Post by petewaring on Aug 3, 2010 18:48:40 GMT
Men’s world championship. First contested 1872. The title stayed in the British Isles until Austria claimed it in 1931 with victory over Scotland. It left Europe for the first time in 1950, following England’s infamous World Cup defeat by the United States. The title stayed in Europe and the Americas until 1992, when Australia held it for five days. The first Asian holders were South Korea in 1995; the first African holders Nigeria in 2004. Many more details of the history of this competition can of course be found on the main site!
Longest spells as champions: Holland 21 successful defences 2008-10, Scotland 20 defences 1880-88, Germany 15 defences 1996-98.
Most wins in total: Scotland 86 England 73 Argentina/ Holland 49 each.
Men’s world wooden sp00n. First contested 1872. Left the British Isles for the first time in 1926, as England beat Belgium. Travelled round Europe until 1940, when it fell to Latvia. Latvia was then subsumed into the USSR. Although the sp00n was analysed differently on a separate thread on this forum, I have concluded, after much thought, that the best thing at this point would be to declare the sp00n vacant (as was decided on the “Continental Champions” thread regarding Australia’s Oceania title in 2006) and give the sp00n to the loser of the next international thereafter (Finland). Finland then embarked on a record run of failure until finally beating Denmark in 1949. However, the sp00n bypassed Denmark, as they beat Norway in another international, played simultaneously in Oslo! Unsurprisingly, Luxembourg held the title from 1954 to 1961, but then stunningly beat Portugal. Portugal then beat Bulgaria, but Bulgaria soon took revenge, and Portugal held the sp00n once more. They then beat Brazil! This resulted in Brazil becoming the world wooden sp00ners in 1963 (they were official world champions at the time!!) Their first attempt to offload it saw them lose 5-1 to Belgium, but in their second, they beat France. Spain, also, briefly held the sp00n in 1969 following a defeat to Finland. Left Europe for the first time (other than Brazil’s brief 1963 tenure) in 1975 when Sweden beat Algeria. Algeria then beat Saudi Arabia in 1976, and the sp00n has remained in Asia ever since. Weak Asian teams only tend to ever play teams from their region, so there is very little prospect of the sp00n leaving Asia any time soon.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Finland 23 failures to offload 1940-49, Philippines 23 failures 1996-00, Guam 21 failures 2000-09.
Most defeats in total: (Northern) Ireland 60 Finland 58 Wales 38.
Men’s European championship. First contested 1872. Mirrored the world championship until 1950. Has taken in numerous World Cups and European Championships; however, the 2010 World Cup Final was the first all-European World Cup Final since 1938 not to feature in the championship. The last two European Championships have also been missed (the Republic of Ireland held the title during Euro 2004, whilst it was Israel during Euro 2008). A long run of success for Croatia in 2006 and 2007 ended with defeat in Macedonia, who thus became probably the most unlikely holders of the title. West Germany’s record run as champions was ended in the 1982 World Cup Final.
Longest spells as champions: West Germany 34 successful defences 1978-82, Scotland 20 defences 1880-88, England 14 defences 1891-96.
Most wins in total: Scotland 85 England 72 (West) Germany 63.
Men’s European wooden sp00n. First contested 1872. Mirrored the world wooden sp00n until 1963. Since then, the sp00n has generally been held by the traditional minnows. However, in 1996, sp00n holders Bosnia managed a shock win over Italy, who then beat Northern Ireland on their first offload attempt. The sp00n also went through Wales and Scotland that same season. Since 1999, it has been held by San Marino, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belarus, Albania and now Liechtenstein again.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Finland 23 failures to offload 1940-49, Luxembourg 23 failures 2004-07, Luxembourg 20 failures 1967-72.
Most defeats in total: Luxembourg 71 (Northern) Ireland 63 Wales 45.
Men’s South American championship. First contested 1902. Dominated at first by Argentina and Uruguay. Brazil’s first triumph was in 1919. They were followed by Paraguay in 1921, Chile in 1959, Peru and Bolivia in 1963, Colombia in 1985 and Ecuador in 1987. Venezuela finally became the tenth and last team to take the title in 2002, 100 years after the competition started. Since the end of the 2004 Copa America, only one team has not taken the title: Argentina! As all South American teams compete in the Copa America, it more or less guarantees that the Copa America final will always be a title match.
