who qualifies for the fifa club world cup

The current format of the tournament involves seven teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about two weeks; the winners of that year's AFC Champions League (Asia), CAF Champions League (Africa), CONCACAF Champions League (North America), Copa Libertadores (South America), OFC Champions League (Oceania) and UEFA Champions League (Europe), along with the host nation's national champions, participate in a straight knock-out tournament. The host nation's national champions dispute a play-off against the Oceania champions, from which the winner joins the champions of Asia, Africa and North America at the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners go on to face the European and South American champions, who enter at the semi-final stage, for a place in the final.

FIFA Club World Cup

The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship. It was not held between 2001 and 2004 due to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure. Since 2005, the competition has been held every year, and has been hosted by Brazil, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. The FIFA Club World Cup's prestige is perceived quite differently in different parts of the football world: while it is widely regarded as the most distinguished club level trophy in South America, it struggles to attract interest in most of Europe.

The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in 2000. It ran in parallel with the Intercontinental Cup (also known as European/South American Cup), a competition organised jointly by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) first disputed in 1960 by the winners of the European Champions' Cup and the Copa Libertadores. In 2005, after the Intercontinental Cup's last edition, that competition was merged with the Club World Cup's pilot edition and renamed the "FIFA Club World Championship". In 2006, the tournament took its current name.

The current champions are Spain's Real Madrid, who defeated Japan's Kashima Antlers 4â€“2 in the final of the 2016 edition, to win a second title in the competition. European teams have been the most successful, with nine titles.

The first club tournament to be billed as the "Football World Championship" was held in 1887, in which Scottish Cup champions Hibernian defeated English FA Cup semi-finalists Preston North End.[1] According to FIFA, the first attempt at creating a global club football tournament was in 1909, 21 years before the first FIFA World Cup.[2] The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was held in Italy in 1909 and 1911, and contested by English, Italian, German and Swiss clubs.[3] It was won by English amateur side West Auckland on both occasions.[4]

The idea that FIFA should organise international club competitions dates from the beginning of the 1950s.[5] In 1951, FIFA President Jules Rimet was asked about FIFA's involvement in the Copa Rio, and stated that it was not under FIFA's jurisdiction since it was organised and sponsored by the Brazilian Football Confederation (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol; CBF).[6] The competition was succeeded by another tournament, named Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer, which was won by Vasco da Gama.[7] This tournament had five Brazilian sides, and three foreign clubs,[8] thus, losing half of its intercontinental aspect. In December 2007, FIFA turned down Palmeiras' request to recognise the tournament as a Club World Cup since the participants were limited to two continents.[9]

Although the competition was discontinued, it was held in high regard. FIFA board members Stanley Rous and Ottorino Barassi participated personally, albeit not in their capacity as FIFA members, in the organisation of the competition in 1951.[10] Rous' role was attributed to the negotiations with European clubs, whereas Barassi helped form the framework of the competition. Commenting on Juventus' acceptance to participate in the tournament, the Italian press stated that "an Italian club could not be missing in such an important and worldwide-reaching event".[11]

Because of the difficulty the CBF found in bringing European clubs to the competition, the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper suggested that there should be FIFA involvement in the programming of international club competitions saying that, "ideally, international tournaments, here or abroad, should be played at times set by FIFA". However, no response was received.[12] The Pequeña Copa del Mundo was a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, with a two short revivals in 1963 and in 1965.[13] It was usually played by eight participants, half from Europe and half from South America. After the late 1950s, the tournament rapidly lost status as the pedigree of its participants decreased. This competition, along with the creation of the European Cup and the Copa Libertadores, created the groundwork of the eventual Intercontinental Cup.[13]

After winning the Intercontinental Cup, Real Madrid titled themselves world champions until FIFA stepped in and objected, citing that the competition did not include any other champions from the other confederations; FIFA stated that they can only claim to be intercontinental champions of a competition played between two organisations in which no one else had the opportunity to participate.[14] FIFA failed to authorise the competition in the 1960s.[15] FIFA stated that they would prohibit the 1961 edition to be played out unless the organisers regarded the competition as a friendly or a private match between two organisations.[16] That same year the Intercontinental Cup was first played, FIFA authorised the International Soccer League to be contested with ratification from Sir Stanley Rous, who had become the FIFA President by that point.[17][18]

Although FIFA hoped to eventually transform the International Soccer League into a Club World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup had attracted the interest of other continents.[19] The North and Central America confederation, CONCACAF, was created in 1961 to organise its intentions of allowing its clubs to participate in the Copa Libertadores and, by extension, the Intercontinental Cup.[20] However, their entry into both competitions was rejected. Subsequently, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup began in 1962.[21] FIFA was asked by CONMEBOL and UEFA in 1963 to make the Intercontinental Cup official; however, FIFA gave the same response as in 1960 and stated that they would only recognise the competition if the Asian and African champions were included.[22]

Due to the brutality of the Argentine and Uruguayan clubs at the Intercontinental Cup, FIFA was asked several times during the late 1960s to assess penalties and regulate the tournament.[23] However, FIFA refused each request.[24] The first of these requests was made in 1967, after a play-off match labelled The Battle of Montevideo.[25] The Scottish Football Association, via President Willie Allan, wanted FIFA to recognise the competition in order to enforce football regulation; FIFA responded that it could not regulate a competition it did not organise.[26] Allan's crusade also suffered after CONMEBOL, with the backing of its President Teofilo Salinas and the Argentine Football Association (Asociación del Fútbol Argentino; AFA), refused to allow FIFA to have any hand in the competition, stating:[27]

RenÃ© Courte, FIFA's General Sub-Secretary, wrote an article shortly afterwards stating that FIFA viewed the competition as a "European-South American friendly match".[28] This was confirmed by Sir Stanley Rous, who then stated that FIFA saw the Intercontinental Cup as a friendly match.[29][30][31][32] However, with the Asian and North American club competitions in place, FIFA opened the idea of supervising the competition if it included those confederations, which was met with a negative response from its participating confederations, UEFA and CONMEBOL. According to Stanley Rous, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation had requested their participation in the Intercontinental Cup, which was rejected by UEFA and CONMEBOL.[33][34][35] Madrid newspaper ABC then pointed out that, though the Intercontinental Cup was not officially endorsed by FIFA, it was endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, therefore being an "intercontinental jurisdiction" cup.[36] The 1968 and 1969 Intercontinental Cups finished in similar fashion, with Manchester United manager Matt Busby insisting that "the Argentineans should be banned from all competitive football. FIFA should really step in".[37] Soon after, Stanley Rous wrote an article for the FIFA magazine, reaffirming his desire that FIFA could create a Club World Cup featuring champion clubs of all confederations.[38]

