History of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup: Part 1

Ashish Peter

History of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup: Part 1 image

With less than two months to go for the Under-17 World Cup in India, the excitement in the country hosting its first ever FIFA tournament continues to grow.

A total of 24 teams from around the globe will descend in India to take part in the famous competition which has thrown up legendary names galore over the years.

The tournament was the brainchild of the then FIFA secretary-general, Joe Blatter, who was inspired by the famous Lion City Cup for Under-16 boys started by the Football Association of Singapore. The global event was named as the FIFA Under-16 World Championship before being renamed to it's current version in 2007.

FIFA U-17 World Cup: A sneak peek into all six venues

The first edition was held in China in 1985 and ever since then the tournament has been held every two years with the age limit being increased to 17 from 1991 onwards.

Goal lists out the illustrious history of the prestigious tournament in a two-part series detailing the winners and famous players who have made their bow in the tourney.

History of the FIFA Under-16 World Championship:

Luis Figo Barcelona

Year Hosts Winners Runners-Up Famous players No. of teams
1985 China Nigeria West Germany Marcel Witeczek, Hugo Maradona, Bismarck Faria,Giorgio Bresciani 16
1987 Canada Soviet Union Nigeria Moussa Traore, Mickael Debeve, Fabio Gallo, Luis Cristaldo 16
1989 Scotland Saudi Arabia Scotland Paul Dickov, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Gil Gomes 16

Roberto Carlos - Brazil 02242004

History of the FIFA Under-17 World Championship (Until 2005): 

Del Piero - Bayern-Juventus (UCL 04/05)

Year Hosts Winners Runners-Up Famous players No.of teams
1991 Italy Ghana Spain Alessandro Del Piero, Juan Sebastian Veron, Adriano, Luis Diego Lopez 16
1993 Japan Nigeria Ghana Francesco Totti, Wilson Oruma, Federico Dominguez, Hidetoshi Nakata 16
1995 Ecuador Ghana Brazil Pablo Aimar, Esteban Cambiasso, Hary Kewell, Eduardo 16
1997 Egypt Brazil Ghana Ronaldinho, Sebastian Kehl, Jorginho, Mahamadou Diarra 16
1999 New Zealand Brazil Australia Landon Donovan, Leonardo Santiago,Oguchi Onyewu, Kyle Beckerman 16
2001 Trinidad and Tobago France Nigeria Maxi Lopez, Carlos Tevez, Fernando Torre, Pablo Zabaleta 16
2003 Finland Brazil Spain Cesc Fabregas, David Silva, John Obi Mikel,Ezequiel Garay 16
2005 Peru Mexico Brazil Carlos Vela, Anderson, Marcelo, Nuri Sahin 16

HD Cesc Fabregas Arsenal 2004

 

Ashish Peter