The FIFA U17 World Cup kicks off this Saturday in Brazil, but it is record winners, Nigeria that will get the global attention. No country has won the trophy more than the Nigerian side, which had played eight final matches winning five times in 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015.

The three final matches Nigeria lost are those of 1987, 2001 and 2009.

A glance over the years serves to illustrate how the organisers of the past championships endowed each one with an individual flavour.

CHINA 1985

The inaugural FIFA U-16 competition in 1985 – the first international football tournament to be held in China PR – saw stadiums filled to capacity, and the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing, with a capacity of 80,000, packed to the rafters no fewer than four times. African supremacy, which was to leave its mark on championships in later years, began to assert itself, with Nigeria emerging as the winners and Guinea reaching the semi-finals.

CANADA 1987

The sprawling cities of Toronto and Montreal and the picturesque provincial venues of Saint John (New Brunswick) and St. John’s (Newfoundland) provided the backdrop to the second FIFA Under-16 World Tournament in Canada in 1987. Nigeria were on the verge of repeating their 1985 triumph in a thrilling final only to be downed by the Soviet Union in a penalty shootout.

SCOTLAND 1989

In 1989 it was the turn of the first European country, namely Scotland, with its long and sophisticated tradition in professional football, to host this FIFA championship. At the memorable final in Glasgow’s Hampden Park, a crowd of more than 50,000 watched transfixed as the home team, two goals up at half-time, allowed Saudi Arabia to creep up on them and narrowly beat them on penalties after a goalless extra time

ITALY 1991

The Italian FA pulled off a feat of organisational prowess at very short notice when it managed to arrange yet another “Italian summer”. A series of unforgettable matches at six venues scattered all over Tuscany, culminating in technically superior, irresistible winners from Ghana, was the mark of this first U-17 World Championship. In 1991, the age limit for the tournament was raised from U-16 to U-17.

JAPAN 1993

In 1993 (shortly after the triumphant launch of the J. League), the Japanese proved themselves to be perfect and, above all, technologically superb organisers. Nigeria beat Ghana 2-1 in the final, setting new standards in technique and tactics for this age category.

ECUADOR 1995

Ghana’s youngsters made it three in a row for Africa as they swept to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Brazil in the final of the 1995 U-17 World Championship in Guayaquil,  Ecuador.

EGYPT 1997

Brazil became the first South American team to win the U-17 World Championship and added the FIFA/JVC Cup to its unparalleled list of international honours. In a repeat of the 1995 U-17 final in Ecuador, Brazil encountered Ghana but this time the roles were reversed. While two years earlier the Africans had held the upper hand, winning 3-2 in the final, this time it was Brazil who came out on top, coming from a goal behind to snatch a dramatic victory from the holders. Africa was the only continent that saw all of their teams – three – make it to the last eight.

NEW ZEALAND 1999

On a day when football in New Zealand set a new record for U-17 crowd attendance, Brazil edged out Australia 8-7 in a penalty shoot-out to retain their crown. A crowd of 22,859 spectators crammed into the stadium to watch. The Aussies, who had made it to their first-ever FIFA final, came close to pipping Brazil with a couple of excellent chances.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 2001

France won their first FIFA U-17 World Championship in comprehensive fashion, leading throughout the entire tournament thanks to the lethal strike partnership of Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec. Sinama Pongolle scored nine goals, the most in a single U-17 World Championship.

FINLAND 2003

Brazil triumphed 1-0 over Spain at Helsinki’s Töölö stadium to become U-17 world champions for the third time. Although the eventful final produced the strike that equalled the all-time record for the most goals at a single FIFA U-17 World Championship (117 at Egypt 97), the final did not live up to the raucous goalscoring standards of Finland 2003. As always, the competition showcased a wealth of young talent, with the USA’s remarkable 14-year-old Freddy Adu leaving a lasting impression.

PERU 2005

After Ecuador in 1995, Peru became the second South American country to host the FIFA U-17 World Championship. With total attendance figures of over half a million spectators, Peru 2005 is in third place in the all-time FIFA U-17 World Championship ranking behind China PR 1985 and Egypt 1997. Triumphant Mexico sealed their first FIFA World Championship title at youth level, cruising past Brazil 3-0 in the final.

KOREA 2007

In 2007, the tournament was held on Asian soil for the third time and, having scaled the heights at China 1985 and Japan 1993, Nigeria left the continent with their third global crown. The Golden Eaglets also completed a virtual clean sweep of all the other accolades up for grabs at Korea Republic 2007. They edged past Spain on penalties in the final, and their ranks also boasted the adidas Golden Shoe and adidas Silver Ball winner – Macauley Chrisantus.

NIGERIA 2009

This was the second time, following Egypt in 1997, that the FIFA U-17 World Cup had been held on African soil. Switzerland, who were taking part in their first U-17 World Cup, claimed the title with a 1-0 win over Nigeria in the final in Abuja.

For the hosts and defending champions, the defeat meant that they narrowly missed out on becoming the first country to win four U-17 crowns, a feat that would have seen them pull clear of Brazil.

MEXICO 2011

The tournament was hosted by CONCACAF for the third time following Canada in 1987 and Trinidad & Tobago in 2001. By defeating Uruguay 2-0 at the legendary Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, hosts Mexico claimed the title for the second time, the first being in 2005. Uruguay reached the final for the first time.

UAE 2013

The FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 featured exciting matches and stunning results, with the young Nigerians claiming the trophy by overcoming Mexico in the final. The Africans therefore became the only country to win the tournament four times, surpassing the achievements of Brazil, crowned champions on three occasions.

CHILE 2015

Nigeria became the first country to win the title for a fifth time, and with Mali also reaching the final, Chile 2015 had the first all-African final since 1993 when Nigeria saw off Ghana.

There was another surprise team on the last step of the podium, with Belgium taking bronze despite being less fancied than other European participants, such as France and Germany, who both shone before being knocked out in the round of 16.

INDIA 2017

The tournament was won by England after a thrilling 5-2 victory in the final against Spain. There was plenty to celebrate throughout the competition with a record number of 183 goals, the most of any U-17 World Cup edition which was also watched by record attendances totalling 1.35 million spectators across the country.