Football Teams - What's In A Name?

In this modern age we are constantly hit with the idea of brand loyalty. How will customers, or fans, be able to make that connection with a company or team without continuity in a name? While Green Bay has always been the Packers, not every team has always played under the name they have today.

The Chicago Bears started out as the Decatur Staleys. The Decatur Staleys? Try picturing fans nowadays cheering for the mighty Decatur Staleys.

When the AFL came about in 1960 the New York team was the New York Titans. After two unproductive seasons, the new ownership changed the name to the New York Jets. Years later, Titans would resurface in the NFL when Tennessee changed its name from Oilers to Titans after moving from Houston to Nashville (with a brief stay in Memphis as the Tennessee Oilers).

In 1983, the USFL had a franchise start in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers. In 1984 they moved to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Breakers, followed by a move in 1985 to Portland, Oregon and another name change; this time to the Portland Breakers.

The mid-70's World Footbal League 's New York Stars relocated to Charlotte North Carolina, played one game as the Charlotte Stars before changing their name to the Charlotte Hornets over a decade before the NBA's Charlotte Hornets came along.

The Kansas City Chiefs have some of the most vocal and loyal fans in the NFL, few of them were there to cheer the team when they were first known as the Dallas Texans. The NFL would again bring back a previously used AFL name when the expansion Houston franchise took the name of Texans in 2002.

The name game is also prevalent in the Canadian Football League. The most extreme CFL example would be the Montreal Alouettes. The Alouettes played in the CFL from 1946 until the team ceased to exist in 1981. In 1982 a new Montreal football team joined the CFL, the Montreal Concordes. Two years later the Concordes renamed themselves the Alouettes before going out of business themselves not long after. The saga of the Alouettes doesn't end there. The CFL had a short lived franchise in the American city of Baltimore which debuted as the Baltimore Colts, and then due to litigation changed its name to the Baltimore CFL Colts and the Baltimore CFLers, before finally settling on the Baltimore Stallions. When the NFL announced the Cleveland Browns would be relocating to Baltimore and becoming the Ravens, the ownership of the Baltimore Stallions moved the team to Montreal and became the latest incarnation of the Montreal Alouettes.

The Arizona Cardinals, back in the time they played in Chicago, were known early on as the Racine Normals.

Originally playing football as the Portsmouth Spartans, the Detroit Lions would go on to become one of the oldest NFL franchises.

Playing their first games as the Boston Patriots, the team changed its geographic name to New England without even moving. Not unheard of, the Phoenix Cardinals similarly became the Arizona Cardinals without moving.

Because of World War II and the shortage of players, the Eagles and Steelers merged for a year forming the Phil-Pitt Steagles.

The Rams have been the Cleveland Rams and Los Angeles Rams before settling in St. Louis as the St. Louis Rams in 1995.

Though Seattle has always been the Seahawks, there was a prior Seahawks in professional football. In 1946, the AAFC had a team called the Miami Seahawks. That year Miami was horrible on and off the field and ended up folding and going out of business.

The World Football League of the 1970s had a team known as the Memphis Southmen, the franchise had originally been planned to be in Toronto and have the nickname of the Toronto Northmen.

Even the National Football League itself was originally named the American Professional Football Association, or the APFA.

So, really... what's in a name?

Mark Peters combined his love for trivial information with his passion for football and came up with a little something we like to call IQFB.com. Whether settling a bet or you just want to read through loads of football facts and information, IQFB.com is the place for you.

2010 NCAA Football Predictions

With spring practice in the books, it's time to start making your 2010 college football predictions. I give mine below with the teams I predict will finish in the Top-10, along with a few teams just outside of it as well as my national champion.

Top-10 Teams for 2010-11 Season:

1.) Alabama - I smell a repeat with the pieces Nick Saban has in place. It took this excellent college football coach only three years to bring a title back to Crimson Tide country, and he is primed to win another this year. That's because all of his playmakers are back on offense, from QB Greg McElroy to the RB tandem of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, all the way to WR's Julio Jones and Marquis Maze. This offense should be even more explosive than it was a year ago. Only two starters return from the No. 2 defense in the nation last season, but Saban has gotten the recruits that should have this unit near the top of the defensive rankings again in 2010. The Tide host Florida in Tuscaloosa, their biggest competition to come out of the SEC. They could slip up once along the way, but even a 1-loss Alabama team will be making a return trip to the national championship this season, and they'll win it all again.