Longest spells as champions: Argentina 17 successful defences 1946-56, Brazil 17 defences 1975-79, Argentina 17 defences 1990-93.
Most wins in total: Argentina 144 Brazil 92 Uruguay 79.
Men’s South American wooden sp00n. First contested 1902. The first few years were contested only by Uruguay and Argentina, but then along came Chile, who took 16 years to win a match. They finally beat Bolivia, who themselves failed to offload the sp00n for eight years. Ecuador then took 11 years to get rid of it, and Colombia also held on for eight years (although they only played twice in that time!). Since then, it has been shared round a lot more regularly. Brazil have only been sp00ners once – a three-day period during the 1993 Copa America.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Ecuador 34 failures to offload 1938-49, Chile 26 failures 1910-26, Venezuela 16 failures 1996-99.
Most defeats in total: Ecuador 59 Venezuela 50 Bolivia 35.
Men’s African championship. First contested 1956. This has always been a keenly contested competition, and long runs as champions have been hard to come by. Many lesser lights of African football have held the title: Malawi, Mauritania and Burundi to name just three (and all of those have been since 2006!)
Longest spells as champions: Morocco 16 successful defences 1996-98, Ghana 12 defences 1963-67, Ivory Coast 10 defences 1992-93.
Most wins in total: Egypt 21 Nigeria 21 Ghana 20.
Men’s African wooden sp00n. First contested 1956. If anything, even more keenly contested than the African championship, with only two spells as sp00ners reaching double figures. In 2001, South Africa took the sp00n after defeat by Malawi. They then beat Egypt, who in turn beat Ghana. Thus three of Africa’s biggest names all held the sp00n within the space of a few months. The problem afflicting other continental sp00ns – i.e. teams not playing matches – is rarely an issue here, as the African Nations Cup takes place so regularly.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Botswana 24 failures to offload 1994-2000, Tanzania 15 failures 1986-90, Kenya 6 failures 1976-77.
Most defeats in total: Kenya 25 Tanzania 18 Botswana 17.
Men’s Asian championship. First contested 1917. The competition began with an extraordinary 15-2 win for the Philippines over Japan – in Tokyo! The Philippines have been prolific wooden sp00ners since though! Overall, the contest is an accurate reflection of the shifting powerbase in Asian football throughout history, with just a couple of blips (Bangladesh’s brief spell as champions in 1985 for example). Saudi Arabia dominated from 1996 to 2004, with spells of 13, 16 and 30 successful defences.
Longest spells as champions: Saudi Arabia 30 successful defences 2001-04, Iran 25 defences 1974-80, Burma 17 defences 1970-71.
Most wins in total: Saudi Arabia 64 Iran 47 Myanmar (aka Burma) and South Korea 21 each.
Men’s Asian wooden sp00n. First contested 1917. Despite their spectacular start, the Philippines have held the sp00n regularly. The hapless Guam looked set to break their record for longest spell as sp00ners, before their shock 2009 win over Mongolia. Oman held the sp00n from 1974 to 1982, and again from 1988 to 1993. They united the world and Asian sp00ns in 1979, and the two have run concurrently ever since.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Philippines 22 failures to offload 1996-2000, Guam 21 failures 2000-09, Oman 18 failures 1988-93.
Most defeats in total: Philippines 33 Oman 26 Guam 22.
Men’s Concacaf championship. First contested 1925. A more open competition than you might imagine, with only sporadic spells of complete Mexico/ USA dominance. In all, 13 different teams have held the title, including (for two days in December 2008) Grenada. Both Costa Rica and Haiti showed signs of dominance in the 1960s and 1970s.
Longest spells as champions: Mexico 29 successful defences 1937-61, United States 22 defences 2002-05, United States 16 defences 2006-08.
Most wins in total: Mexico 94 United States 52 Costa Rica 32.
Men’s Concacaf wooden sp00n. First contested 1925. Canada and the United States played three sp00n matches in 1925 and 1926, but the Canadians then didn’t attempt an offload again until 1957. However, there is only one team to talk about, as Nicaragua held the sp00n for an astonishing 35 years.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Nicaragua 34 failures to offload 1967-2002, Anguilla 6 failures 2004-present, United States 5 failures 1957-65.
