Football team in the context of "AFC Ajax"

The 2000 FIFA Club World Championship was the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup, the world club championship for men's club association football teams. It took place in Brazil from 5 to 14 January 2000. FIFA as football's international governing body selected Brazil as the host nation on 8 June 1999 as the bid was found to be the strongest among four candidates. The draw was made at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro on 14 October 1999. All matches were played in either Rio de Janeiro's Estádio do Maracanã or São Paulo's Estádio do Morumbi.

Eight teams, two from South America, two from Europe and one each from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania entered the tournament. The first Club World Cup match took place in São Paulo and saw Spanish club Real Madrid beat Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr 3–1; Real Madrid's Nicolas Anelka scored the first goal in Club World Cup history in the 21st minute. Later the same day, Corinthians goalkeeper Dida kept the first clean sheet in the tournament as his team beat Moroccan side Raja Casablanca 2–0.

Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (German: [ˌʃalkə nʊl ˈfiːɐ̯] ), and abbreviated as S04 (German: [ˈɛs nʊl fiːɐ̯] ), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following relegation from the Bundesliga in 2022–23. Other activities offered by the club include athletics, basketball, handball, table tennis, winter sports and eSports.

The "04" in the club's name derives from its formation in 1904. Schalke have been one of the most popular professional football teams in Germany, even though the club's heyday was in the 1930s and 1940s. As of September 2025, the club has 200,000 members, making it the third-largest football club in Germany and the sixth-largest club in the world in terms of membership.

The goalkeeper (sometimes written as goal-keeper) is a position in association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport. The goalkeeper's main role is to stop the opposing team from scoring a "goal" (i.e. putting the ball over the goal line). This is accomplished by the goalkeeper moving into the trajectory of the ball to either catch it or re-direct it away from the vicinity of the goal. Within the penalty area, goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands, giving them (outside throw-ins) the sole rights on the field to handle the ball. The goalkeeper is indicated by wearing a different coloured kit from their teammates and opposition.

The back-pass rule is a rule that disallows handling passes back to keepers from teammates in most cases. Goalkeepers usually perform goal kicks and also give commands to their defense during corner kicks, direct and indirect free kicks, and marking. Goalkeepers play an important role in directing onfield strategy as they have an unrestricted view of the entire pitch, giving them a unique perspective on play development.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was officially established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan. The foundation followed a decision made at the 1954 FIFA Congress in Bern, Switzerland, where Africa was formally recognised as a football confederation.

Representing the African confederation of FIFA, CAF organises runs and regulates national team and club continental competitions annually or biennially such as the Africa Cup of Nations and Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which they control the prize money and broadcast rights to. CAF will be allocated 9 spots at the FIFA World Cup starting from 2026 and could have an opportunity of 10 spots with the addition of an intercontinental play-off tournament involving 6 teams to decide the last 2 FIFA World Cup places (46+2).

Raja Club Athletic (Arabic: نادي الرجاء الرياضي), widely known as Raja Casablanca or simply Raja, is a football club based in Casablanca, Morocco, that competes in Botola Pro, the top flight of Moroccan football.

Founded on 20 March 1949 in the district of Derb Sultan, the club has traditionally worn a green home kit since inception. Raja is a well known club for the success of its football section, very popular in and outside the country. The club sits at the Raja CA Academy for training and plays home games in the Stade Mohammed V since 1955. Unlike most African sporting entities, Raja's members have owned and operated the club throughout its history.

The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from Latin: inter, "between" and German: toto, "betting pool"), originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discontinued after the 2008 tournament.

The tournament was founded in 1961–62, but was only taken over by UEFA in 1995. Initially, the tournament ended with a single champion, who received the Intertoto Cup. Starting in 1967, the tournament ended with a number of group winners (7 to 14 winners), who received cash prizes. When UEFA took on the tournament, it became a qualifier for the UEFA Cup, with 2 to 11 Intertoto winners advancing to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.

Association football is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a professional level by professional footballers, and millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite football teams, while billions more watch the sport on television or on the internet. Football has the highest global television audience in sport. The sport had amateur origins and evolved into the modern professional competition.

In association football, the manager is the person who has overall responsibility for the running of a football team. They have wide-ranging responsibilities, including selecting the team, choosing the tactics, recruiting and transferring players, negotiating player contracts, and speaking to the media. In professional football, a manager is usually appointed by and answerable to the club's board of directors, but at an amateur level the manager may have total responsibility for the running of a club.