The International Soccer League was a U.S.-based soccer league which was formed in 1960 and collapsed in 1965. The League, affiliated with the American Soccer League , featured guest teams primarily from Europe and some from South America, Canada and Mexico.
41-633: The creation of the League was announced in January 1960, when it was regarded as an attempt to create a Club World Cup. However, the concurrence of the UEFA / CONMEBOL -endorsed Intercontinental Cup , launched also in 1960, nullified any possibility that the League might have relevance as a club world championship. In 1960, William D. Cox , a wealthy U.S. businessman and former owner of the Philadelphia Phillies ,
82-518: A U.S. baseball team, saw a potential market in the United States for top-level soccer. Recognizing that U.S. teams did not play at a sufficiently high level to attract the attention of most fans, he began to consider the possibility of importing European and South American teams during their league off-seasons. Traditionally, tours by European clubs in the northeast United States had drawn well and Cox decided to pursue this approach. However, soccer in
123-585: A feat that is no longer possible for any team that did not win the Cup Winners' Cup. There are currently eight teams throughout Europe that have won two of the three trophies; all but one have won the Cup Winners' Cup, four require a win in the Champions League and four require a UEFA Europa League win. Until the first staging of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022, Juventus of Italy was
164-421: A larger recognised sovereign state in the context of international law. These include England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales ( UK constituent countries ), Gibraltar ( UK overseas territory ), Faroe Islands ( Danish Realm ), and Kosovo ( state with limited recognition ), however, in the context of these countries, government functions concerning sport tend to be carried at the territorial level coterminous with
205-532: A long and well-established tradition in the European futsal community, dating back to 1984, was never recognised as official by UEFA. There was an attempt to create a Europa League-style second tier women's club competition, which began in discussion in 2021. In December 2023, the attempt came into a fruition, with the first edition of the competition to be played in 2025–26. Polonia Bytom Polonia Bytom ( Polish pronunciation: [pɔˈlɔɲja ˈbɨtɔm] )
246-679: Is a Polish football club based in Bytom . Founded in 1920, the team won two championships , in 1954 and 1962 . As of the 2024–25 season , they compete in the II liga . Polonia was founded on 4 January 1920 in the Upper Silesian city of Bytom , during the hectic months of the Silesian Uprisings . In late 1922, however, as a result of the Upper Silesia plebiscite , Bytom remained part of Germany and
287-610: Is composed of; President Vice-presidents Members General secretary Deputy general secretary Treasurer Head of club competitions and calendar Head of national competitions National teams: Clubs: Amateur: Defunct National teams: Clubs: Amateur: UEFA runs official international competitions in Europe and some countries of Northern , Southwestern and Central Asia for national teams and professional clubs, known as UEFA competitions , some of which are regarded as
328-682: Is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football . It governs football , futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey , Azerbaijan , Georgia and Kazakhstan , as well as the West Asian countries of Cyprus , Armenia and Israel . UEFA consists of 55 national association members . Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine , FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions. UEFA consists of
369-643: Is the UEFA Europa League . This competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (also began in 1955). A third competition, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup , which started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League) in 1999. In December 2018, UEFA announced
410-472: Is the UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Under-19 Futsal Championship . Despite the existence of UEFA's Futsal and Beach soccer committee, UEFA does not organise any beach soccer competitions. International and club beach soccer competitions for UEFA members are organised externally by Beach Soccer Worldwide . The Italian , German , Spanish , French and Russian men's national teams are
451-783: Is the second tournament of UEFA and was introduced in 2018. The tournament largely replaced the international friendly matches previously played on the FIFA International Match Calendar. It will be played every two years. UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21 , Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For women's national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Women's Championship for senior national sides as well as Women's Under-19 and Women's Under-17 Championships. Intercontinental national teams: Defunct Intercontinental clubs: Defunct Beside continental European competitions for national and their junior teams,
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#1732851271050492-567: The UEFA Women's Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and was known as the UEFA Women's Cup until 2009. The UEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League (previously the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup), and came into being in 1973. The UEFA Intertoto Cup was a summer competition, previously operated by several Central European football associations, which
533-652: The 1950s and 1960s, when it was one of the top teams in Poland. It has won the Polish championship twice, in 1954 and 1962 . In 1952 , 1958 , 1959 and 1961 Polonia Bytom was the vice-champion of Poland. It reached the Polish Cup final in 1964. It performed well in the Intertoto Cup , reaching the final in the 1963–64 season after defeating teams such as Red Star Belgrade , Sampdoria and fellow Polish side Odra Opole . It won
