Soccer Players by Country 2024

Soccer, also known as football and association football, is a team sport with 11 players on each team. Players use their feet to move a ball around a rectangular field, or pitch. The objective is to score a goal by kicking the ball into a rectangular frame defended by an opposing player called a goalie.

Competition

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) oversees soccer competition at the international level. The FIFA Club World Cup is currently the primary venue for the world's best teams to demonstrate their skill during most of the 20th century.

Europe and South America were the dominant regions for soccer during most of the twentieth century. In the 21st century, South America produces more of the best players in the world, but European clubs continue to dominate by signing South American players. At the same time, the level of play has improved in other regions like Africa, Asia and North America, such that clubs from these areas are at least equal to South American clubs. Countries in the Caribbean and Oceania have yet to make a significant mark in international competition, except for Australia.

Studies

The Centre International d'Etude du Sport (CIES) analyzes the contribution of professional soccer players by country. Its most recent study of this type was conducted for the 2019 calendar year, which included 55,865 players from 93 countries in all the principle leagues throughout the world. This data was difficult to obtain from players in sub-Saharan African players, so their representation in the study is limited. The CIES study defined the players' origin as the location where they lived before starting their playing career, even if they were recruited by a foreign club.

Players by Country

The following list shows the country of origin and number of players for the top ten countries with the most professional soccer players.

Brazil is the most represented country for players in the CIES study, in terms of both players and playing time. The only other country with more than 2,000 players is Argentina, with Columbia being the third South American country in the top ten. An additional six countries in the above list are European. Aside from Japan, no countries from Asia or North America appear on the list.