Wikipedia:Notability (sports)/Association football

''Below is the proposal for new WP:NFOOTBALL guidelines by User:GiantSnowman – please do not edit this without discussion and consensus on the talk page first!

GiantSnowman's introduction/explanation
Following this recent RfC, while to some degree it remains open to debate/interpretation what the community consensus was, and what the community actually wants, it is clear that the current guidelines are not fit for purpose.

Therefore a balance needs to be struck between the two 'sides' of the debate – and so whilst participating at a certain level of football can make people notable, that level can only be justified or measured if it (and the players in it) is subject to significant coverage that means a large majority of the players pass WP:NBASIC.

It is clear that the current list of 'notable' leagues is far too large. However, my initial new list is based only on my personal knowledge and experience (16 years+ as an editor, nearly 500,000 edits, participated in immeasurable AFDs and other discussions on notability etc.) – unfortunately I do not have the time to undertake any scientific analysis of the leagues, so there might be ones I have not included that other editors can justify adding, and there might be leagues I have included that other editors can justify removing. This is especially true of women's football, where my knowledge is not nearly as strong as men's football.

Accordingly, while I have drafted the below only as a starting point for a new guideline, hopefully it is seen as a positive start and as a good foundation to build upon, and hopefully it balances the views and concerns on both 'sides'. GiantSnowman 12:35, 13 March 2022 (UTC)

Current guideline
Significant coverage is likely to exist for association football (soccer) figures if they meet the following:
 * 1) Players who have played in, and managers who have managed in, any Tier 1 International Match as defined by FIFA, or in a competitive senior international match at confederation level regardless of whether or not the teams are members of FIFA.
 * 2) Players who have played, and managers who have managed, in a competitive game between two teams from fully professional leagues. See a list of fully professional leagues kept by WikiProject Football.


 * Note: For the purposes of this guideline, "played" means having appeared in a match either in the starting lineup or coming on as a substitute. Youth players, or players at the Olympics, are not presumed notable unless they satisfy one of the statements above, or if they can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:NBASIC.

Proposed guideline
'''The notability of association football (soccer) figures is assessed on the basis that the level that they compete at is the subject of significant coverage. Accordingly, significant coverage is likely to exist for association football (soccer) figures if they meet the following''':
 * 1) Players who have played in, and managers who have managed in, any Tier 1 International Match as defined by FIFA.
 * 2) Players who have played, and managers who have managed, in a competitive game between two teams from a 'notable' league.


 * Note: For the purposes of this guideline, "played" means having appeared in a match either in the starting lineup or coming on as a substitute. Being on a team's squad roster is not sufficient. Youth players, or players at the Olympics, are not likely to be notable unless they satisfy one of the statements above, or if they can be shown to meet the wider requirements of WP:NBASIC. Please also note that, in either case, association football (soccer) figures ultimately must meet the wider requirements of WP:NBASIC.

Current list of leagues
See WP:FPL.

Proposed list of leagues
This is adapted from WP:FPL.

Men's leagues

 * 🇦🇷 Argentina – Argentine Primera División (since 1931)
 * 🇦🇺 Australia – A-League Men
 * 🇦🇹 Austria – Austrian Football Bundesliga
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium – Belgian First Division A (also know as Belgian Pro League) (from ~1960)
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil – Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
 * 🇨🇦 Canada – Canadian Premier League, Major League Soccer, USL Championship (formerly United Soccer League, USL Pro)
 * 🇨🇱 Chile – Chilean Primera División
 * China PR – Chinese Super League
 * 🇨🇴 Colombia – Categoría Primera A
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia – Croatian First Football League
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic – Czech First League
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark – Danish Superliga
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England – Premier League, English Football League
 * 🇫🇮 Finland – Veikkausliiga
 * 🇫🇷 France – Ligue 1, Ligue 2 (from 1993–94 season)
 * 🇩🇪 Germany – Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga
 * 🇬🇷 Greece – Super League Greece,
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary – Nemzeti Bajnokság I
 * 🇮🇳 India – Indian Super League, I-League
 * 🇮🇱 Israel – Israeli Premier League
 * 🇮🇹 Italy – Serie A, Serie B, Serie C
 * 🇯🇵 Japan – J1 League
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico – Liga MX
 * 🇲🇦 Morocco – Botola (from 2011–12)
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands – Eredivisie, Eerste Divisie
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand – A-League
 * 🇳🇴 Norway – Eliteserien (formerly Tippeligaen)
 * 🇵🇱 Poland – Ekstraklasa
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal – Primeira Liga
 * 🇷🇴 Romania – Liga I
 * 🇷🇺 Russia – Russian Premier League
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland – Scottish Premiership (formerly Division One, Division A, Premier Division, Premier League)
 * 🇷🇸 Serbia – Serbian SuperLiga
 * Former countries include Serbia and Montenegro – First League of Serbia and Montenegro and  Yugoslavia – Yugoslav First League
 * 🇸🇬 Singapore – Singapore Premier League (formerly S.League)
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia – Slovak Super Liga (since 2009)
 * 🇸🇮 Slovenia – Slovenian PrvaLiga
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa – South African Premier Division (also known as Premier Soccer League, since 1996–97)
 * 🇰🇷 South Korea – K League 1
 * 🇪🇸 Spain – La Liga, Segunda División
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden – Allsvenskan
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland – Swiss Super League
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey – Süper Lig
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine – Ukrainian Premier League
 * 🇺🇸 United States – Major League Soccer, USL Championship (formerly United Soccer League, USL Pro)
 * Defunct leagues in the United States – North American Soccer League (1968–84), North American Soccer League (2011–2017), National Professional Soccer League (1967), A-League (1995–2004)

Some to consider adding – 🇲🇹 Malta – Maltese Premier League; Republic of Ireland – League of Ireland Premier Division (but only in past few years)

Women's leagues

 * 🇧🇷 Brazil – Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino Série A1 (from the 2019 season)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England – FA Women's Super League (from the 2018–19 season)
 * 🇮🇹 Italy – Serie A (from the 2022–23 season)
 * 🇯🇵 Japan – WE League
 * 🇪🇸 Spain – Primera División (from the 2021–22 season)
 * 🇺🇸 United States – National Women's Soccer League
 * Defunct leagues in the United States – Women's Professional Soccer, Women's United Soccer Association

Some to consider adding – 🇳🇱 Netherlands – Eredivisie; 🇸🇪 Sweden – Damallsvenskan