Did You Know The History of the FIFA World Cup?

Every four years, there is a global football tournament called the World Cup. To claim the title of World Soccer Champion, soccer teams from different nations compete for the trophy.

The World Cup, which is currently being played by teams from 32 nations, is split into 8 groups with four teams in each group. FIFA(International Federation of Association Football) has run the event since its first iteration.

It is the biggest football event on the planet and has an audience of billions of people (the 2010 and 2014 World Cups had 3.2 billion spectators)

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The history of the FIFA World Cup

The World Cup dates back to the founding of FIFA (International Federation of Association Football), in 1904. After mobilising several countries to create an international competition, the first edition of the World Cup took place in 1930, in Uruguay.

However, this would not be possible without the interest of the world population in football. Therefore, it is important to understand how the popularization of the sport contributed to the emergence of several championships that take thousands of fans to the stadiums.

The decision to organize the World Cup took place in two meetings: one in Amsterdam (Holland) and another in Zurich (Switzerland), both in 1928, and the choice of the host was made in 1929.

Uruguay’s candidacy defeated a series of European candidacies, mainly the fact that the Uruguayans agreed to pay the expenses of the participants, in addition to authorizing the construction of a gigantic stadium for the event.

The first World Cup, however, was severely hampered by the Crisis of 1929, also known as the Great Depression. The economic crisis that spread across the world discouraged several European teams from participating. Thus, the first Cup had the participation of thirteen teams:

• Europe: Belgium, Romania, Yugoslavia and France
• North America: USA and Mexico
• South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay

In the 1930 edition, the Uruguayans confirmed their favouritism and won the competition with four victories. The Uruguayans defeated Peru, Romania, and Yugoslavia and, in the final, they faced Argentina, winning 4-2.

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The rise of the modern soccer game

Ball games have been popular over time in different parts of the world. Modern football, with the rules, we know today, began in England and was consolidated in 1863 when the Football Association was created to guarantee the regularization of the sport.

The foundation of an association made it possible for football to have rules, such as duration and punishments so that the sport was not violent. In this way, more schools allowed the practice of the sport.

Shortly after that, in 1900, the sport became part of the Olympic Games, with only three teams: France, Great Britain and Belgium. Football was played as an exhibition and only became an Olympic sport in 1908.

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Who created the FIFA World Cup?

Frenchman Jules Rimet was responsible for holding the first World Cup in Uruguay. Rimet was the third president of FIFA and contributed to the mobilization of several countries to compete in the championship.

In order for the FIFA World Cup to come to life, there were a few years of dedication to organize the competition and ensure the support of the public and teams from each country. It is worth remembering that the First World War (1914-1918) marked the beginning of the 1900s.

The Olympic Games, for example, which would take place in 1916 in Berlin, Germany, were cancelled. With more nations interested in the Cup, the first football competitions were part of the following Olympics, in 1920, in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. 

The dispute still remained linked to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for two more editions, in 1924 and 1926. 

The dispute took shape and FIFA organized itself to structure it as a world championship, every four years.

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The FIFA World Cup Champions

In all editions of the World Cup, 8 countries were champions. The winning selections were:

• Uruguay: two-time champion (1930 and 1950).
• Italy : four-time champion (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006).
• Germany : Four-time champion (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014).
• Brazil : five-time champion (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002).
• England : champion (1966).
• Argentina : two-time champion (1978 and 1986).
• France: two-time champion (1998 and 2018).
• Spain : champion (2010).

FIFA World Cup Finals Results

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Top Scorers In the world cup

In the history of the FIFA world cup, players who scored the most goals in a single edition of the World Cup were Frenchman Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in 1958, during the Cup organized in Sweden, and Sándor Kocsis, a Hungarian player who scored 11 goals during the runner-up of Hungary in 1954, during the World Cup organized in Switzerland.

The two Brazilian players who scored the most goals in a single edition of the World Cup were Ronaldo and Ademir Menezes. Both scored 8 goals (the first scored in the 2002 edition, and the second during the 1950 edition). Other highlights were Leônidas da Silva and Jairzinho, who scored 7 goals in the 1938 and 1970 editions, respectively.

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The next FIFA World Cup

The venues for the next two World Cups have already been decided. In 2022 the competition will be held in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022. All games will be played in 12 stadiums.

In 2026, the Cup will take place in three countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the games will take place in 23 stadiums.

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Competition and growth

Over time, the competition gained importance and this was directly reflected in the number of participating nations. Of the initial 13, the competition had 16 in 1934, 15 in 1938 and 13 in 1950; from 1954 to 1978, the competition had 16 participants; from 1982 to 1994, 24 selections. As of 1998, the model was started with 32 selections. This model will be used until 2022, as, from 2026 onwards, the Cup will be organized with 48 teams.

The current model, with 32 teams, has the following organization: teams are divided into eight groups composed of four teams each. Two selections are classified from each group, which forms a total of 16 selections, which will then compete in eliminatory clashes. The 16 classified compete for the round of 16. The eight winners of the clashes advance to the quarterfinals. The four winning teams advance to the semi-final, and the winner of each semi-final will play in the final. The losers in the semis also compete for 3rd place.

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