Most defeats in total: Nicaragua 35 Anguilla 7 United States 5.
Men’s Oceanian championship. First contested 1922. Fiji held the title from 1977 to 1979, and again from 1991 to 1992. Tahiti held the title from 1980 to 1991, although they defended the title only twice in that time. Otherwise, it was New Zealand and Australia all the way from 1922 until Australia’s defection to Asia in 2006. That left the title vacant until taken by the Solomon Islands in July 2007. Fiji took the title again in November 2008, but haven’t played since.
Longest spells as champions: Australia 15 successful defences 1993-1998, Australia 9 defences (four separate occasions – 1933-54, 1954-77, 2000-02, 2004-05).
Most wins in total: Australia 52 New Zealand 20 Solomon Islands 5.
Men’s Oceanian wooden sp00n. First contested 1922. Not contested by anyone besides Australia and New Zealand until Fiji took the sp00n in 1968. Since then, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and the Cook Islands have all held it.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Papua New Guinea 11 failures to offload 1990-96, New Zealand 9 failures 1933-54, Fiji 8 attempts 1983-88.
Most defeats in total: New Zealand 17 Fiji 15 Papua New Guinea 13.
Women’s world championship. First contested 1971. Again, more details can be found elsewhere on the site. The title left Europe for the first time when the United States won it in 1987. China became the first Asian holders in 1994, and Brazil the first South American holders in 1997. The title has yet to visit Africa or Oceania. Every World Cup and Olympics was covered by the title until Ukraine’s tenure of the title from May 2007 to October 2008, which saw both the 2007 World Cup and 2008 Olympics bypassed.
Longest spells as champions: United States 20 successful defences 2004, United States 13 defences 1996-97, North Korea 12 defences 2001-02.
Most wins in total: United States 111 (West) Germany 55 Sweden 47.
Women’s world wooden sp00n. First contested 1971. Never been contested by a non-European team (and not likely to be any time soon, either). Austria held the sp00n from 1978 to 1993, but only made seven attempts to offload it in that time. Games have been much more regular since, although Turkey played only twice in their four years as sp00ners from 2002 to 2006.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Bosnia & Herzegovina 10 failures to offload 1999-2002, Macedonia 9 failures 2009-present, Poland 7 failures 1994-95, Greece 7 failures 1996-98.
Most defeats in total: Bosnia & Herzegovina 11 Macedonia 10 Austria 9.
Women’s European championship. First contested 1971. Mirrored the world championship until 1987. Has been held by teams such as Russia, Scotland and Ukraine in recent years, but generally the domain of the powerhouses – Germany, Norway and the like. England held the title briefly July-August 2009 (they have not had the world title since 1987).
Longest spells as champions: Norway 30 successful defences 1998-2001, (West) Germany 19 defences 1989-91, Norway 19 defences 1996-97.
Most wins in total: (West) Germany 61 Norway 60 Sweden 46.
Women’s European wooden sp00n. First contested 1971. See women’s world wooden sp00n – it’s exactly the same!
Women’s South American championship. First contested 1991. Brazil won the opening match, and then successfully defended the title 22 times. All 22 were wins, and most were enormous (they scored six or more in 16 of them, and reached double figures seven times!) Eventually, in 2006, they lost to Argentina, who have enjoyed a win and two draws since.
Longest spells as champions: Brazil 22 successful defences 1991-2006, Argentina 3 defences 2006-present.
Most wins in total: Brazil 23 Argentina 2.
Women’s South American wooden sp00n. First contested 1991. Chile lost the first match, but won the second against Venezuela. Venezuela then held the sp00n until beating Peru in 2006. Peru still hold it now.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Venezuela 13 failures to offload 1991-2006, Peru 6 failures 2006-present, Chile no failures 1991.
Most defeats in total: Venezuela 12 Peru 6 Chile 1.
Women’s African championship. First contested 1991. Dominated by Nigeria, who held it from 1991 to 2007 (apart from 10 days in 2002). In 2008, they lost to Equatorial Guinea in the Women’s African Nations Cup semi-final – the first time they have ever failed to win that competition. Equatorial Guinea went on to win the final.