574-663: The European football association, such as Israel (because it had been banned from the AFC group in 1974) and Kazakhstan. Involving clubs, some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their association's main territory to take part in their "domestic" competition, for example, AS Monaco in the French League, Welsh clubs Cardiff City or Swansea City in the English League, or Derry City , situated in Northern Ireland, plays in
615-558: The FA of Ukraine, England, and Sweden, with all three threatening to boycott matches against Russia. Five of the UEFA national teams, Germany , Italy , France , England and Spain , have won 12 out of 22 FIFA World Cups for Europe. These five nations also make up the so-called « Europe's Big Five », consisting of Spain's La Liga , England's Premier League , Germany's Bundesliga , Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1 . UEFA executive committee
656-680: The ISL played its last season in 1965, the model was used again in 1967 when the United Soccer Association (USA) imported foreign teams to populate its league and again in 1969 when the North American Soccer League (NASL) used imported teams for the first half of its season. In 1967, Cox joined with several other investors to found the National Professional Soccer League , a non-USSFA sanctioned league which,
697-748: The Italian, French, and Belgian associations. At the founding meeting, 25 members were present. However, six other associations which were not present were still recognised as founding members, bringing the total of founding associations to 31. UEFA grew to more than 50 members by the mid-1990s, as new associations were born out of the fragmentation of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia into their constituent states. UEFA's main headquarters after its foundation were located in Paris, but moved to Bern in 1960. Finally, they moved to Nyon , Switzerland, in 1995, opening
738-474: The Polish Ekstraklasa . However, in 2011, the club was relegated to the I liga after finishing bottom of the table with just six wins all season. Polonia Bytom supporters were the first organised fan-club in Poland. They have introduced scarfs, flags and organised chants. Many of the other supporters groups were travelling to Bytom only to watch how Polonia's fans are cheering their club and behaving on
779-582: The Republic of Ireland-based League of Ireland . On 28 February 2022, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and in accordance with a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the UEFA suspended the participation of Russia. The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the UEFA ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport , which upheld the ban. On 26 September 2023
820-522: The U.S. was run by the U.S. Soccer Football Association (USSFA). As a member of the soccer's international governing organization, FIFA , the USSFA had the sole power in the U.S. to authorize the creation of a new league, and any league created without USSFA authority would be declared an "outlaw league". Any person playing in an "outlaw league" would then be banned from playing in any other league or team affiliated with FIFA, and as nearly every league and team in
861-488: The UEFA member entity. UEFA have previously declined membership to those deemed as non-sovereign countries like Jersey . Some UEFA members are transcontinental states (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) and others are considered part of Europe both culturally and politically (Turkey, Cyprus and Armenia). Countries which had been members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) were also admitted to
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#1732851271050902-542: The UEFA organizes various qualification male and female tournaments among European national and their junior teams for World Cups (organized by FIFA) and Olympics (organized by IOC). UEFA also organised the UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football. UEFA launched the UEFA Regions' Cup , for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. In futsal there
943-430: The USSFA. The ISL's growing success, combined with Cox’ refusal to allow USSFA a part in the league management, led to the USSFA's fear losing control of soccer in the United States. In 1965 the organization forbade Cox from importing teams into the U.S. and threatened to declare the ISL an outlaw league. Cox was forced to fold the ISL, but sued USSFA in federal court for anti-trust violations, a suit he eventually won. While
984-450: The associated revenue stream. While the games were initially played in the New York metropolitan area, as interest in the ISL increased, he expanded the league to Chicago, Detroit, Boston and Los Angeles. The ISL lasted only through the end of the 1965 season before folding, not so much by its continuing financial losses (some $ 100,000 over five seasons), but due to the continuing hostility of
1025-453: The ban was lifted for the Russia U-17 team enabling them to complete in the 2024 Euro U-17 with UEFA saying "by banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognise and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we directly discriminate against them". The lifting of the ban also applied to all teams, men and women, of underage players. This was rejected by
1066-488: The club ceased to exist. In May 1945, numerous players and officials of another Polish club, Pogoń Lwów , arrived in Bytom and decided to revive Polonia. On 17 May 1945, the team played its first game in over two decades, defeating Warta Poznań 3–2. Polonia is considered the continuation of Pogoń Lwów; its logo is very similar to the logo of Lwów 's team as well as their colours, red-blue. Polonia achieved greatest success in
1107-516: The creation of a third club competition, later named the UEFA Europa Conference League . The competition features 32 teams in 8 groups of 4, with a knockout round between the second placed teams in Europa Conference League and the third placed teams in the Europa League, leading to a final 16 knockout stage featuring the eight group winners. The first edition of the competition was played in 2021–2022. In women's football UEFA also conducts
