ISTANBUL (A.A) - 10.07.2002 - The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) said Turkey is the 15th strongest national league of the world.
According to the statistics on ''New Trends in the Ranking of the World's strongest Leagues'' by the IFFHS, Turkey is the 15th strongest league with 292 points.
Since 1991 the strongest leagues of the world have been determined by using the one principle - the Club World Ranking. Because of the different league calendars, which are affected by international and continental club competitions, it is only possible now in July to complete the classification of the leagues and show the new trends. As happened with the 2002 World Cup, there are some sensational changes and very important new developments.
The Spanish Primera Division is no longer in first place, having been replaced by the English Premier League, with the German Bundesliga now occupying the third place previously held by the Italian Serie A.
Top 20 according to IFFHS are as follows:
League Points
---------------- ------
1- England 580
2- Spain 566
3- Germany 521
4- Italy 503
5- Argentina 430
6- Mexico 429
7- Uruguay 367
8- Greece 350
9- Brazil 348
10- Netherlands 342
11- France 336
12- Columbia 328
13- Chile 325
14- Czech Republic 297
15- Turkey 292
16- Portugal 282
17- Scotland 281
18- Paraguay 174
19- Iraq 263
20- Belgium 258