Longest spells as champions: Nigeria 23 successful defences 1991-2002, Nigeria 19 defences 2002-07, Nigeria 5 defences 2007.
Most wins in total: Nigeria 47 Ghana 7 Equatorial Guinea 3
Women’s African wooden sp00n. First contested 1991. Passed from Ghana, the first holders, to Guinea in 1998, and to Guinea-Bissau in 2006. Guinea-Bissau have not played since.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Guinea 9 failures to offload 1998-2006, Ghana 3 failures 1991-98, Guinea-Bissau no failures 2006-present.
Most defeats in total: Guinea 9 Ghana 4 Guinea-Bissau 1.
Women’s Asian championship. First contested 1981. Taiwan won the first match, but didn’t play again until 1989, when they lost to China. China then kept the title until 2001. Since then, however, it has swapped back and forth between China, North Korea, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Longest spells as champions: China 48 successful defences 1989-2001, North Korea 22 defences 2001-04, North Korea 6 defences 2006-08.
Most wins in total: China 55 North Korea 34 Japan 7.
Women’s Asian wooden sp00n. First contested 1981. Thailand lost the first match, but didn’t attempt to offload the sp00n until 1985, when they beat Singapore. Singapore offloaded at the fifth attempt, though it took 16 years to do it. Guam have held the sp00n ever since.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Guam 20 failures to offload 2001-present, Singapore 4 failures 1985-2001, Thailand no failures 1981-present.
Most defeats in total: Guam 21 Singapore 5 Thailand 1.
Women’s Concacaf championship. First contested 1986. Canada held the title for two days in 1986, and eight months in 2000 and 2001. Other than that, the title has been with the United States for its entire history.
Longest spells as champions: United States 47 successful defences 2001-present, United States 32 defences 1986-2000, Canada 2 defences 2000-01.
Most wins in total: United States 79 Canada 3.
Women’s Concacaf wooden sp00n. First contested 1986. Canada (as well as the United States for two days) held the sp00n until 1991. Since then, it has come (via Costa Rica, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands) to the current holders, the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Cayman Islands 5 failures to offload 2000-06, Jamaica 4 failures 1991-2000, Canada 3 failures 1986-91.
Most defeats in total: Cayman Islands 6 Canada 5 Jamaica 5
Women’s Oceanian championship. First contested 1979. Only Australia and New Zealand have ever held it. The title, like its men’s counterpart, was vacant throughout 2006 following Australia’s move to Asia.
Longest spells as champions: Australia 18 successful defences 1994-2006, New Zealand 9 defences 1983-91, Australia 6 defences 1979-83.
Most wins in total: Australia 25 New Zealand 19
Women’s Oceanian wooden sp00n. First contested 1979. Shared by Australia and New Zealand until 1989, it was then taken by Papua New Guinea in 1989, and American Samoa in 1998. American Samoa have only attempted to offload four times since then, and are yet to succeed.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Papua New Guinea 10 failures to offload 1989-98, New Zealand 5 failures 1979-83, American Samoa 4 failures 1998-present.
Most defeats in total: Papua New Guinea 10 Australia 5 American Samoa 4
Overall stats:
Longest spell as continental champions (men): West Germany 34 successful defences 1978-82
Longest spell as continental champions (women): China 48 successful defences 1989-2001.
N.B. the United States are currently on a run of 47 successful defences in Concacaf, so they will, in all likelihood, break that record in the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup later this year.
Longest spells as continental wooden sp00ners (men): Ecuador 34 failures to offload 1938-49, Nicaragua 34 failures to offload 1967-2002
Longest spell as continental wooden sp00ners (women): Guam 20 failures to offload 2001-present
So, in summary, the current holders (championship in green, wooden sp00n in red)
Men:
World: Spain Macau
Europe: Serbia Liechtenstein
South America: Peru Paraguay
Africa: Egypt Seychelles
Asia: Iran Macau
Concacaf: Mexico Anguilla
Oceania: Fiji Tonga
Women:
World: United States Macedonia
Europe: Germany Macedonia
South America: Argentina Peru
Africa: Equatorial Guinea Guinea-Bissau
Asia: Australia Guam
Concacaf: United States Turks & Caicos Islands
Oceania: New Zealand American Samoa
I will endeavour to keep this as updated as I can!
