Football is the most popular sport in Chile.[1] Approximately 80% of the Chilean people are interested in football[2]
The country's history of association football began with English sailors and their boat trips due to various commercial links between Chile and Great Britain in the 19th century.[3]
Football was first brought to Chile by the English that exhibited the sport during visits to the commercial ports such as in Valparaiso. Chileans living in the area would watch how the sport was being played. Wealthy and notable upper class Chilean families incorporated the sport in 1880 into their regular rituals which saw the first games of football in the country.[4][5] This occurred within the confines of a significant British school, The Mackay and Sutherland School in Cerro Alegre, Valparaiso and considered to be the first football club in the country and in South America, founded by sons of British immigrants.
Chile's oldest club was founded in the port of Valparaíso, and it was named Valparaiso Football Club.[6] The governing body of Chilean football Federación de Fútbol de Chile was established in 1895. Chile was one of the founding members of CONMEBOL which launched the first South American international championship now known as the Copa America.
Other important factors that helped the sport of football spread in Chile were the club tours from other nations, such as Argentina and Peru, held in Chile. Furthermore, the first South American tournaments aided in making Chile a better force in the world of association football. By the time the 1930 FIFA World Cup took place in Uruguay, Chile gave a decent performance but was not able to reach the second round due to losing to Argentina and thus getting second place. The next major step in the international arena took place in the 1962 FIFA World Cup which was held in Chile, and a series of interesting stories were built around the victories of the Chilean team that brought the country joy after the terrible earthquake that had deeply hurt the nation. Although Chile did not win, the team was able to obtain 3rd place in the competition.
Chile is also one of the only one of two national teams in South America to have reached the final of any major FIFA men's senior competitions other than Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, having finished runners-up in 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup,[7] the other being Venezuela after reaching the final of 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup held earlier.
On women's football, Chile even earns a greater reputation. Colo-Colo was the first non-Brazilian champion in Copa Libertadores Femenina, having done so in 2012 edition, and has since remained a strong force of women's football in South America.
Chile under-17 football team has written history by becoming the first national team of Chile to play in three consecutive FIFA World Cup, having qualified to the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup after hosting the 2015 and qualified to the 2017 editions.
Attendances
The average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:
