2011 World Football Challenge
The 2011 World Football Challenge was the second World Football Challenge event, a series of friendly association football matches played in Canada and the United States in July and August.
Participants
The 2011 tournament increased in scale from the 2009 incarnation, bringing in thirteen teams from seven countries. All the teams were either members of the UEFA or CONCACAF confederations. The field was highlighted by Spanish league and European champions Barcelona and English champion Manchester United. América was the only team that returned from the 2009 competition.This tournament for the first time also included five teams from Major League Soccer, the top-flight league for the host countries, Canada and United States. As another first, there were games played outside the United States, at Empire Field in Vancouver, British Columbia and BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.
North American clubs that competed in 2011 included Chicago Fire, Guadalajara, América, Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution, Philadelphia Union, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Four representatives from Europe's top leagues of England and Spain, all of whom won their country's blue ribbon competitions in the 2010–11 season joined the North American clubs, those being: Spanish and European champions Barcelona, FA Cup winners Manchester City, Premier League champions Manchester United and Copa del Rey winners Real Madrid.
Venues
| Vancouver, British Columbia | Toronto, Ontario | |
| Empire Field | BMO Field | |
| Capacity: 27,528 | Capacity: 21,566 | |
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Event rules
The event rules differed considerably from the 2009 event, due to differences in the number of teams.Match rules
Match rules followed the Laws of the Game, with a few notable exceptions.- In the event of a tie after the regulation 90 minutes, a penalty shootout immediately followed. These penalties did not accrue points in the table as a regulation goal or penalty would.
- Cautions and sending offs did not carry into the next competitive game, however, a player may have been suspended for their club's next WFC match.
- Teams had a roster of 25 players, and clubs were able to substitute eleven players during the course of the match rather than the standard three.
Table setup
The format was a single table, accruing points as follows:- Three points for a regulation victory
- Two points for a penalty shootout victory
- One point for a penalty shootout loss
- No points for a regulation loss
- One point for each goal scored
Table tiebreakers
In the event of a tie in the final table standings, the following tiebreakers were used in order:- Regulation goal difference
- Most goals for in regulation
- Fewest goals against in regulation
- Most goals scored in regulation in one match
- Drawing of lots
Standings
Matches
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