Colombian football
| Football in Colombia | |
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The Colombia national football team playing against England in 2005.
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| Country | Colombia |
| Governing body | Colombian Football Federation |
| National team | Colombia |
| First played | 1918 |
| Registered players | 291,229 |
| Clubs | 2,773 |
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National competitions
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Club competitions
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International competitions
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Football is the most popular sport in Colombia (according to FIFA, there are 3,043,229 players total, 291,229 of which are registered and 2,752,000 are unregistered; with 2,773 clubs and 15,800 officials). The Colombian national league ranks 9th in the IFFHS's ranking The Strongest National League in the World of 2014 (3rd in South America),.
The Colombian national team represents Colombia in international football competitions. The highest rank it has ever reached in the FIFA World Rankings is its current ranking of third in the world.
Among the individual notable players that have emerged from the country are René Higuita, creator of the "Scorpion kick" (voted the best football trick ever invented), Carlos Valderrama, Leonel Álvarez, Faustino Asprilla, Iván Córdoba, Mario Yepes, Radamel Falcao and James Rodríguez. Colombian players have made an impact in the wider world game, notably in European football and Major League Soccer (MLS).
Colombia had its strongest period during the 1990s, where they were among the giants in world football. A match during this period in 1993 resulted in a 5–0 win over Argentina which caused a special "mutual respect" rivalry between both nations. During this era, Colombia qualified for the 1990, 1994 and 1998 editions of the World Cup, only reaching the second round in 1990. At the 2001 Copa América, Óscar Córdoba became the first and only goalkeeper in history to keep a perfect clean sheet in a Copa América tournament.
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Wikipedia