In 1970, during its Congress in Mexico, FIFA officially proposed for the first time the creation of a FIFA Club World Cup, to feature champion clubs of all confederations. The proposal received a negative response from the Europeans.[39][40][41] In 1973, French newspaper L'Équipe, who helped bring about the birth of the European Cup,[42] volunteered to sponsor a Club World Cup contested by the champions of Europe, South America, North America and Africa, the only continental club tournaments in existence at the time; the competition was to potentially take place in Paris between September and October 1974, with an eventual final to be held at the Parc des Princes. The extreme negativity of the Europeans prevented this from happening.[43] L'Équipe tried once again in 1975 to create a Club World Cup, in which participants would have been the four semi-finalists of the European Cup, both finalists of the Copa Libertadores, as well as the African and Asian champions.[44] However, UEFA, via its president, Artemio Franchi, declined once again and the proposal failed.[45]

With the Intercontinental Cup in danger of being dissolved,[46] West Nally, a British marketing company, was hired by UEFA and CONMEBOL to find a viable solution in 1980;[47][48][49] Toyota Motor Corporation, via West Nally, took the competition under its wing and rebranded it as the Toyota Cup, a one-off match played in Japan.[50][51] Toyota invested over US$700,000 in the 1980 edition to take place in Tokyo's National Olympic Stadium, with over US$200,000 awarded to each participant.[52] The Toyota Cup, with its new format, was received with scepticism, as the sport was unfamiliar in the Far East.[53][54] However, the financial incentive was welcomed, as European and South American clubs were suffering financial difficulties.[55] To protect themselves against the possibility of European withdrawals, Toyota, UEFA and every European Cup participant signed annual contracts requiring the eventual winners of the European Cup to participate at the Intercontinental Cup, as a condition UEFA stipulated to the clubs' participation in the European Cup, or risk facing an international lawsuit from UEFA and Toyota.[56] In 1983, The Football Association tried organising a Club World Cup to be played in 1985 and sponsored by West Nally, only to be denied by UEFA.[57]

The Interamerican Cup and the Afro-Asian Club Championship were tournaments created to allow those regions their own Club competitions, in large part due to the refusal of UEFA and CONMEBOL to allow CONCACAF, AFC and CAF clubs to compete in the Intercontinental Cup.[58] According to Brazilian newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, the deal for the establishment of the Interamerican Cup was made in 1968 by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, and established that the Interamerican Cup champion club would be entitled to represent the American continent in the Intercontinental Cup.[59] According to the Mexican newspapers, after winning the 1977 and 1980 editions of the Interamerican Cup, Mexican teams Club América and Club Universidad Nacional, as well as the Mexican Football Federation, demanded, unsuccessfully, to participate in the Intercontinental Cup.[60][61][62]

The framework of the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship was laid years in advance.[63] According to Sepp Blatter, the idea of the tournament was presented to the Executive Committee in December 1993 in Las Vegas, USA, by A.C. Milan president Silvio Berlusconi.[64] Initially, there were nine candidates to host the competition, of which only Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay confirmed their interest to FIFA. On 3 September 1997, FIFA selected Brazil to host the competition, which was initially scheduled to take place in 1999.[65] The competition gave away US$28 million in prize money and its TV rights, worth US$40 million, were sold to 15 broadcasters across five continents.[66] The final draw of the first Club World Championship was done on 19 October 1999 at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro.[67]

The inaugural competition was planned to be contested in 1999 by the continental club winners of 1998, the Intercontinental Cup winners and the host nation's national club champions, but it was postponed by one year. When it was rescheduled, the competition had eight new participants from the continental champions of 1999: Brazilian clubs Corinthians and Vasco da Gama, English side Manchester United, Mexican club Necaxa, Moroccan club Raja Casablanca, Spanish side Real Madrid, Saudi club Al-Nassr, and Australian club South Melbourne.[68] The first goal of the competition was scored by Real Madrid's Nicolas Anelka in a 3–1 win over Al-Nassr on 5 January 2000.[69] The final was an all-Brazilian affair, as well as the only one which saw one side have home advantage.[70] Vasco da Gama could not take advantage of its local support, being beaten by Corinthians 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in extra time.[71]

The second edition of the competition was planned for Spain in 2001, and was supposed to feature 12 clubs.[72] The draw was performed at A Coruña on 6 March 2001.[73] However, it was cancelled on 18 May, due to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure.[74] The participants of the cancelled edition received US$750,000 each in compensation; the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) also received US$1 million from FIFA.[75] Another attempt to stage the competition in 2003, in which 17 countries were looking to be the host nation, also failed to happen.[76][77] FIFA agreed with UEFA, CONMEBOL and Toyota to merge the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Championship into one event.[78] The final Intercontinental Cup was in 2004, with a relaunched Club World Championship held in Japan in December 2005.[79]

The 2005 tournament was shorter than the previous World Championship, reducing the problem of scheduling the tournament around the different club seasons across each continent. It contained just the six reigning continental champions, with the CONMEBOL and UEFA representatives receiving byes to the semi-finals. A new trophy was introduced. The draw for the 2005 edition of the competition took place on 30 July 2005 at The Westin Tokyo.[80] In the final, one goal from Mineiro was enough for São Paulo to defeat English club Liverpool;[81][82]

Internacional defeated defending world and South American champions São Paulo in the 2006 Copa Libertadores finals in order to qualify for the 2006 tournament,[83] which they won with a late goal from Adriano Gabiru to defeat Barcelona in the final[84] It was in 2007 when Brazilian hegemony was finally broken, when Milan defeated Boca Juniors 4–2 in a final that saw players on both sides sent off: Milan's Kakha Kaladze in the 77th minute, and 11 minutes later, Boca Juniors' Pablo Ledesma.[85] The following year, Manchester United saw off Ecuadorian club LDU Quito 1–0 to become world champions in 2008.[86]

The United Arab Emirates applied, with success, for the right to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2010.[87] Barcelona dethroned world and European champions Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final to qualify for that year's Club World Cup.[88] After a close final encounter, which saw the need for extra-time, Lionel Messi scored from a header to snatch victory for Barcelona and complete an unprecedented sextuple.[89][90][91][92][93] The 2010 tournament saw the first team from outside Europe or South America side to reach the final: DR Congo's TP Mazembe defeated Brazil's Internacional 2–0 in the semi-final to face Internazionale, who had beaten South Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3–0.[94][95] Internazionale would go on to beat Mazembe with the same scoreline to complete their quintuple.[96][97]

The FIFA Club World Cup returned to Japan for the 2011 and 2012 edition.[98] In 2011, Barcelona comfortably won their semi-final match 4–0 against Qatari club Al Sadd.[99] In the final, Barcelona would repeat their performance against Santos; this is, to date, the largest winning margin in the final of the competition.[100] Messi also became the first player to score in two different Club World Cup finals.[101] The 2012 edition saw Europe's dominance come to an end as Corinthians, boasting over 30,000 travelling fans which was dubbed the "Invasão da Fiel", travelled to Japan to join Barcelona in being two-time winners of the competition.[102][103] In the semi-finals, Al-Ahly managed to keep the scoreline close as Corinthians' Paolo Guerrero scored to send the Timão into their second final.[104] Guerrero would once again come through for Corinthians as the Timão saw off English side Chelsea 1–0 in order to bring the trophy back to Brazil.[105][106]