2.) Ohio State - I'm convinced that this is Terrelle Pryor's breakout year. He finished strong last season, earning the MVP in their Rose Bowl win over Oregon after accounting for 338 yards of offense. The Buckeyes have won 5 straight Big Ten titles, and have earned a trip to a BCS bowl seven of the past eight seasons. Tressel is 36-4 in the Big Ten over the past five years and the Scarlet and Grey will be standing atop this conference again come season's end.

3.) Boise State - 20 starters return, led by QB Kellen Moore who owns a 26-1 record as a starter. The Broncos went 14-0 last season and playing in the WAC makes another unbeaten campaign a likely scenario. If they can beat Virginia Tech in Landover, Maryland in their season opener, the sky is the limit for this team. It would be hard to keep another unbeaten Broncos team out of a national title shot.

4.) Nebraska - Playing in the weak Big 12 North, the Huskers will make a return trip to the Big 12 Championship game, and they'll win it this time around after falling just seconds short of knocking off Texas last year. Nebraska welcomes back 18 starters from last year's squad, and once again they'll be led by a defense that ranked No. 1 in points allowed last season at 10.4 PPG. The Huskers get Texas at home on October 16th, a game where I see them having their revenge.

5.) TCU - The Horned Frogs bring back nine starters from an offense that averaged 38.3 PPG last year. QB Andy Dalton leads the way, and TCU is primed for a return trip to the BCS with the playmakers he has at his disposal. Not to mention, the Frogs had the No. 1 defense in the country in terms of yards allowed, surrendering just 239.7 YPG. Their non-conference schedule includes Baylor at home and Oregon State in Arlington, Texas. These two games will likely decide their fate as they have an excellent chance to run the table in a down MWC.

6.) Virginia Tech - Offense will actually be a strength this season for the Hokies, behind QB Tyrod Taylor and the RB duo of Ryan Williams and Darren Evans. Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale are two big targets for Taylor, who can create on his own similar to what Michael Vick brought to this team back in his hay day. National title hopes are on the line in their opener with Boise State.

7.) Iowa - The Hawkeyes continue knocking on Ohio State's doorstep this season. They took the Buckeyes to overtime at the Shoe with the Big Ten title on the line, only to fall in overtime. But that game represented the second contest that Ricky Stanzi missed due to injury, and the Hawkeyes lost both games he was out, also falling to Northwestern. Iowa started last year 9-0 and with their biggest conference games against Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State all being played in Iowa City, I like their chances to give the Buckeyes a run for their money again this year. Another BCS appearance is a likely possibility with Stanzi back and all four starting defensive linemen returning, including big-time NFL prospect Adrian Clayborn.

8.) Florida - The Gators will almost certainly take a step back this season with the loss of Tim Tebow and several key pieces along the defensive front. Still, Urban Meyer has the recruits in place who can step in and have the Gators not suffer too big of a drop-off. QB John Brantley has a big arm and Florida could be an even better passing team this year, but you cannot replace the intangibles that Tebow brought to the table. Once again, Alabama stands in Florida's way from winning an SEC title.

9.) Texas - Like Florida, the Longhorns will have to replace their all-everything QB in Colt McCoy. Garrett Gilbert has the credentials coming out of high school, but this is another level and he struggled replacing McCoy in the title game against Alabama. With a full year to prepare to be the next big thing in Texas, Gilbert should be as ready as he can be. But you cannot replace the most successful QB in college football history, and that's the task that lies ahead for him. Texas is the only Big 12 South contender heading into this season with no starting experience at QB, so a defense that features an excellent secondary will have to carry this team.

10.) Oklahoma - Despite winning just eight games a year ago, the Sooners were not far off from being one of the top teams in the country. They lost four of five games by a combined 12 points, and only a long list of injuries kept them from being a national title contender. Bradford, Gresham and McCoy are gone, and they will not be easy to replace, but young players got valuable experience last season when forced into action and that should pay off this year. QB Landry Jones has the keys to the offense and he has WR Ryan Broyles and RB DeMarco Murray to make plays for him. That's if the offensive line holds up, which doesn't look too promising at this point. The Sooners should be there in the end, as they've finished inside the Top-11 in all but two seasons since 2000.

Next 5 Teams - Wisconsin, USC, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Miami

If you want to beat the college football lines this season, then be sure to check out NCAA football picks to guide you to monster profits in 2010.