Longest spells as champions: Holland 21 successful defences 2008-10, Scotland 20 defences 1880-88, Germany 15 defences 1996-98.
Most wins in total: Scotland 86 England 73 Argentina/ Holland 49 each.
Men’s world wooden sp00n. First contested 1872. Left the British Isles for the first time in 1926, as England beat Belgium. Travelled round Europe until 1940, when it fell to Latvia. Latvia was then subsumed into the USSR. Although the sp00n was analysed differently on a separate thread on this forum, I have concluded, after much thought, that the best thing at this point would be to declare the sp00n vacant (as was decided on the “Continental Champions” thread regarding Australia’s Oceania title in 2006) and give the sp00n to the loser of the next international thereafter (Finland). Finland then embarked on a record run of failure until finally beating Denmark in 1949. However, the sp00n bypassed Denmark, as they beat Norway in another international, played simultaneously in Oslo! Unsurprisingly, Luxembourg held the title from 1954 to 1961, but then stunningly beat Portugal. Portugal then beat Bulgaria, but Bulgaria soon took revenge, and Portugal held the sp00n once more. They then beat Brazil! This resulted in Brazil becoming the world wooden sp00ners in 1963 (they were official world champions at the time!!) Their first attempt to offload it saw them lose 5-1 to Belgium, but in their second, they beat France. Spain, also, briefly held the sp00n in 1969 following a defeat to Finland. Left Europe for the first time (other than Brazil’s brief 1963 tenure) in 1975 when Sweden beat Algeria. Algeria then beat Saudi Arabia in 1976, and the sp00n has remained in Asia ever since. Weak Asian teams only tend to ever play teams from their region, so there is very little prospect of the sp00n leaving Asia any time soon.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Finland 23 failures to offload 1940-49, Philippines 23 failures 1996-00, Guam 21 failures 2000-09.
Most defeats in total: (Northern) Ireland 60 Finland 58 Wales 38.
Men’s European championship. First contested 1872. Mirrored the world championship until 1950. Has taken in numerous World Cups and European Championships; however, the 2010 World Cup Final was the first all-European World Cup Final since 1938 not to feature in the championship. The last two European Championships have also been missed (the Republic of Ireland held the title during Euro 2004, whilst it was Israel during Euro 2008). A long run of success for Croatia in 2006 and 2007 ended with defeat in Macedonia, who thus became probably the most unlikely holders of the title. West Germany’s record run as champions was ended in the 1982 World Cup Final.
Longest spells as champions: West Germany 34 successful defences 1978-82, Scotland 20 defences 1880-88, England 14 defences 1891-96.
Most wins in total: Scotland 85 England 72 (West) Germany 63.
Men’s European wooden sp00n. First contested 1872. Mirrored the world wooden sp00n until 1963. Since then, the sp00n has generally been held by the traditional minnows. However, in 1996, sp00n holders Bosnia managed a shock win over Italy, who then beat Northern Ireland on their first offload attempt. The sp00n also went through Wales and Scotland that same season. Since 1999, it has been held by San Marino, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belarus, Albania and now Liechtenstein again.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Finland 23 failures to offload 1940-49, Luxembourg 23 failures 2004-07, Luxembourg 20 failures 1967-72.
Most defeats in total: Luxembourg 71 (Northern) Ireland 63 Wales 45.
Men’s South American championship. First contested 1902. Dominated at first by Argentina and Uruguay. Brazil’s first triumph was in 1919. They were followed by Paraguay in 1921, Chile in 1959, Peru and Bolivia in 1963, Colombia in 1985 and Ecuador in 1987. Venezuela finally became the tenth and last team to take the title in 2002, 100 years after the competition started. Since the end of the 2004 Copa America, only one team has not taken the title: Argentina! As all South American teams compete in the Copa America, it more or less guarantees that the Copa America final will always be a title match.
Longest spells as champions: Argentina 17 successful defences 1946-56, Brazil 17 defences 1975-79, Argentina 17 defences 1990-93.
