Ongoing dispute over FIFA's club title report: philosophical critiques meet historian's criticisms
In the whirlwind of the 2025 Club World Cup, FIFA set the soccer world ablaze with controversy by releasing and then pulling a statistical report highlighting the official titles of the participating teams. This controversial document, named the "Club Report", rekindled the age-old Argentine football dispute over who is the most decorated between River Plate and Boca Juniors. As per the leak, River Plate emerged as the club with the most official titles in Argentina and continents, surpassing its age-old rival.
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Based on the circulated data, River Plate acquired a total of 65 official titles, which includes 37 national leagues, 15 national cups, and 13 international cups. This title count positions the club third among the tournament participants in terms of local titles, following only behind Al Ahly (45) and Benfica (38). FIFA's analysis encompassed national leagues, national cups, national supercups, major continental cups, other continental competitions, continental supercups, and inter-confederation cups. However, it omitted amateurism stars. As of this afternoon, the document can no longer be accessed through the disseminated links.
Previously, River Plate embraced this report and triumphantly broadcasted it via their social networks. "According to FIFA's official report on the 2025 Club World Cup, River Plate is named the South American club with the most official titles (65)" the club announced.
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In contrast, the document attributed a total of 55 official titles to Boca Juniors, 10 fewer than its eternal rival. According to the data, Boca Juniors holds a count of 29 national titles, 8 local cups, and 18 international cups. This breakdown means River Plate surpasses its rival in the total count, igniting heated debate among Argentine football fans and experts.
The report, initially published on the official FIFA page and later eliminated, did not include titles obtained during the amateur era of Argentine football. This methodological decision sparked heated discussions. Excluding this phase favors River Plate, which leads in official titles calculated under the current criteria.
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The matter received criticism from historians gathered in Football Revisionism, who disputed not counting titles of the amateur era. They rhetorically asserted on their social media platforms, "FIFA and the Flawed Report: removed a third-party report with errors in the palmares of Boca and River, ignoring AFA official titles". They then stressed that "among other unsolvable errors, the Palmeiras' friendly Copa Rio 1951 was included in the palmares" and emphasized a River Plate trophy organized by a sports signal "in the friendly Supercopa Euroamericana 2015".
It is worth mentioning that Football Revisionism, who have long defended amateurism, recalled that "FIFA does not validate 'professional football'; it regulates 'organized football'. Then each association chooses how the relationship between clubs and players will be. That's why we can see amateur clubs like Auckland City, for example, in this Club World Cup".
Among other extracts from their extensive thread, they also highlighted that "FIFA removed the report and indicated that it did not intend to be a formal declaration of each club's achievements but a general summary; and secondly, it was clarified that the work was outsourced to a communication medium". As the debate simmers over who is Argentina's most successful club, football fans eagerly await updates and clarifications.
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- The controversial FIFA Club Report, initially published and later withdrawn, highlighted the official titles of participating teams in the Club World Cup, recreating the age-old debate over who is the most decorated between River Plate and Boca Juniors in sports analysis.
- According to the FIFA Club Report, River Plate has acquired a total of 65 official titles, including 37 national leagues, 15 national cups, and 13 international cups, which places the club third among tournament participants in terms of local titles, behind Al Ahly (45) and Benfica (38).
- In contrast, the FIFA Club Report attributed a total of 55 official titles to Boca Juniors, 10 fewer than its eternal rival, River Plate, igniting debate among Argentine football fans and experts about the most successful club in Argentina and European leagues, including the Champions League.