College Football

USC Trojans Football Team Remains Undefeated

The 2008 University of South California Football Team or also called Trojans is coached by Peter Carroll and held their home games at Los Angeles Coliseum. The team won the Rose Bowl 2007 Season, ranked as 2nd in the Coaches Poll and ranked 3rd in the AP Poll. The team ranked 4th by Sport Illustrated and 5th by the ESPN in January 2008. This ranking is given to due to the departures of some key players in the team. Because of that departure, it reflects on the overall talent level of the team. But the USC ranked as the premiere team in the Pac-10 Conference. Unfortunately, the Trojans had record of 12-1 during their 2008 Season which the team was defeated by Oregon State Beavers on September 25. The Nittany Lions finished the 2008 season with 11-2 which they were defeated by Iowa Hawkeyes. On September 6, 2008, Penn State defeated Oregan State.

One year after, the undefeated USC Trojan reign again defeated the Penn state Nittany Lions by the score of 38-24 in the 95th annual Rose Bowl Game in which the event was held at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena last January 9, 2009 and it is attended by 92,293 fans.  

One of the key players of the USC is Mark Sanchez which led the Trojans with 413 passing yards, a career high and 4 passing touchdowns. The Trojan offense surge in the first half, scoring 4 touchdowns and a field goal that gave USC a 31-7 halftime. Penn State's defense before the game is so weak for it only allowed an average of 12.7 points per game.

This team is destine to win for the players persistent is there given the fact that they want to gain the championship which they lose last year. The burning fire of spirit and power to win is there that make them the most undefeated football team of all time. For the record, USC Trojan had 656 wins, 40 bowl games wins and 5 Associate Press National Championship from the time the team started in the year 1888. There is so much to watch for this powerful team given their track records and previous games, they will definitely improve and continue to gain titles.

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Should Youth Football Teams Run the High School Offense? Heck No

High Schools that Want You to Run "Their System" at the Youth Level.

A small number of Youth Football coaches get pressure from the local High School to run their offense. The High School coach in these situations often think that by teaching 8 year old kids to run his system, by the time the players are 18 years old, they should be very proficient at running said system.

I am 100% opposed to the High School coach imposing his will on the Youth Program.

For many reasons I am 100% opposed to the coaches imposing this will upon the youth coach and kids. My first reason has to do with basic control and effort. The often handsomely paid for his time, High School coach is telling a non-paid volunteer of a program not run or paid for by the School, to run his High School system. Part of the "benefit" of spending money out of your own pocket to coach youth football, is you get to choose what you are going to run and how you are going to run it. If I fail as a coach, I'm going to fail running something I did the research on and believe in, not something shoved down my throat by someone not even involved in my youth football program or by someone that probably never coached a down of Youth Football.

Who is to say this School coach will even be at the school 10 years from now, or better yet that he will be running the same offense? One of the local teams we feed into has run 3 different Offenses in the last 5 years and had 2 different Head Coaches. So which of the 3 offenses should my teams be running now? Yes lets train 70+ youth coaches a very difficult offense every year or two, when almost half of them have no football coaching experience. Most of these offenses had we decided to run them, had zero youth materials or support system available for our coaches. I'm sure we would have failed miserably and lost lots of players had we adopted these systems.

I've even seen on some coaching forums where some coaches say it doesn't matter at all if any team wins or loses below the varsity level. The "varsity" is all that matters, even their Junior High, Freshman and JV teams don't matter. Well, it matters to the kids and parents playing on these teams and isn't that why we are supposed to be coaching football in the first place? I wonder how that High School coach would feel if a college coach came up to him and said that it didn't matter if the High School won or lost, all that matters is what happens at the college level and that the High School should run the Colleges offense? Never mind the fact that few of the kids will ever play College ball, just as just 25% of youth players will play High School ball. Sound enough reasoning for you? Let's take it a step further, shouldn't the pro coaches be telling the College coaches their wins and losses mean nothing, all that matters is that the College kids are running the Pro Offense? This "next level" baloney is just that, baloney. Any coach with even fair coaching skills can develop players for whatever system he choses to run.

Such arrogance is disappointing to see from anyone involved in coaching youth football.

This type of attitude is rarely found among successful coaches, it is most readily seen from excuse making oaches that are doing poorly and are looking to lay the blame of their poor performance at someone else's feet. I've actually seen High School coaches blame Jr High coaches for their varsity teams woes, that's someone desperate to keep a job he probably shouldn't have had to begin with.

