiteiffhs.com

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football.[2][3][4] It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig.[2] The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to Bonn, Germany, and then in 2014 to Zürich.[5]

From its early stages to 2002, the IFFHS concentrated on publishing the quarterly magazines Fußball-Weltzeitschrift, Libero spezial deutsch and Libero international.[6] When these had to be discontinued for reasons which were not officially told, the organisation published its material in a series of multi-lingual books in co-operation with sponsors.[7] The statistical organisation has now confined its publishing activities to its website. IFFHS has no affiliation with FIFA,[8] but FIFA has cited awards and records conducted by IFFHS on their website.[9][10][11][12]

In 2008, Karl Lennartz, a sports historian and professor at the University of Cologne, Germany, called the organisation "obscure", describing it as a one-man show of its founder Alfredo Pöge.[13] IFFHS rankings and their significance have been a matter of criticism and the largest German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, refuse to publish them.[13] Furthermore, German die Tageszeitung stated that the IFFHS rankings serves merely for publicity,[13] although Bild,[14] Deutsche Welle,[15] Kicker-Sportmagazin,[16] German Football Association (DFB),[17] and former president of the Association of West German Sports Journalists (German: Verbandes Westdeutscher Sportjournalisten — VWS) Heribert Faßbender have referenced IFFHS.[18]

  1. ^ "Saleh Salem BAHWINI is the new president of the IFFHS". IFFHS. 30 March 2014. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "The History of IFFHS". IFFHS. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  3. ^ Rafa Jiménez, IFFHS: La calculadora del fútbol. Don Balón (1656), 9/15 julio 2007, p. 50
  4. ^ "¿Qué es la IFFHS?". El Mundo Deportivo. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  5. ^ "International Federation of Football History & Statistics". IFFHS. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  6. ^ A couple of former Weltzeitschrift cover pages can be looked up at
  7. ^ Rafa Jiménez, IFFHS: La calculadora del fútbol. Don Balón (1656), 9/15 July 2007, p. 50 (in Spanish).
  8. ^ "Does FIFA employ a ranking system for club teams similar to the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking for national teams?". FIFA. 28 March 2003. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  9. ^ Maroto, Joaquín (22 January 2010). "La IFFHS se ha convertido en la academia del fútbol". AS (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. es: La IFFHS no permite influencias políticas, militares, religiosas, étnicas o nacionales, y en este aspecto cumple con la FIFA, que la tiene reconocida. [IFFHS does not allow political, military, religious, ethnic or national influences, and in this respect complies with FIFA, which has recognised it.]
  10. ^ "Ashfaq, Maldives' evergreen goalscoring great". FIFA. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Luis Fabiano: Brazil should focus on youth development". FIFA. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  12. ^ "A tribute to Johan Cruyff". FIFA. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b c von Eggers, Erik (1 September 2008). "Statistisches Phänomen". die Tageszeitung (in German). Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  14. ^ "IFFHS". Bild (in German). Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  15. ^ "IFFHS" (in German). Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  16. ^ "IFFHS". Kicker-Sportmagazin (in German). Archived from the original on 22 February 2016.
  17. ^ "IFFHS" (in German). Deutscher Fußball-Bund. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  18. ^ Gödecke, Peter (2006). Fassbender [sic], Heribert (ed.). Die deutsche WM-Geschichte: Fussballweltmeisterschaften 1930 bis heute (in German). Delius Klassing. p. 320. ISBN 37-68-81770-9.