2013 and 2014 had the Club World Cup moving to Morocco. The first edition saw a Cinderella run of host team Raja Casablanca, who had to start in the play-off round and became the second African team to reach the final, after defeating Brazil's Atlético Mineiro in the semi-final.[107] Like Mazembe, Raja also lost to the European champion, this time a 2–0 defeat to Bayern Munich.[108] 2014 again had a decision between South America and Europe, and Real Madrid beat San Lorenzo 2–0.[109]

The 2015 and 2016 editions once again saw Japan as hosts for the 7th and 8th time respectively in the 12th and 13th editions of the FIFA Club World Cup. The 2015 Edition saw a Final between River Plate and FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona lifted their 3rd FIFA Club World Cup, with Suarez scoring two goals and Lionel Messi scoring one goal in the Final. One notable thing that occurred in the 2015 tournament was that Sanfrecce Hiroshima made it to third place, the farthest ever achieved by a Japanese club. This record would not last though, as the 2016 edition saw J1 League winners Kashima Antlers making it to the Final (outscoring rivals 7-1), against Real Madrid. A Gaku Shibasaki inspired Kashima attempted to win their first FIFA Club World Cup (a feat never done by a host club or any club outside of Europe and South America), but were denied by Real Madrid, who won 4-2 in extra time, thanks to a hat-trick by Cristiano Ronaldo. The victory saw Real Madrid win their 2nd FIFA Club World Cup, and their 5th International title (counting the three Intercontinental Cups Real Madrid had won prior to 2014).

Barcelona hold the record for most victories, winning the competition three times. Corinthians' inaugural victory remains the best result from a host nation's national league champions. Teams from Spain have won the tournament five times, the most for any nation.[110]

Africa's best representatives are TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Moroccan club Raja Casablanca both finishing in second place in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Kashima Antlers is Asia's best representative, finishing second in the 2016 edition. They remain the only clubs from outside Europe and South America to play in the final.

Mexican clubs Necaxa and Monterrey, as well as Costa Rica's Saprissa, have each earned third place, North America's best results. Auckland City has earned third place and is the only OFC team to reach the semi-finals.

This table shows the leagues whose representatives have finished in the top four at least once at the FIFA Club World Cup:

As of 2012, most teams qualify to the FIFA Club World by winning their continental competitions, be it the Asian AFC Champions League, African CAF Champions League, North American CONCACAF Champions League, South American Copa Libertadores, Oceanian OFC Champions League or European UEFA Champions League. Aside from these, the host nation's national league champions qualify as well.[145]

The maiden edition of this competition was separated into two rounds. The eight participants were split into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group met in the final while the runners-up played for third place. The competition changed its format during the 2005 relaunch into a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shoot-outs used to decide the winner if necessary. It featured six clubs competing over a two-week period.There were three stages: the quarter-final round, the semi-final round and the final. The quarter-final stage pitted the Oceanian Champions League winners, the African Champions League winners, the Asian Champions League winners and the North American Champions League winners against each other. Afterwards, the winners of those games would go on to the semi-finals to play the European Champions League winners and South America's Copa Libertadores winners. The victors of each semi-final would play go on to play in the final.[145]

With the introduction of the current format, which now has a fifth place match and a place for the host nation's national league champions, the format slightly changed. There are now four stages: the play-off round, the quarter-final round, the semi-final round and the final. The first stage pits the host nation's national league champions against the Oceanian Champions League winners. The winner of that stage would go on the quarter-finals to join the African Champions League winners, the AFC Champions League winners and the CONCACAF Champions League winners. The winners of those games would go on to the semi-finals to play the UEFA Champions League winners and South America's Copa Libertadores winners. The winners of each semi-final play each other in the final.[145]

The trophy used during the inaugural competition was called the FIFA Club World Championship Cup. The original laurel was created by Sawaya & Moroni, an Italian designer company that produces contemporary designs with cultural backgrounds and design concepts. The designing firm is based in Milan. The fully silver-coloured trophy had a weight of 4 kg (8.8 lb) and a height of 37.5 cm (14.8 in). Its base and widest points are 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The trophy had a base of two pedestals which had four rectangular pillars. Two of the four pillars had inscriptions on them; one contained the phrase, "FIFA Club World Championship" imprinted across. The other had the letters "FIFA" inscribed on it. On top, a football based on the 1998 FIFA World Cup ball, the Adidas Tricolore, can be seen. The production costs of the laurel was US$25,000. It was presented for the first time at Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in Rio de Janeiro on 4 January 2000.[146][147][148][149]

The tournament, in its present format, shares its name with the current trophy, also called the FIFA Club World Cup or simply la Copa, which is awarded to the FIFA Club World Cup winner. It was unveiled at Tokyo on 30 July 2005 during the draw of that year's edition of the competition. The laurel was designed in 2005 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, at Thomas Fattorini Ltd, by English designer Jane Powell, alongside her assistant Dawn Forbes, at the behest of FIFA. The gold-and-silver-coloured trophy, weighing 5.2 kg (11 lb), has a height of 50 cm (20 in). Its base and widest points are also measured at exactly 20 cm (7.9 in). It is made out of a combination of brass, copper, sterling silver, gilding metal, aluminium, chrome and rhodium. The trophy itself is gold plated.[80][147]

The design, according to FIFA, shows six staggered pillars, representing the six participating teams from the respective six confederations, and one separate metal structure referencing the winner of the competition. They hold up a globe in the shape of a football â€“ a consistent feature amongst almost all of FIFA's event trophies. The graceful curves and inherent strength of the trophy evoke the balletic and athletic qualities necessary to successfully compete in the FIFA Club World Cup and the tension and movement describe the competitive energy amongst the participants. The golden pedestal has the phrase, "FIFA Club World Cup", imprinted at the bottom.[147]

At the end of each Club World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament. There are currently four awards:[150]

The winners of the competition also receive the FIFA Club World Cup Champions Badge; it features an image of the trophy, which the reigning champion is entitled to display on its kit until the final of the next championship. The first edition of the badge was presented to Milan, the winners of the 2007 final.[151] All four previous champions were allowed to wear the badge until the 2008 final, where Manchester United gained the sole right to wear the badge by winning the trophy.[152]

Each tournament's top three teams receives a set of gold, silver or bronze medals to distribute to their players.[150]

The 2000 FIFA Club World Championship was the inaugural edition of this competition; it provided US$28 million in prize money for its participants. The prize money received by the clubs participating was divided into fixed payments based on participation and results. Clubs finishing the tournament from fifth to eighth place received US$2.5 million. The club who would eventually finish in fourth place received US$3 million while the third-place team received US$4 million. The runner-up earned US$5 million while the eventual champions would gain US$6 million.[153]

The relaunch of the tournament in 2005 FIFA Club World Championship saw different amounts of prize money given and some changes in the criteria of receiving certain amounts. The total amount of prize money given dropped to US$16 million. The winners received US$5 million and the runners-up US$4 million, with $2.5 million for third place, US$2 million for fourth, US$1.5 million for fifth and US$1 million for sixth.[154][154]

