 A number of requests for validation of the Copa Rio as an officially recognized world champion-crowning tournament have been made to FIFA, primarily by 1951 Copa Rio winners Palmeiras and the Brazilian press.The Fluminense did it in 2007 but, also in this case, without success.FIFA, who have exclusive authority to determine the status of club competitions, acknowledge that the 1951 Copa Rio was the first club football competition to feature clubs from South America and Europe (thus, the first "worldwide" club competition), however they maintain that it was an unofficial friendly competition organized by a national confederation (the Brazilian Football Confederation) and not by any continental confederations (such as CONMEBOL or UEFA) or by FIFA itself.