Association football is indubitably the most popular sport in the world. Have you any idea the kind of frenzy generated by the World Cup? Riots have been instigated, crimes committed, and all for the sake of the game. Jubilation is extreme and equally so is the lamentation. Sports officials find a very real threat to their lives every time they participate in this amazing sport some refer to as soccer and the rest of the world simply as football.

Great renown has been granted to players of legendary skill. Everybody knows of Brazil’s Edison Arantes do Nascimento or Pelé and many of them without ever having seen him play. People talk of Diego Maradona who, at barely 50, has been a football god for decades now. These two have been recipients of the FIFA Player of the Century Award.

FIFA or La Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football) is the global authority on the sport. It gives out the most prestigious awards for soccer as well as holds the most important sporting events, such as the World Cup. When it comes to awards and recognitions, nothing establishes a player’s stature in the sport like the FIFA World Player of the Year. Other famous recipients of this award besides Pelé and Maradona are David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are both also famous for their extra-football involvements.

There is also the organization the European Club Association (ECA), which represents Europe’s leading football clubs. Some of its most popular members are Manchester United, the current wealthiest and most valuable club of any sport, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. Members of the ECA vie for the UEFA awards, such as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (also referred to as the Ballon d’Or). The UEFA is the European branch of the FIFA.

Europe is not the only continent that is overcome with the football hysteria. Africa and Asia have been avid supporters of the game for a long time. Then, there is South America and the rest of Latin America, which can rival Europe’s football hooligans in enthusiasm. Let us remember that two of the sport’s greatest players came from Brazil and Argentina. Along with the UEFA, the CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol or South American Football Confederation) is the most dominant confederation in FIFA albeit its being the smallest contingent with only 10 members. The CONMEBOL gives out the CONMEBOL Jubilee Award.

In the US, soccer continues to rise in popularity, thanks to the pull of David Beckham’s fame and his joining the Los Angeles Galaxy. Some of the US’ most prestigious awards given for soccer are the Soccer Athlete of the Year, sponsored by Chevrolet, and the Honda Player of the Year, which is decided by the US national sports media. Many would argue though that soccer in the US is more celebrated in the collegiate level than in the professional one.

Each nation has awards given for soccer, of course, but at the end of the day, the greatest achievement lies within a player or a team’s fate in the FIFA tournaments.