For the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, a play-off match between the OFC champions and the host-nation champions for entry into the quarter-final stage was introduced in order to increase home interest in the tournament. The reintroduction of the match for fifth place for the 2008 competition also prompted an increase in prize money by US$500,000 to a total of US$16.5Â million.[155]

Like the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations. Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan, was the Presenting Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup until its sponsorship agreement expired at the end of December 2014 and was not renewed.[156] Because Toyota was an automobile manufacturer and the main sponsor of the tournament, Hyundai-Kia's status as a FIFA partner was not active with respect to the Club World Cup prior to 2015. However, the other FIFA partners – Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Visa – retained full sponsorship rights. From 2015 to 2022, the tournament will be presented by Alibaba E-Auto.[157]

The inaugural competition had six event sponsors: Fujifilm, Hyundai, JVC, McDonald's, Budweiser, and MasterCard.[66][158][159]

Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising, even if such sponsors conflict with those of the FIFA Club World Cup. However, only one main sponsor is permitted per jersey in addition to that of the kit manufacturer.[145]

The tournament's current event sponsors and brands advertised (in italic) are:[159]

Seven players have won the FIFA Club World Cup on three occasions: Dani Alves,[160] Sergio Busquets,[161] Andrés Iniesta,[162] Lionel Messi,[101] Gerard Piqué,[163] Cristiano Ronaldo[164] and Toni Kroos.[165]

César Delgado, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez hold the record of being the overall top goalscorers in FIFA Club World Cup history with five goals.[166] Denilson and Mohamed Aboutrika share fifth place with four goals each.[101][167][168]

Wael Gomaa is the player with most appearances in the competition with eleven matches, followed by Xavi, ValdÃ©s and Puyol playing six matches each.[162][169][170][171]

Barcelona claims the record with the most wins (7).[110] Corinthians, Necaxa, Real Madrid and Kashiwa Reysol have the most draws (2), while Al Ahly have the record of the most losses (7).[110] Barcelona also possess the record for most goals scored in the competition (23), while Al Ahly claim the record of most goals conceded (15).[110] Barcelona also has the best goal difference in the competition (+20).[110]

Pep Guardiola is the only head coach to win three FIFA Club World Cups.[110]

As of the end of the 2016 tournament, Auckland City FC has played the most games with 14 in eight different tournaments. Barcelona holds the record for scoring the most goals, playing eight games in four different editions and scoring 23 goals.[110]

Since its inception in 2000, the competition, despite its name and the contestants' achievements, has received differing reception. In most of Europe it struggles to find broad media attention compared to the UEFA Champions League and commonly lacks recognition as a high-ranking contest.[172][173] In South America, however, it is widely considered the highest point in the career of a footballer, coach and/or team at international club level.[174][175]

The competition is also criticized, mainly by the European press and fans among others, by its competition format, which widely favours the UEFA and CONMEBOL teams, since their contestants start in the semi-final round and can only play between them in the final match. It is also criticized for its poor organisation, the poor reception among the local fans for the matches not featuring any European or South American team, FIFA's decision to select the competition's host based on economic deals and not on their footballing merit at the international stage like Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, and the poor economic benefits for the winning team, regarded as inferior than any Super Cup prizes.[176][177]

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who is the strongest man that ever lived

Louis Cyr (French pronunciation: [lwi siʁ]; born Cyprien-Noé Cyr, 10 October 1864 – 10 November 1912) was a French Canadian strongman with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His recorded feats, including lifting 500 pounds (227 kg) with one finger and backlifting 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg), show Cyr to be, according to former International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness chairman Ben Weider, the strongest man ever to have lived.

Louis Cyr

Cyr was born in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, Quebec, Canada. Coming from a robust French-Canadian family, he began developing extraordinary strength at an early age. While Louis' father was of average proportions, his mother was almost Amazonian, recorded as weighing 265 lb at 6' 1". She in turn had a father of 6' 4" and 260 lb. From the age of 12 Cyr worked in a lumber camp during the winters and on the family’s farm the rest of the year. Discovering his exceptional strength at a very young age, he impressed his fellow workers with his feats of strength. After learning of the tale, Cyr attempted to mimic the practice of legendary strongman Milo of Croton, who as a child carried a calf on his shoulders, continuing to carry it as it grew into a full-grown bull and he into a grown man. Cyr's calf, however, bolted one day, kicking him in his back, after which he instead began carrying a sack of grain 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) every day, adding 2 pounds (0.91 kg) each day. According to one of his biographers, his mother decided “he should let his hair grow, like Samson in the Bible.” She curled it regularly.[1]

Louis started his strong man career at the age of 17, after some publicity came about due to an incident when the young Louis was reported to have lifted a farmer's heavily laden wagon out of the mire in which it had become stuck. He was matched in a contest against Michaud of Quebec, who was recognized as Canada's strongest man of the time. Cyr beat him in tests of lifting of heavy stones by hoisting a granite boulder weighing 480 lb (220 kg).

In 1878 the Cyr family immigrated to Lowell, Massachusetts in the United States. In Lowell Cyr changed his name from Cyprien-Noé to Louis, as it was easier to pronounce in English. Again his great strength brought him fame. At 17 years old he weighed 230 pounds (104 kg). He entered his first strongman contest in Boston at age 18, lifting a horse off the ground; the fully grown male horse was placed on a platform with 2 iron bars attached enabling Cyr to obtain a better grip. The horse weighed at least 3⁄4 short ton (0.68 t).[1]

In 1884 Louis married Melina (nÃ©e Courtois) while Louis worked as a logger. The following year he and his wife returned to Lowell, hoping to capitalize on his fame there. A tour of the Maritimes was organized, and while it may have benefited the organizer, Cyr gained no profit financially. He then began touring Quebec with his family in a show they called "The Troupe Cyr".

Soon proving his immense strength, he was urged by friends to enter the exciting, albeit highly precarious world of professional strong men, lifting mainly crude solid or shot filled weights.

From 1883 to 1885, Cyr served as a police officer in Montreal, Quebec. Following this he went on tour with a troupe that included a wrestler, a boxer, and a weightlifter. He entered a strongman competition in March 1886, at Quebec City, against the reigning Canadian strongman, David Michaud. Cyr lifted a 218-pound (99 kg) barbell with one hand (to Michaud’s 158 pounds or 72 kg) and a weight of 2,371 pounds (1,075 kg) on his back, to his opponent’s 2,071 pounds (939 kg) to win the title of strongest man in the country.[1]

With little reward at this early foray into professional weightlifting, Louis was forced to seek other employment, fate taking a hand in his decision when he apparently stepped into, and broke up, by sheer physical force, a dangerous knife fight. Accounts of the day recall how Cyr disarmed and subdued the combatants and then made a citizens arrest, carrying both miscreants, one under each arm, to the local police station. With this superb reference, Louis joined the police, becoming for several years a genuine police officer.

Prudent with his earnings, Louis left the Police Force and purchased a tavern/restaurant in St. CunÃ©gonde, where he also featured a gymnasium which like many such places in its day became a Mecca for strength athletes and fighters. Cyr was well acquainted with the famous John L. Sullivan, being one of the few to defy Sullivan's commands to drink when he drank. Sullivan was known as The Boston Strong Boy and was very powerful, but not in Cyr's class. Cyr, happy in his own environment, beat all comers when challenged to perform.

