FIFA U-17 World Champions

The 11th FIFA U-17 World Cup started in Peru this weekend. Traditionally, these tournaments have been dominated by African teams, although the defending champions are Brazil. The table shows the history of the tournament that started in 1985:

China 1985	Nigeria	West Germany	Brazil	Guinea
Canada 1987	USSR	Nigeria	Ivory Coast	Italy
Scotland 1989	Saudi Arabia	Scotland	Portugal	Bahrain
Italy 1991	Ghana	Spain	Argentina	Qatar
Japan 1993	Nigeria	Ghana	Chile	Poland
Ecuador 1995	Ghana	Brazil	Argentina	Oman
Egypt 1997	Brazil	Ghana	Spain	Germany
New Zealand 1999	Brazil	Australia	Ghana	USA
Trinidad & Tobago 2001	France	Nigeria	Burkina Faso	Argentina
Finland 2003	Brazil	Spain	Argentina	Colombia
Peru 2005

This time, the Africans are also some of the teams to watch. Actually, the defending champs from Brazil, started by losing 1-3 to the African champions from Gambia.
Netherlands, Mexico, Italy and USA have also started with victories, while the Peruvian hosts started by playing 1-1 with Ghana in a very tight group A.
The tournament might not reflect as much the real football strength at senior level asfor instance the U-21 World Cup. However, many young stars have played this tournament before, and it is likely that more than one future football star is playing for the glory of his country in Peru these days.