At the big clinics I do for Glazier and Nike, I always sit in on a session or two. In addition to a Darrin Slack session, I like to see what the best High School coaches in the country are doing, teams like Southlake Carrol, Jenks, Union, Hoover, Colton, De LaSalle etc. The guys that coach these teams care little about whether the kid coming into their program can read a 3 technique and can run their offense. They just want a chance to coach the kid, that he goes out for football. They want the youth coach to teach safe basic blocking and tackling and NOT to run the kid off. The good coaches are hoping to get a player that has a love for the game and is coachable. These successful coaches tell me they are pretty confident they have the coaching ability to teach a player about anything over a 4 year time frame with nearly 4 months of 6 day a week contact along with year round, strength, agility and skills training. On the other hand we youth coaches get the kids for a few months of very abbreviated 2-3 day a week practices, a mere fraction of what the High Schools get and we are supposed to have the biggest technical impact on them?

As stated in other articles, we know that 75% of youth players will never play High School football to begin with. So we are supposed to run the High School system that only a tiny fraction of our players will be using? Remember my study of the main reasons most youth football players quit playing: #1) Poor Coaching #2) Playing on consistently losing teams. Running a system that is often not age appropriate (High School) and losing will often lead to the High School coach getting fewer players than he would otherwise. Most of the great High School coaches could CARE LESS what the youth player runs as long as he's having fun, playing safely and developing a passion for the game. Developing that passion is hard to do if his youth football team is getting blown out every week or not scoring many points.

What really gets to me are a few of the simply preposterous e-mails I get from a few youth football coaches. One youth coach went 10-1 in 2006 and 11-1 in 2005 and was retaining right at 95% of his players. In that very same time frame, the local High School went 0-9 and 1-8. The High School coach was demanding the youth football program run his offense in spite of the fact the High School offensive football plays never worked at the High School level. Maybe the High School coach should have run the Youth coaches offense, he couldn't have done any worse. I make it a habit to support the High School programs, by encouraging the kids to go to the High School games and to play High School football. But I have not coached School ball, so I do not critique the High Schools practice methods or systems, no matter how often I'm asked to offer my opinion. I don't have the time or expertise to do an in-depth study of the situation and would hope they wouldn't do the same of my team.

Here are some other reasons the youth program should not run the High School offense:

Not age appropriate

Doesn't fit the talent level

Doesn't fit the size level

Does not work well with limited practice time

Does not work with small team sizes where you are not allowed to cut or send players to a JV squad

Does not accommodate minimum play players (I Formation, Spread)

Is beyond the physical abilities of youth players (Spread passing)

Is beyond the mental abilities of youth players (Triple or Midline Option or multiple read passing)

Most High Schools will not take the time to teach the youth coaching staff how to coach their system "correctly" anyway

School Offenses Change

School Coaches Change

Techniques Change

Very few youth coaching materials, books, DVDs available for most High School offenses

Many kids change positions as they go through puberty

Youth football players rightfully care about what's happening to them in the season they are playing in. They want to win and have fun, they are not concerned with developing the knowledge of football plays that 25% of them may or may not use 10 years into the future. They could care less about some technique he won't remember in the 9th grade or will be taught differently or changed by the time he gets to High School. If you can incorporate some of the High Schools numbering into your system without a big hassle, great, but resist the meddling of the High School into your program if your program is headed in the right direction.

The best coaches in the Nation could care less what offense or football plays the youth teams run. You should care that whatever offense you choose fits your kids, scores points, and wins ballgames. Until the High School starts buying your equipment, paying your fees and paying your salary (yeah right), run what makes sense for your kids so they have fun now and make it to play High School football.

In the Single Wing our kids are better prepared to play "at the next level" than kids from nearly any other type of system. Our linemen know how to pull, trap, double team, fold, crab block, drive block, rule block, pass block and work as a team. Our "QB" knows how to ball handle,give handoffs, take shotgun snaps, roll out, drop back,throw, boot,lead a team and run with the ball. Our recievers and backs all know how to take handoffs, block,read holes, read blocks, catch the ball etc, everything any other back or reciever would learn in any other type of offense. Most importantly, the kids have fun and do well, which is what keeps them coming back to play.

Winning and losing are both habits. I've seen very average teams with a history of winning win games they have no business competing in. These kids just feel somehow, someway they are going to win the game, even when they are down by 2-3 TDs and time is running out. I've seen the most improbable of comebacks and bizzarre plays in the last moments of games where the team of destiny beats the better team. On the other side of the fence, I see teams that expect to lose. Even when these teams are ahead they expect to get snake bit and lose the game, these negative expectations are usually met. I would think the High School teams would want kids that have a winning attitude, it's contagious.