Louis Cyr's exploits had been well publicized in the 'Pink Un' (the paper was actually pink, although the contents were often 'blue') or Police Gazette published by Richard K. Fox, the famed proprietor and promoter of other strength athletes, e.g. Travis, Sandow etc. Fox offered a side bet of $5,000 to anyone who could beat Cyr at any of his strength feats. Promoted by Fox, Louis went on tour circa 1885â€“1891 beating, amongst others: Sebastian Miller, Bienkowski, or Cyclops (who could genuinely bend coins), August Johnson, and Richard Pennell, plus continually challenging, without success, Eugen Sandow, with a genuinely diamond studded belt to be awarded to the winner, should such an event ever take place. It never did. Sandow was an astute showman, but no fool, and avoided any such challenges throughout his esteemed career after early mistakes, like the time he was beaten by McCann.

There was no doubt that Cyr was an unusual man regarding size and measurements, the latter often causing debate. Although Dr. Dudley A. Sargent, famous Harvard University physical director recorded measuring Louis Cyr in 1895 when Cyr was 32 years old and weighed 291 lb (132 kg). Sargent listed Cyr's height as 5'8.5". Other measurements, most on the conservative side as compared to other biographers, were neck - 20 inches (51 cm), biceps - 20 inches (51 cm), forearms - 16.3 inches (41 cm), wrists - 8.2 inches (21 cm), chest (normal) - 55.2 inches (140 cm), chest expanded - 60 inches (150 cm), waist - 47.4 inches (120 cm), hips - 48.1 inches (122 cm), thighs - 28.5 inches (72 cm), knees - 17", and calves - 19.3 inches (49 cm), far short of the quoted 28", but perhaps a possible 23" later when of higher body weight. Ankle 10.3 inches (26 cm) and Shoulder width with calipers.... across the deltoids 25.6 inches (65 cm). The above details were just one set of figures relating to Cyr's size, others being recorded by Willoughby when for example Cyr was 47 years old (in 1910) gave him calf 23", neck 22 3/4", biceps 21 1/2". chest normal 59 1/2" and thighs 33" with other parts to match the increase in weight, being at the time a heavier 365 lbs. Ben Weider, who was privileged to access family archives, was even more generous giving arm size 24 inches (61 cm), forearms 19 inches (48 cm), and calves, the disputed 28 inches (71 cm), following a similar line to Jowett.

While several of Cyr's feats of strength may have been exaggerated over the years, some were documented and remain impressive. These included:

Perhaps his greatest feat occurred in 1895, when he was reported to have lifted 4,337 pounds (1,967Â kg) on his back in Boston by putting 18 men on a platform and lifting them.[4] One of his most memorable displays of strength occurred in Montreal on 12 October 1891. Louis resisted the pull of four draught horses (two in each hand) as grooms stood cracking their whips to get the horses to pull harder, a feat he again demonstrated in Ottawa with Queen Victoria's team of draught horses during her 'Royal' visit.[citation needed] While in Ottawa he volunteered with the police when they took deputees to round up a local gang of miscreants; they turned him away claiming he would be too slow due to his bulk. He challenged the regular officers to a foot race, beating the majority, and they took him on.[1]

He patrolled as a police officer between 1883–1885 in Sainte-Cunégonde, known now as Petite-Bourgogne (Little Burgundy) in Montreal. Both the Parc Louis-Cyr and the Place des Hommes-Forts ("Strongmen's Square") are named after him. Statues of him are located at Place des Hommes-Forts and the Musée de la Civilisation in Quebec City. The highschool in his hometown of Napierville is also named after him.

Through no fault of his own, many of Cyr's lifts, like his measurements, have been exaggerated or misquoted. In particular, his celebrated back lift done in Boston, of 18 men on a platform, is usually generously estimated at 4,300 lb, which allowing for a very heavy platform of at most 500 lb, meant that each man on average would have weighed approximately 211 lb.

Cyr was also credited with side pressing 273.75 lb (124.17 kg) with one arm (the right), a lift witnessed by Britain's great champion Tom Pevier, who described it more like a 'Jerk Press.' The dumbbell, a huge thick handled one, was lifted to the shoulders with two hands, before the single-handed overhead move. Cyr's dumbbells were often so unwieldy that many respectable strongmen[who?] were unable to lift them off the floor, let alone lift them over head.

One particular dumbbell of Cyr's weighed, when empty, 202 lb (92 kg). it being the same bell that had defeated a drove of former strength athletes, was exchanged by its owner, 280 lb. police chief Joseph Moquin of Quebec (who could and did bent press the weight) for a modern set of York weights, thus it came into the possession of the late Bob Hoffman and Mike Dietz. According to Strength & Health magazine, Hoffman, after several attempts, was able to bent press it, as did the much lighter 150 lb. Sig Klein, John Grimek later also bent pressed it, half a dozen times or so one afternoon, when the weight was increased to 269.5 lb, by adding, as it happened, the lead type from Mark Berrys' classic tome Physical Training Simplified. Hence the reason the book was never reprinted.

Cyr was a big man in all ways, both heart and size, being a great trencherman, eating more than four normal men. Up to 6 lb of meat at one meal...a genuine gourmand, increasing weight enormously in his later years. His lightest bodyweight was when he competed against August Johnson, then just 270 lb, although his normal contest condition was nearer 320 lb. Cyr's wife, Melina, by contrast, never weighed more than 100 lb.

In 1886 Cyr met and defeated Richard Pennell, then Pennell being 40, and Louis just 23. In 1888 on 1 October at Berthierville, Quebec, he lifted 3,536 lb/1, 604 kg of pig iron for his first record in the back lift.

On 1 December 1891 at Sohmer Park in Montreal, before some 10,000 people Cyr resisted the pull of four draught horses, two each side, pulling away at his clenched hands, regardless of grooms cracking their whips to encourage the horses to pull harder and strain their haunches.

In January 1892 Cyr embarked in England with partner Horace Barre, resulting in arousing much interest and curiosity at his London debut at the Royal Aquarium, with 5,000 people packing the theater to watch Cyr's act and witness his open challenge to the wide world of strongmen, many celebrities of which were in the audience, with a side wager of £1,000 (Equivalent to about £98,070.00 as of 2015). It was on this historical occasion, on 19 January 1892 that Cyr pressed the pre-mentioned 273.75 lb. dumbbell. Many years later Doc Aumont, son-in-law of Louis, loaned Cyr's famous dumbbell to the Weider's Your Physique office in Montreal for a month, during which time over 500 people tried and failed to lift the weight.

During his first London show, many other feats followed, all exceeding contemporary records, culminating in the famous Backlift. Placing a number of men upon a heavy platform resting across two trestles, Louis ducked beneath the platform, placed his back below the center, and raised both the contraption and the passengers clear off the trestles. Weight on this occasion was estimated at 3,635Â lb. Traveling extensively throughout the UK he also visited Scotland, raising and carrying for a distance one of the famed Dinnie stones. Cyr was very popular in Britain, being feted by celebrities and Royalty alike, including the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria.