Most wins in total: Argentina 144 Brazil 92 Uruguay 79.
Men’s South American wooden sp00n. First contested 1902. The first few years were contested only by Uruguay and Argentina, but then along came Chile, who took 16 years to win a match. They finally beat Bolivia, who themselves failed to offload the sp00n for eight years. Ecuador then took 11 years to get rid of it, and Colombia also held on for eight years (although they only played twice in that time!). Since then, it has been shared round a lot more regularly. Brazil have only been sp00ners once – a three-day period during the 1993 Copa America.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Ecuador 34 failures to offload 1938-49, Chile 26 failures 1910-26, Venezuela 16 failures 1996-99.
Most defeats in total: Ecuador 59 Venezuela 50 Bolivia 35.
Men’s African championship. First contested 1956. This has always been a keenly contested competition, and long runs as champions have been hard to come by. Many lesser lights of African football have held the title: Malawi, Mauritania and Burundi to name just three (and all of those have been since 2006!)
Longest spells as champions: Morocco 16 successful defences 1996-98, Ghana 12 defences 1963-67, Ivory Coast 10 defences 1992-93.
Most wins in total: Egypt 21 Nigeria 21 Ghana 20.
Men’s African wooden sp00n. First contested 1956. If anything, even more keenly contested than the African championship, with only two spells as sp00ners reaching double figures. In 2001, South Africa took the sp00n after defeat by Malawi. They then beat Egypt, who in turn beat Ghana. Thus three of Africa’s biggest names all held the sp00n within the space of a few months. The problem afflicting other continental sp00ns – i.e. teams not playing matches – is rarely an issue here, as the African Nations Cup takes place so regularly.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Botswana 24 failures to offload 1994-2000, Tanzania 15 failures 1986-90, Kenya 6 failures 1976-77.
Most defeats in total: Kenya 25 Tanzania 18 Botswana 17.
Men’s Asian championship. First contested 1917. The competition began with an extraordinary 15-2 win for the Philippines over Japan – in Tokyo! The Philippines have been prolific wooden sp00ners since though! Overall, the contest is an accurate reflection of the shifting powerbase in Asian football throughout history, with just a couple of blips (Bangladesh’s brief spell as champions in 1985 for example). Saudi Arabia dominated from 1996 to 2004, with spells of 13, 16 and 30 successful defences.
Longest spells as champions: Saudi Arabia 30 successful defences 2001-04, Iran 25 defences 1974-80, Burma 17 defences 1970-71.
Most wins in total: Saudi Arabia 64 Iran 47 Myanmar (aka Burma) and South Korea 21 each.
Men’s Asian wooden sp00n. First contested 1917. Despite their spectacular start, the Philippines have held the sp00n regularly. The hapless Guam looked set to break their record for longest spell as sp00ners, before their shock 2009 win over Mongolia. Oman held the sp00n from 1974 to 1982, and again from 1988 to 1993. They united the world and Asian sp00ns in 1979, and the two have run concurrently ever since.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Philippines 22 failures to offload 1996-2000, Guam 21 failures 2000-09, Oman 18 failures 1988-93.
Most defeats in total: Philippines 33 Oman 26 Guam 22.
Men’s Concacaf championship. First contested 1925. A more open competition than you might imagine, with only sporadic spells of complete Mexico/ USA dominance. In all, 13 different teams have held the title, including (for two days in December 2008) Grenada. Both Costa Rica and Haiti showed signs of dominance in the 1960s and 1970s.
Longest spells as champions: Mexico 29 successful defences 1937-61, United States 22 defences 2002-05, United States 16 defences 2006-08.
Most wins in total: Mexico 94 United States 52 Costa Rica 32.
Men’s Concacaf wooden sp00n. First contested 1925. Canada and the United States played three sp00n matches in 1925 and 1926, but the Canadians then didn’t attempt an offload again until 1957. However, there is only one team to talk about, as Nicaragua held the sp00n for an astonishing 35 years.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Nicaragua 34 failures to offload 1967-2002, Anguilla 6 failures 2004-present, United States 5 failures 1957-65.
Most defeats in total: Nicaragua 35 Anguilla 7 United States 5.
