The Soccer Hall of Fame, (known as Salón de la Fama del Fútbol in Spanish) is a football museum and FIFA's hall of fame for professional footballers from Mexico and from all over the world. It is located in Pachuca, Mexico. The Hall of Fame includes two sections: Mexican and international football. It is currently the only official FIFA-recognized hall of fame.
In 2002 five days before the start of the World Cup, FIFA announced plans to open its own FIFA Hall of Fame in Valencia, Spain, with a planned inauguration of November 2004. The hall would be built and run as a joint venture between FIFA, Spain's football federation and the municipality of Valencia. However, the museum was never built.
A year later, in 2003 in Mexico, a proposal of a commemorative site for the personalities who contributed to the construction and success of soccer in the country became publicly known after a newspaper article written by Antonio Moreno. Afterwards, he was contacted by the president of the Pachuca Football Club, Jesús MartÃÂnez, who proposed to start a project for the materialization of his idea in Pachuca, the birthplace of Mexican football. The museum and hall of fame would be the anchor in the institution's plan to accompany the University of Football and the club's sports facilities. Jesús MartÃÂnez also suggested that the museum should be international and not only local.
On March 13, 2005, the David Ben Gurion Park was inaugurated; a Museum of Contemporary Art was originally planned in this complex. The building that would house the Museum of Contemporary Art was built between 2004 and 2005. In mid-2010, the Government of the state of Hidalgo ceded the building to the Pachuca Group, arguing that the building was abandoned. The building would house the Museum of Contemporary Art became the headquarters of the Mundo Fútbol Interactive Center, the Soccer Hall of Fame.
Construction work was completed on June 9, 2011, by the architect Ricardo Calderón Zorrilla, using reinforced concrete. The building is shaped like a sphere that emulates a huge soccer ball. It has a height of 38 m and a diameter of 36 m; It has three levels and 120 steps.
On July 9, 2011, the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, accompanied by the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera Echenique and the head of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, inaugurated the Soccer Hall of Fame and the Mundo Fútbol Interactive Center. On November 8, 2011, the first Investiture Ceremony was held at the Gota de Plata Auditorium Theater, where 30 soccer players were inducted.
Source: rsssf.org
As a criterion to be inducted, a player must have participated at least a total of ten years in official international competitions, and have retired for five years.
Source: rsssf.org
As a criterion to be inducted, a player must have participated at least a total of ten years in official international competitions, and have retired for five years.