After returning to the U.S.A. on 27 May, Cyr did his best back lift in Boston, with over 4,000Â lb estimated. Consisting of 18 'bulky' men.

During his most active period, circa 1896, on March 31 he did a clean and jerk (the clean is a misnomer) of 347Â lb, then a World record, without science or skill, little if any dipping.

Reputable witness Oscar Mathes said the lift was closer to a straight-legged press. Cyr did a one-handed deadlift with a dumbbell weighing 525 lb (238 kg), made harder by the fact that the bar was 1.5 inches thick. On 7 and 8 May 1896, he performed a crucifix with 97.25 lb (44.11 kg) in his right hand, and 88 lb (40 kg) in his left. Some authors often credit him with holding out with one arm.- 131.25 lb (59.53 kg). He also dumbbell pressed 162 lb for 36 reps, did a one finger lift, first with 552 lb and the next day made it 553 lb (251 kg). Lifted via one hand, style not specified, but most suspect[who?] using hand and thigh method, 987 lb (448 kg). plus again, using hand and thigh, 1,897.25 lb (860.58 kg).

For years Louis pictured himself as a modern Biblical Samson with tresses to match. In the folds of his long hair he would tie three fifty pound weights, one on each side, and one in the center, with the three weights dangling from his scalp, he would also spin around, swirling the weights around his head. By co-incidence on his visit to Britain, the top of the pops was a ditty entitled 'Get Your Hair Cut'...Louis must have taken the hint, as afterwards he always sported short hair.

More power of the arm and shoulder was demonstrated by his stunt of stacking four fifty pound weights one on top of the other on his half flexed arm, balancing them whilst walking across the room.

Cyr learned boxing and wrestling for a match. While in Montréal, Que., 25 March 1901, Louis Cyr wrestled Édouard Beaupré, who was known as a giant man. Cyr's height was measured at 5 feet 8.5 inches (1.740 metres) and he weighed 365 pounds (166 kilograms). Beaupré's height was measured at 7 feet 8.1 inches (2.339 metres) and he weighed 365 pounds (166 kilograms). Cyr won.

By 1904 Cyr's health began to fail due to excessive eating and inactivity. At the time, he weighed 400 pounds (180Â kg). He slimmed down as best he could for his last contest of strength, with Hector De Carrie. Cyr retained his title and retired unvanquished.

Cyr died on November 10, 1912, in Montreal, of chronic nephritis and was interred at St-Jean-De-Matha. Great homage was paid by all of Canada, with immense crowds attending the funeral and floral tributes coming from all over the world.

He was portrayed by Antoine Bertrand in the 2013 biographical film Louis Cyr, l'homme le plus fort du monde.

As shown in movie Louis Cyr


which terminal is southwest at san jose airport

The terminal has 2 international arrival gates: Gates 17 and 18. All arrivals from international flights at the airport must clear customs and immigration from the International Arrivals building (except for flights from airports with US border preclearance). Gates 17–23 of the new concourse were opened to the public on July 15, 2009. During this time, check-in, security, and baggage claim were all in Terminal A. Gates 24–28 were opened on June 30, 2010, along with Terminal B's own pre-security facilities. Southwest Airlines is the primary tenant, along with Alaska Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Lufthansa, and British Airways. In 2017, the airport added 2 gates, Gates 29 and 30, at the south end of the terminal. Due to the airport's growth in recent years, four temporary gates will be added to the south end of the terminal. Set to open by July 2019, each gate will be able to accommodate a Boeing 737-sized aircraft. Four gates, 31–34, hold room space for 400 passengers, and additional concessions will also be part of the $50 million project.[61]

San Jose International Airport

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport[1] (IATA: SJC, ICAO: KSJC, FAA LID: SJC) is a city-owned public airport in San Jose, California, United States. It is named after San Jose native Norman Mineta, former Transportation Secretary in the Cabinet of George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary in the Cabinet of Bill Clinton. The name also recognizes Mineta's service as a councilman for, and mayor of, San Jose. It is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection international port of entry.[4] It is situated three miles northwest of Downtown San Jose[2][5] near the intersections of U.S. Route 101, Interstate 880, and State Route 87. In 2017, 49% of departing or arriving passengers at SJC flew on Southwest Airlines; Alaska Airlines, for which SJC is also a focus city, was second most popular with about 12.3% of passengers.[6]

Despite San Jose being the largest city in the Bay Area, SJC is the smallest of the three Bay Area commercial airports in terms of total passengers. SJC served 12.5 million passengers in 2017.

SJC is located near downtown San Jose (less than 4 miles (6.4 km) from the city center and easily within city limits), unlike SFO and OAK, which are on opposite shores of San Francisco Bay and around 14 miles (23 km) and 10 miles (16 km) from their respective downtowns. Although the location near downtown San Jose is convenient, drawbacks include SJC being surrounded by the city and therefore having little room for expansion.  The proximity to downtown also limits the maximum height of buildings in downtown San Jose, in order to comply with FAA clearance rules.[7][8][dead link][9]

In 1939, Ernie Renzel, a wholesale grocer and future mayor of San Jose, led a group which negotiated an option to buy 483 acres (195 ha) of the Stockton Ranch from the Crocker family, to be the site of San Jose's airport. Renzel led the effort to pass a bond measure to pay for the land in 1940. In 1945, test pilot James M. Nissen leased about 16 acres (6.5 ha) of this land to build a runway, hangar, and office building for a flight school. When the city of San Jose decided to develop a municipal airport, Nissen sold his share of the aviation business and became San Jose's first airport manager. Renzel and Nissen were instrumental in the development of San Jose Municipal Airport over the next few decades, culminating with the 1965 opening of what later became Terminal C.[10][11]

The runway which became 12R/30L was 4,500 feet (1,400 m) until about 1962—Brokaw Rd was the northwest boundary of the airport. In 1964 it was 6,312 feet (1,924 m), in 1965 it was 7,787 feet (2,373 m), and a few years later it reached 8,900 feet (2,700 m), where it stayed until around 1991. The two runways are now both 11,000 feet (3,400 m) in length.[citation needed]

In the early 1980s, San Jose International Airport (KSJC/SJC) was one of the first U.S airports to participate in the noise regulation program enacted by the U.S. Congress for delineation of airport noise contours and developing a pilot study of residential sound insulation. This program showed that residences near the airport could be retrofitted cost-effectively to reduce indoor aircraft noise substantially.[12]

In 1990, San Jose International Airport greatly expanded with the opening of Terminal A. Terminal B between Terminals A and C was planned for later.[citation needed]

In November 2001, the airport was renamed after Norman Y. Mineta, a native of San Jose, its former mayor and congressman, as well as both a former United States Secretary of Commerce and a United States Secretary of Transportation.[13]

In November 2001, San Jose City Council approved an amended master plan for the airport that called for a three-phase, nine-year expansion plan.[14] The plan, designed by Gensler and The Steinberg Group, called for a single, consolidated "Central Terminal" with 40 gates (twelve more than present), an international concourse and expanded security areas. The sail-shaped facade would greet up to 17.6 million passengers a year. A people mover system would link the new terminal with VTA light rail and the planned BART station next to the Santa Clara Caltrain station. Cargo facilities would be moved to the east side of the airport. A long term parking garage would be built where the rental car operations are now. A short term parking lot would be built on the site of Terminal C.

