Football is a widely practiced and popular sport in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, although the sport has lagged behind baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 in terms of popularity. The country has proven one of the biggest underachievers in CONMEBOL

CONMEBOL

The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...

 and was formerly known as the Cenicienta

Cinderella

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...

of the region.

History

The Federación Venezolana de Fútbol

Federación Venezolana de Fútbol

The Venezuelan Football Federation is the governing body of football in Venezuela. It was founded in 1926 and affiliated in 1952. It is a member of CONMEBOL and is in charge of the Venezuela national football team.-Copa America 2007:...

 was established in 1926 following the creation of the Liga Venezolana

Primera División Venezolana

The Primera División , or Liga Venezolana is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela. It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957...

 in 1921. Professionalism was not established until 1957 with the Copa de Venezuela

Copa de Venezuela

The Copa Venezuela is the national cup football competition of Venezuela. Organized by the Venezuelan Football Federation, is it disputed in the first half of the season by the teams in the Primera División, Segunda División A, and Segunda División B....

 arriving two years later. Caracas Fútbol Club

Caracas Fútbol Club

Caracas Fútbol Club is a Venezuelan football team based in Caracas. The club has won eleven First Division titles making it the most successful in Venezuelan football history....

 are the country's most successful club side. A second division was added in 1979 with a third added in 1999 and a fourth in 2006.

International

Venezuela national football team

Venezuela national football team

The Venezuela national football team is the national football team of Venezuela and is controlled by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. It is nicknamed La Vinotinto , because of the traditional burgundy color of their shirts....

 played their first game in 1938 and since then have been one of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

's weakest teams. Following Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

 Venezuela are now the only CONMEBOL member to never have appeared at a World Cup finals

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

. However the team are no longer seen as pushovers and are now recognised as stern opposition. Their growing status was further demonstrated by their hosting of the Copa América 2007

Copa América 2007

The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams...

 during which they reached the quarter finals.

An under-20 team

Venezuela national under-20 football team

Venezuela national under-20 football team represents Venezuela in international football competitions such as South American Youth Championship.-2009 South American Youth Championship:...

, an under-17 team

Venezuela national under-17 football team

-Current squad:Squad for 2011 South American Under-17 Football Championship-External links:...

 and a women's team

Venezuela women's national football team

The Venezuela women's national football team represents Venezuela in international women's football.-World Cup record:...

also compete.