Dave Cisar-With over 15 years of hands-on experience as a youth coach, Dave has developed a detailed systematic approach to developing youth players and teams that has enabled his personal teams to win 97% of their games in 5 Different Leagues.

Dave is a trainer of youth football coaches nationwide. He has a passion for developing youth coaches so they can in turn develop teams that are competitive and well organized, while having fun and retaining players. His book "Winning Youth Football a Step by Step Plan" was endorsed by Tom Osborne and Dave Rimington. His DVDs and book have been used by teams nationwide to run integrity based programs that win championships. His web site is Youth Football

Football - Coloring Pages Kids Should Have Five Facts

Football coloring Kid, you love a football coloring book but don't know the game of pigskin?

Coloring football Kid, would you believe five facts about football will put you in the know?
Let's get started...

1. Football History


2. Football Fundamentals


3. Organized Football Structure


4. Players' Skills Levels


5. Football Season

1. Football History

American football comes from rugby football. The first major football game was won by Rutgers University (score - 6) against Princeton University (score - 4). Their war was in 1869 -- four years after the Civil War.

Coloring football boy, the main idea of football is still the same. Football fans still yell, "Run that football!", "Throw it!", "Kick it!", and "Score man, score!"

2. Football Fundamentals

Coloring kid, you must get the ball into your opponent's end zone.
Get yourself an egg-shaped, air-filled leather ball to throw, catch or kick.
Follow the rules and regulations. No running "any-which-a-way" with the football, man!

Only two teams can square off. Your team and the other guy's team must have eleven players on the field at one time. Smaller football leagues use fewer than eleven guys.

The teams take turns playing offensive (trash talking is allowed), then playing defensive (cry baby guys are not allowed).

The offensive team possesses the ball until they score, or fail to gain 10 yards in four tries, or loses the ball to the defensive team.

The defensive team tries to stop the offense from gaining yardage or scoring. The defense tries to steal the ball, too.

3. Organized Football Structure

Do you love knocking people down, kid? Is screaming in a big guy's face your dream
come true? Is slamming a little guy into planet Earth your idea of fun?
Well, Coloring football kid, tackle football is for you...

NO! Football coloring Kid, no scratching or spitting! "Eye-gouging and kicking?" NO! "Choke holds and pistol whipping?!" NO! Don't get greedy, kid...

Here is a little lowdown info to help understand organized football structure:

Teams may change their players as long as 11 guys are on the field.
Scrimmage is the action once the ball is snapped (quickly given) to the Quarterback by his Center until the ball is dead.
Line of Scrimmage is an invisible field line where teams face each other. Now get this...

Both teams can have three specialized teams where players have one or more roles.

Here are a few roles...

I. The Specialized Offense Team must score or gain yardage to win.

The Quarterback leader gets the ball from his Center man -- his second brain. The QB throws the ball to a Receiver, or hands it to a Running Back or runs the ball himself (gutsy!).

The Offense Line is five Mack trucks. They power protect the Passer, block, and leave tread marks on defense players' backs.

Running Backs have roles in running the ball, catching, blocking plus wrecking havoc on yardage.

Wide Receivers catch zooming balls from the Quarterback. These guys have "superhero" speed plus they block, too.

Tight Ends have two roles. They can perform as Wide Receivers or as Offensive Linemen who protect Quarterbacks and block for Runners.

II. The Specialized Defense Team must stop opponents from scoring or gaining yardage.

The Defensive Line has 3 to 6 "massive giants" blocking the sun and creating darkness and pain along the line of scrimmage.

Linemen ("monster trucks") roll over running backs. They crash test "sack" the quarterback before he passes or hands off the ball.

Linebackers cause nightmares. They lurk behind the Defensive Linemen plus rush the quarterback or cover receivers.

Defensive Backs with superhero speed cover receivers and stop zooming passes plus rush quarterbacks!

III. The Specialized Special Team must score extra points.

Got a funky leg and foot, kid? Become a punter or place kicker to get those game saving extra points. Long snappers need pinpoint skills, too.

4. Players' Skills Levels

Professional level


There are 32 US teams for wanna be professional players.
American football leagues are found in 50 countries!
Maybe you can sign with the German Football League (GFL) or the Japanese X-League.
Sports agents and lawyers help you make big money deals.


Football coloring kid, if you can't cut the professionals levels go to the semi-professional leagues. Or become a sports agent or lawyer! Don't play the fool, kid, study hard at the...