On December 16, 2003, the San Jose Airport Commission named the airfield after former mayor Ernie Renzel and named the future Central Terminal after James Nissen.[15] In August 2004, the city broke ground on the North Concourse, the first phase of the master plan.

In November 2005, a scaled-back plan was approved and announced.[16][17] The new two-phase plan called for a simplified Terminal B, rather than the initially proposed James Nissen Central Terminal, with a North Concourse to replace the aging Terminal C. In addition, Terminal A would be expanded for additional check-in counters, security checkpoints, and drop-off/pick-up curbside space. The new plan cost $1.3 billion, less than half of the original plan's cost of $3 billion. The first phase was completed on June 30, 2010, when Terminal B and the North Concourse officially opened for service.[18][19] Planning for Phase II began in early 2018, with 9 additional gates to be added along with a new concourse extension at the south end of Terminal B.[20]

San Jose's first airline flights were Southwest Airways Douglas DC-3s on the multistop run between San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX), starting in 1948. Southwest then changed its name to Pacific Air Lines which in turn was the only airline serving the airport until 1966, when Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) started flying Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops nonstop from LAX with this air carrier then adding Boeing 727-100 jetliner flights later that year. SJC's first airline jets were Pacific Air Lines Boeing 727â€“100 nonstops to LAX earlier in 1966 with the air carrier also operating 727 nonstops to Las Vegas in 1967.[21]  Pacific, which also served the airport with Fairchild F-27 turboprops, then merged with Bonanza Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West which was subsequently renamed Hughes Airwest which in turn continued to serve SJC with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets before it was acquired by and merged into Republic Airlines (1979-1986).  In 1968 United Airlines arrived, with Boeing 727 nonstop flights from Denver, Chicago and LAX, and Douglas DC-8 jets from New York and Baltimore.

American Airlines opened a hub at San Jose in 1988, using slots it obtained in the buyout of AirCal (formerly Air California) in 1986. Reno Air, a startup based in Reno, Nevada, took over many of American's gates until it was bought out by American in 1998. By summer 2001, American served Paris, Taipei and Tokyo nonstop from San Jose and had domestic flights to Austin, Boston, Denver, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Maui, Orange County, Portland, Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle.[22]

After the September 11 attacks and the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, the city lost several flights. Air Canada dropped its flights to Toronto and Ottawa, Canada, and American Airlines ended its nonstops to Taipei, Vancouver, and Paris. American also dropped its flights to Miami, St. Louis, Seattle/Tacoma, Portland (OR), Denver, Orange County, CA and Phoenix; the airline's flights to Los Angeles were downgraded to American Eagle regional flights.

Reduction at SJC continued throughout 2004. Alaska Airlines halted its San Jose–Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas seasonal routes, Horizon Air ended its twice daily San Jose–Tucson service. and American Airlines ended its San Jose–San Luis Obispo and San Jose–Boston Logan links.

In October 2005, Hawaiian Airlines began daily nonstops to Honolulu. San Jose was Hawaiian's fifth city in California, along with San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco.[23][24] In October 2006 American Airlines ended the San Jose–Tokyo–Narita route, San Jose's last nonstop beyond North America and Hawaii.

SJC suffered with many mid-tier airports during the 2008 rise in oil prices as airlines reduced marginal services. SJC lost much of its transcontinental U.S. service in the fall with Continental ending Newark flights, JetBlue ending Boston nonstops, and United ending flights to its Chicago–O'Hare and Washington Dulles hubs.[2] The New York Times reported that between 2007 and 2009, SJC lost 22% of its seat capacity.[25]

In the summer of 2009 American Airlines ended flights to Austin, Texas. Alaska Airlines announced it would begin new routes to Austin from SJC and would upgrade some service to Portland, Oregon, which was run by regional subsidiary Horizon Air, to jet flights that began on September 2, 2009.

Frontier Airlines pulled out of SJC in May 2010, citing lack of profitability on its single flight from the airport to Denver, Colorado.  In August 2010, Mexicana Airlines also suspended all flights permanently due to bankruptcy.[26]

Beginning in 2010, service expanded at SJC for the first time in several years. JetBlue Airways resumed San Jose/Boston, although it ended service to Long Beach on the same day. Volaris began service in May 2010 with flights to Guadalajara, Mexico. In August, Southwest Airlines announced it would begin nonstops to Austin, Texas. Alaska Airlines added service to Kahului, Kona, Lihue, and Los Cabos/San José del Cabo.[27] The airline also doubled its flights to several cities on its regional subsidiary, Horizon Air and added service to Guadalajara, which began on December 15, 2010.

In September 2011, Hawaiian Airlines announced that it would begin service to Maui on January 10, 2012.[28] Soon after, Alaska Airlines announced that it would upgrade its service to Kahului to daily.[29] In December, All Nippon Airways announced it would begin service between San Jose and Tokyo in 2012, restoring the link between the two cities that was lost when American Airlines ended service on the route in 2006. The airline uses the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, making San Jose one of the first cities in the United States to see scheduled 787 flights.[30] Due to delivery delays of its 787 aircraft, the airline postponed the launch of the route to early 2013.[31] The airline launched service to Tokyo on January 11, 2013. The 787 fleet was grounded after its inaugural flight due to mechanical errors.[32][33] Service to Tokyo resumed on June 1, 2013.[34]

On February 4, 2013, Virgin America announced it would begin service from San Jose to Los Angeles International Airport on May 1, 2013, with four daily round trip flights. The airline was the only carrier with first class service on all flights to and from Los Angeles. The carrier utilized its Airbus A320 aircraft on all flights between the two airports.[35] In March 2014, Virgin America announced that the route would end on May 14, 2014, due to a decrease in demand.[36]

In 2015 and 2016, several new international flights were launched. Hainan Airlines began nonstop flights from Beijing on June 15, 2015.[37] British Airways commenced a daily Boeing 787 Dreamliner service from London–Heathrow on May 4, 2016;[38] and Air Canada returned to SJC on May 9, providing flights from Vancouver operated by Air Canada Express.[39] Lufthansa connected SJC and Frankfurt on July 1, with flights operated by Lufthansa CityLine Airbus A340-300 aircraft.[40] Air China introduced Shanghai–Pudong flights on September 1 with an Airbus A330-200.[41]

In the wake of the acquisition of Virgin America, Alaska Airlines grew rapidly at Mineta Airport as well as San Francisco International Airport between 2015 and 2018. In June 2015 it announced service to Eugene with regional partner Horizon which began the following November. It also announced in February 2016 that it would launch service to Orange County and San Diego, via SkyWest. Alaska has called SJC a focus city in several articles when announcing new destinations from San Jose.[42][43]