1148-407: The current season's league champion. Dukla Prague had won the 1961 title, defeating Everton F.C. 7–2 and 2–0 in the championship. Therefore, they were paired in the first Challenge Cup with the 1962 season winner, América RJ . Dukla won and returned for the next three challenge cups, winning each, except for the last in which they fell to Polonia Bytom . Beginning in 1961, the league champion
1189-554: The first president . The current president is Aleksander Čeferin , a former Football Association of Slovenia president, who was elected as UEFA's seventh president at the 12th Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Athens in September 2016, and automatically became a vice-president of the world body FIFA. UEFA was officially inaugurated on 15 June 1954 in Basel , Switzerland after consultation between
1230-587: The following year, merged with the US to become the NASL. Teams were divided into two groups (Section I and Section II) where they played a single round-robin tournament . Teams placed first in each group, played a final match to decide a champion. Note : all the finals were held in New York City In 1962, the ISL initiated an annual challenge cup. It would pair the winner of the previous year's Challenge Cup winner with
1271-489: The national football associations of Europe, and runs national and club competitions including the UEFA European Championship , UEFA Nations League , UEFA Champions League , UEFA Europa League , UEFA Conference League , and UEFA Super Cup , and also controls the prize money, regulations, as well as media rights to those competitions. Henri Delaunay acted as the first general secretary and Ebbe Schwartz as
International Soccer League - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-513: The only team in Europe to win all UEFA's official championships and cups and, in commemoration of achieving that feat, have received The UEFA Plaque by the Union of European Football Associations on 12 July 1988. UEFA's premier futsal competition is the UEFA Futsal Cup , a tournament started in 2001 which replaced the former Futsal European Clubs Championship . This event, despite enjoying
1353-696: The only teams to have won the European football championship in all categories. The top-ranked UEFA competition is the UEFA Champions League , which started in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup (or simply the European Cup) and initially only gathered the top team of each country; this competition has since been expanded to gather the top 1–4 teams of each country's league (the number of teams depend on that country's ranking and can be upgraded or downgraded). A second, lower-ranked competition
1394-413: The organisation's current headquarters in 1999. UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe (48 out of 55 members are sovereign UN member states), although there are some exceptions. One UN member state (Monaco) and one UN General Assembly non-member observer state (Vatican City) are not members. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of
1435-528: The stadium. The fans have friendships with fans of Arka Gdynia which dates back to 1974, one of the longest friendships in supporter history which has survived to date; and with fans of Odra Opole , since 1987. Polonia biggest rivals are local teams Górnik Zabrze , Ruch Radzionków , Ruch Chorzów (The Oldest Silesian Derby) and Szombierki Bytom (Derby of Bytom). The other groups which are not very welcome in Bytom are fans from Zaglebie Sosnowiec , Legia Warszawa and Lechia Gdańsk . Polonia Bytom firm
1476-585: The top team from each half played each other in a season-ending championship game. In order to give the American fans a greater stake in the league, Cox also decided to enter a team of U.S.-based players; this team, called variably New York, the New Yorkers and the New York Americans, was usually a mix of U.S.-based European professionals with some native all-stars. Cox also gained regional television coverage, and
1517-490: The trophy in the 1964–65 season after defeating teams like RC Lens , Schalke 04 , Liège and SC Leipzig . Polonia also won the 1965 International Soccer League and finished third in the Polish league in the 1965–66 and 1968–69 seasons. During that period, Polish international player and goalkeeper Edward Szymkowiak played for Polonia. The club stadium is named after him, and has a capacity of 5,500 spectators. In June 2007 Polonia Bytom, after many years, returned to
1558-500: The world was affiliated with the world soccer body, this would effectively ban a player from playing soccer anywhere. To get USSFA approval, Cox worked through the existing American Soccer League , a USSFA-recognized league. This went so far that in 1961, the ASL scheduled only one game during the ISL season in order to keep from drawing fan support from the league. Each year, the ISL played two halves to its season, with different sets of teams;
1599-614: The world's most prestigious tournaments. UEFA is the organiser of two of the most prestigious competitions in international football: The UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League . The main competition for men's national teams is the UEFA European Championship (also known as the Euro), which started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960 , and was known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. The UEFA Nations League
1640-557: Was awarded the Dwight D. Eisenhower trophy, but from 1962 to 1965 it was given to the league MVP. However, in 1960 and 1961 the best players in the tournament were Ademir da Guia (Bangu) and Válter Santos (Bangu) respectively. Winning years are indicated in bold UEFA The Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA / j uː ˈ eɪ f ə / yoo- AY -fə ; French : Union des associations européennes de football ; German : Union der europäischen Fußballverbände )
1681-648: Was relaunched and recognised as official UEFA club competition by UEFA in 1995. The last Intertoto Cup took place in 2008. The European/South American Cup was jointly organised with CONMEBOL between the Champions League and the Copa Libertadores winners. Only five teams ( Juventus , Ajax , Manchester United , Bayern Munich and Chelsea ) have won each of the three main competitions (European Cup/UEFA Champions League, European Cup Winners' Cup/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League),