College level


Your pro football training starts in college. Nearly every college and university has a football team and stadium.
You like crowds, football coloring kid? Go to a college game. If you get lost hold your tears, boy. Wait by the security station. After the last 60,000 to 100,000 fans leave your people can spot you!


High School level

More high school boys play football than college guys play football.
High school leads to collegiate, then to professional level football careers, then to high paying TV commercials careers.
The high school sophomore year is when most players decide about a football career. Some professionals learned to play football in...

Youth and Pee Wee level

Do 5 to 14 year old players have fans besides mom and dad? "Yes."

5. The Football Season

Can organized teams throw pigskin any ole time? No? That is right.

• Football season starts in August.
  
  


• Football runs you crazy until January pro playoffs



• High school games are played on Fridays.



• College games are played on Thursday and Saturday.



• Professionals play on Sunday and Monday. We will...
  

Wrap it up, football coloring Kid...

Do you know about players' numbers?



• 1-19 for Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers, Punters plus Kickers


• 20 - 49: Running Backs plus Defensive Backs


• 50 - 59: Centers plus Linebackers


• 60 - 79: Defensive Linemen and Offensive Linemen


• 80 - 89: Wide Receivers plus Tight Ends


• 90 - 99: Defensive Linemen plus Linebackers

Now, you know the game of football, coloring Kid. You learned basic: football history, football fundamentals, organized football structure, players' skills levels, and the football season...

So get yourself into a game with other football coloring pages kids.

Play hard. Laugh Loud.

Permission is granted to reprint this article "Football - Coloring Pages Kids Should Have Five Facts". Use it for your website, class, home school, football camp, church or library with the http://www.coloring-pages-book-for-kids-boys.com/football-coloring.html links and credits intact. Get more free Coloring Page articles, too. No permission is granted to edit, alter or sell the articles.

Michael J Bennett -- editor of Coloring-Pages-Book-for-Kids-Boys -- Extreme coloring pages for boys. Coloring buddy Mike started drawing and coloring by creating coloring fun for his daughters. Visit http://www.coloring-pages-book-for-kids-boys.com

Blackburn's Turkish Star Tugay Kerimoglu

Tugay Kerimoglu Compilation by Cenkfigo10



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GBMpzoInTI&hl=en

France National Football Team - A Little History

France made their entry into the international field of Football in 1903. The team, associated with the French Football Federation, goes under the nickname "Les Bleus" (The Blues) in France. Today, France's football team offers a high level of competition in matches - but believe it or not, the team used to be very modest, one that some would consider an "easy game". Their first international match was versus Belgium, and was a tie game. In 1930, France's national team was one of the four initial teams from Europe that participated in the inaugural World Cup. Nonetheless, at that time, France's team was still looked down upon as an easy defeat. In the mid 1950's, France did see some mild success, for once not being at the bottom of the standings.

Their first true experience at being a huge success came at the end of 1984. From December of 1984 to April of 1985, France was ranked number one in the Elo ranking categorization of football teams. This success was held out fairly well, and met another high point from May of 2001 to May of 2002, when the team from France sustained a FIFA ranking of number one; today, this number one FIFA ranking means more worldwide, as FIFA is an internationally recognizable organization.

Perhaps most memorable for many people is France's win of the FIFA World Cup in 1998. Thirty two different teams, from five different confederations, competed through 64 matches. France won nearly every match that they competed in, and ended up taking the championship upon beating Brazil 0 to 3. Other awards given to the French football team during the 1998 FIFA World Cup include "Most Entertaining Team", and the "FIFA Fair Play" Trophy. The Stadium that the French Football team usually plays at is the "Stade de France", which was built in 1995 and opened during 1998. The construction of the stadium cost over 285 Million Euros. In fact, the stadium was built for the purpose of the 1998 FIFA world cup - it's both ironic and fitting that France would win the world cup at their own stadium the year that it opened. After the World Cup, the Stade de France has continuously been used for various football events, although for the majority of the year, the stadium is empty. The majority of events that France's team participates in at the Stade de France are won by the French team, partially owing to the home team advantage of having more frequent access to that field, as well as higher morale and support from the crowd.

France's team may still not be the most reputable team around, but from their humble beginnings they were able to rise into a team that is recognizable in many places around the world, and were even able to claim the glorious title of World Champions.

Football Transfers - Up-to-date Football Transfer News, Rumours and Gossip.

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