Men’s Oceanian championship. First contested 1922. Fiji held the title from 1977 to 1979, and again from 1991 to 1992. Tahiti held the title from 1980 to 1991, although they defended the title only twice in that time. Otherwise, it was New Zealand and Australia all the way from 1922 until Australia’s defection to Asia in 2006. That left the title vacant until taken by the Solomon Islands in July 2007. Fiji took the title again in November 2008, but haven’t played since.
Longest spells as champions: Australia 15 successful defences 1993-1998, Australia 9 defences (four separate occasions – 1933-54, 1954-77, 2000-02, 2004-05).
Most wins in total: Australia 52 New Zealand 20 Solomon Islands 5.
Men’s Oceanian wooden sp00n. First contested 1922. Not contested by anyone besides Australia and New Zealand until Fiji took the sp00n in 1968. Since then, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and the Cook Islands have all held it.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Papua New Guinea 11 failures to offload 1990-96, New Zealand 9 failures 1933-54, Fiji 8 attempts 1983-88.
Most defeats in total: New Zealand 17 Fiji 15 Papua New Guinea 13.
Women’s world championship. First contested 1971. Again, more details can be found elsewhere on the site. The title left Europe for the first time when the United States won it in 1987. China became the first Asian holders in 1994, and Brazil the first South American holders in 1997. The title has yet to visit Africa or Oceania. Every World Cup and Olympics was covered by the title until Ukraine’s tenure of the title from May 2007 to October 2008, which saw both the 2007 World Cup and 2008 Olympics bypassed.
Longest spells as champions: United States 20 successful defences 2004, United States 13 defences 1996-97, North Korea 12 defences 2001-02.
Most wins in total: United States 111 (West) Germany 55 Sweden 47.
Women’s world wooden sp00n. First contested 1971. Never been contested by a non-European team (and not likely to be any time soon, either). Austria held the sp00n from 1978 to 1993, but only made seven attempts to offload it in that time. Games have been much more regular since, although Turkey played only twice in their four years as sp00ners from 2002 to 2006.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Bosnia & Herzegovina 10 failures to offload 1999-2002, Macedonia 9 failures 2009-present, Poland 7 failures 1994-95, Greece 7 failures 1996-98.
Most defeats in total: Bosnia & Herzegovina 11 Macedonia 10 Austria 9.
Women’s European championship. First contested 1971. Mirrored the world championship until 1987. Has been held by teams such as Russia, Scotland and Ukraine in recent years, but generally the domain of the powerhouses – Germany, Norway and the like. England held the title briefly July-August 2009 (they have not had the world title since 1987).
Longest spells as champions: Norway 30 successful defences 1998-2001, (West) Germany 19 defences 1989-91, Norway 19 defences 1996-97.
Most wins in total: (West) Germany 61 Norway 60 Sweden 46.
Women’s European wooden sp00n. First contested 1971. See women’s world wooden sp00n – it’s exactly the same!
Women’s South American championship. First contested 1991. Brazil won the opening match, and then successfully defended the title 22 times. All 22 were wins, and most were enormous (they scored six or more in 16 of them, and reached double figures seven times!) Eventually, in 2006, they lost to Argentina, who have enjoyed a win and two draws since.
Longest spells as champions: Brazil 22 successful defences 1991-2006, Argentina 3 defences 2006-present.
Most wins in total: Brazil 23 Argentina 2.
Women’s South American wooden sp00n. First contested 1991. Chile lost the first match, but won the second against Venezuela. Venezuela then held the sp00n until beating Peru in 2006. Peru still hold it now.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Venezuela 13 failures to offload 1991-2006, Peru 6 failures 2006-present, Chile no failures 1991.
Most defeats in total: Venezuela 12 Peru 6 Chile 1.
Women’s African championship. First contested 1991. Dominated by Nigeria, who held it from 1991 to 2007 (apart from 10 days in 2002). In 2008, they lost to Equatorial Guinea in the Women’s African Nations Cup semi-final – the first time they have ever failed to win that competition. Equatorial Guinea went on to win the final.
Longest spells as champions: Nigeria 23 successful defences 1991-2002, Nigeria 19 defences 2002-07, Nigeria 5 defences 2007.