After slot controls were loosened[44] at Newark in winter 2016–2017, Alaska Airlines announced a daytime flight to Newark to complement the existing red-eye flight to the New York area from JetBlue.[45]  Days later, United Airlines announced it would restart service to both Newark and Chicago–O'Hare.[46] JetBlue restarted daily services to Long Beach on January 4, 2017.[47]

In 2017, Frontier Airlines resumed service to Denver and began flights to Las Vegas.[48] Additional service to Austin, Atlanta, Cincinnati and San Antonio began in the spring of 2018.[49] On July 1, Aeromexico started a daily flight to Guadalajara, becoming the third airline on the route after Alaska and Volaris, and the eighth international airline serving SJC.[50] In June 2018, Aeromexico began service to Mexico City, marked the first time the route being operated by any airline.[51] In December, Volaris began new twice weekly service to Morelia and Zacatecas, Mexico.[52]

In spring 2018, Southwest Airlines expanded service to Albuquerque, New Orleans, Boise, Spokane, Houston-Hobby, Orlando, St. Louis, and San Jose del Cabo becoming the newest international airline to serve the airport at that time.[53] Delta Air Lines will add service to New York–JFK in June with Boeing 737–800 equipment.[54] Alaska Airlines in January announced service to Paine Field as part of its inaugural set of flights from that airport, beginning in fall 2018 once the terminal there has opened.[55] In February, Frontier announced service to Tulsa which started as well in April 2018.[56] Southwest intends for San Jose to be one of its four California gateway airports with service to Hawaii. Delta plans to begin service to Detroit in November’s 2018.

SJC's consolidated parking and rental facility, "CONRAC", was fitted with public art featuring hands of people in Silicon Valley. The art is on the outside of the facility and can be seen from more than one mile away. Artist Christian Moeller designed the new "Hands" mural.[57]

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport covers 1,050 acres (420 ha) at an elevation of 62 feet (19 m). It has two active runways: 12L/30R and 12R/30L, each 11,000 by 150 feet (3,353 m × 46 m) concrete.[note 1][2] The runway separation is less than ideal: 700 feet between centerlines.

In 2012 the airport had 134,947 aircraft operations, average 370 per day: 60% airline, 16% air taxi, 23% general aviation and <1% military. 123 aircraft were then based at the airport: 49% single-engine, 12% multi-engine, 37% jet and 2% helicopter.[2]

From 1960 to 2010 San Jose State University operated a flight-simulator facility for its aviation program in buildings at the southeast corner of the airport. The university has since moved to the Reid–Hillview Airport about 5 miles southeast.

There are two terminals at the airport, Terminal A, opened in 1990 and Terminal B, opened in 2010. The terminals are connected airside. In 2009, the gates at the airport were renumbered in preparation for the addition of Terminal B. Gate A16B at the north end became Gate 1 and Gate A1A at the south end became Gate 16.[58] The airport's first modern terminal building, Terminal C, was opened in 1965, and was closed and demolished in 2010.  Its location is now a short term parking lot.

Terminal A has 17 gates: 1â€“7, 7a, and 8â€“16.

Designed by a team of architects and engineers led by HTB, Inc., Terminal A and its adjoining parking garage were originally designed and built in 1990 for American Airlines. The overall program was led by a joint team of San Jose Airport and Public Works staff known as the "Airport Development Team". The project was awarded the Public Works Project of the Year by the California Council of Civil Engineers. It underwent extensive renovation and expansion in 2009, with larger ground-level ticketing counters, more curbside parking space, larger security checkpoints and more concessions. The renovations and expansion was designed by Curtis W. Fentress, FAIA, RIBA of Fentress Architects.

The terminal includes an international arrivals building, which contains Gates 15 and 16. All arrivals from international flights at the airport must clear customs and immigration from this building (except for flights from airports with US border preclearance). Gates 17 and 18 were converted to handle international arrivals in early 2015.

Terminal A had an Admirals Club across from Gate 8 for American Airlines passengers; however, the club closed in September 2010, with the airline citing rising costs and cutbacks in its flight schedule at San Jose for the club's closure. Terminal A now has a paid entry lounge called The Club at SJC near the international gates where passengers can wait for their flights and have access to snacks and beverages.[59]

Terminal B has 14 gates: 17â€“30.
The concourse was designed by Gensler while the Terminal itself was designed by Fentress Architects. Construction management was provided by Hensel Phelps Construction Co. The terminal officially opened on June 30, 2010. Its design features dramatic daylit spaces, modern art, shared use ticket counters/gates, and chairs with power cords and USB ports on the armrests to charge laptops or handheld devices.

The terminal earned a LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2010 in recognition of the airport's significant commitment to environmentally sustainable design and construction.[60]

This terminal was built in 1965, before jet bridges (elevated corridors that connect planes to the terminal) became common at airports. Instead of using jet bridges, Terminal C mostly used airstairs. Some airlines, including Alaska Airlines[62] and SkyWest Airlines, used turboway ramps. In preparation for construction of Terminal B, the north end of Terminal C was closed for demolition in December 2007. This part of the terminal was home to gates C14â€“C16, which housed Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and Frontier Airlines. The remaining portion of the terminal was reconfigured, including the addition of a new, larger, consolidated security checkpoint. The demolition of the north end occurred in February 2008, clearing the way for construction of Terminal B.[63]

In December 2009, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and JetBlue Airways moved to new or reconstructed gates in Terminal A, as the area within Terminal C containing the three airlines' gates was demolished. Other airlines operating at that time within Terminal C remained there until the North Concourse of Terminal B opened in June 2010. The Terminal C baggage claim was closed for demolition on February 2, 2010. This allowed for completion of the airport's new roadways. The terminal was officially closed on June 30, 2010.[63] The remaining portions of the terminal were torn down in July 2010 and the space the terminal occupied now serves as a surface parking lot.

1. ^  Route was not operated for the full year

Private and corporate aircraft are based on the opposite side of the runway from Terminals A and B, off Coleman Avenue.

The former General Aviation services were previously located, on the South end of what is now 30R and was, in fact, the place for plane spotters and photographers with the San Jose State University Aviation Department formerly located at the corner of Coleman Avenue and Airport Blvd, which was at a cost of only $1.00 per year, paid to the airport administration.

The free VTA Route 10 Airport Flyer bus connects the airport to the Santa Clara Station for Caltrain, ACE commuter rail services, Amtrak, as well as numerous local buses; and to the Metro/Airport Light Rail Station for VTA's light rail service.

The airport is served by various Ridesharing and taxi companies, and is accessible from highways Interstate 880, and US 101 via State Route 87.[96]  There are six parking lots, including Economy Lot 1, Hourly Lots 2, 3, and 5 and Daily Lots 4 and 6. Rental car operations are located at the multi-story CONRAC garage across from Terminal B.[97] A free cellphone waiting area exists across State Route 87 from the airport.[98] Inter-terminal and Economy parking lot busing is provided by the airport at no charge.

The Silicon Valley BART extension is planned to have its terminus at an expansion of the existing Santa Clara train station, where it will serve SJC.