World Team of the 20th Century

The team was announced on 10 June 1998, in conjunction with the opening ceremonies of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. The team was selected in plurality voting undertaken by a panel of 250 international football journalists from amongst the members of eleven-member sides styled as the South American and European Teams of the 20th Century. Those two continental selections were announced a month earlier by the same panel, featuring players who represented national teams of the CONMEBOL and UEFA confederations and would be the pool for the World selection. That meant that no player from outside Europe or South America was eligible for selection for the World Team. Selection teams for players from the nations of CONCACAF, the Confederation of African Football, and collectively the Asian and Oceania Football Confederations were also chosen by separate, smaller juries of journalists situated respectively in North and Central America, Africa, and Asia and Oceania. They were announced alongside the European and South American teams, but players selected to the former sides were not considered for selection to the world team. The continental selection All the team selections were sponsored by MasterCard and announced on 15 May 1998.