Most wins in total: Nigeria 47 Ghana 7 Equatorial Guinea 3
Women’s African wooden sp00n. First contested 1991. Passed from Ghana, the first holders, to Guinea in 1998, and to Guinea-Bissau in 2006. Guinea-Bissau have not played since.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Guinea 9 failures to offload 1998-2006, Ghana 3 failures 1991-98, Guinea-Bissau no failures 2006-present.
Most defeats in total: Guinea 9 Ghana 4 Guinea-Bissau 1.
Women’s Asian championship. First contested 1981. Taiwan won the first match, but didn’t play again until 1989, when they lost to China. China then kept the title until 2001. Since then, however, it has swapped back and forth between China, North Korea, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Longest spells as champions: China 48 successful defences 1989-2001, North Korea 22 defences 2001-04, North Korea 6 defences 2006-08.
Most wins in total: China 55 North Korea 34 Japan 7.
Women’s Asian wooden sp00n. First contested 1981. Thailand lost the first match, but didn’t attempt to offload the sp00n until 1985, when they beat Singapore. Singapore offloaded at the fifth attempt, though it took 16 years to do it. Guam have held the sp00n ever since.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Guam 20 failures to offload 2001-present, Singapore 4 failures 1985-2001, Thailand no failures 1981-present.
Most defeats in total: Guam 21 Singapore 5 Thailand 1.
Women’s Concacaf championship. First contested 1986. Canada held the title for two days in 1986, and eight months in 2000 and 2001. Other than that, the title has been with the United States for its entire history.
Longest spells as champions: United States 47 successful defences 2001-present, United States 32 defences 1986-2000, Canada 2 defences 2000-01.
Most wins in total: United States 79 Canada 3.
Women’s Concacaf wooden sp00n. First contested 1986. Canada (as well as the United States for two days) held the sp00n until 1991. Since then, it has come (via Costa Rica, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands) to the current holders, the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Cayman Islands 5 failures to offload 2000-06, Jamaica 4 failures 1991-2000, Canada 3 failures 1986-91.
Most defeats in total: Cayman Islands 6 Canada 5 Jamaica 5
Women’s Oceanian championship. First contested 1979. Only Australia and New Zealand have ever held it. The title, like its men’s counterpart, was vacant throughout 2006 following Australia’s move to Asia.
Longest spells as champions: Australia 18 successful defences 1994-2006, New Zealand 9 defences 1983-91, Australia 6 defences 1979-83.
Most wins in total: Australia 25 New Zealand 19
Women’s Oceanian wooden sp00n. First contested 1979. Shared by Australia and New Zealand until 1989, it was then taken by Papua New Guinea in 1989, and American Samoa in 1998. American Samoa have only attempted to offload four times since then, and are yet to succeed.
Longest spells as sp00ners: Papua New Guinea 10 failures to offload 1989-98, New Zealand 5 failures 1979-83, American Samoa 4 failures 1998-present.
Most defeats in total: Papua New Guinea 10 Australia 5 American Samoa 4
Overall stats:
Longest spell as continental champions (men): West Germany 34 successful defences 1978-82
Longest spell as continental champions (women): China 48 successful defences 1989-2001.
N.B. the United States are currently on a run of 47 successful defences in Concacaf, so they will, in all likelihood, break that record in the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup later this year.
Longest spells as continental wooden sp00ners (men): Ecuador 34 failures to offload 1938-49, Nicaragua 34 failures to offload 1967-2002
Longest spell as continental wooden sp00ners (women): Guam 20 failures to offload 2001-present
So, in summary, the current holders (championship in green, wooden sp00n in red)
Men:
World: Spain Macau
Europe: Serbia Liechtenstein
South America: Peru Paraguay
Africa: Egypt Seychelles
Asia: Iran Macau
Concacaf: Mexico Anguilla
Oceania: Fiji Tonga
Women:
World: United States Macedonia
Europe: Germany Macedonia
South America: Argentina Peru
Africa: Equatorial Guinea Guinea-Bissau
Asia: Australia Guam
Concacaf: United States Turks & Caicos Islands
Oceania: New Zealand American Samoa
I will endeavour to keep this as updated as I can!
