The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national football teams of the member nations of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.
The tournament's final phase, often called the World Cup Finals, is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. The current format of the Finals involves thirty-two national teams competing at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. To determine the participating teams, qualifying rounds take place over the three years preceding the Finals.
In the eighteen tournaments held, only seven nations have won the title. Brazil is the most successful World Cup team, having won the tournament five times. The current Cup holder, Italy, follows with four titles, while Germany holds three. The other former champions are Uruguay (who won the inaugural tournament) and Argentina with two titles each, and England and France with one title each.
The most recent World Cup Finals were held between June 9 and July 9, 2006 in Germany, where Italy was crowned champion after beating France in the final, winning the penalty shootout 5-3 after the match finished 1-1 after extra time. Germany placed third after beating Portugal 3-1. The next World Cup Finals will be held in 2010 in South Africa.
The world's first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, with the first competitive international match taking place in Belfast in 1884, between Ireland and Scotland, in the inaugural British Championship. At this stage the sport was rarely played outside Great Britain and Ireland. As football began to increase in popularity in other parts of the world at the turn of the century, it was held as a demonstration sport (with no medals awarded) at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics, and at the 1906 Intercalated Games; football became an official competition at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Planned by The Football Association (FA), the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain (represented by the England national amateur football team) won the event in both 1908 and 1912.
After FIFA was founded in 1904, there was an attempt made by FIFA to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside of the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure.
First Word Cup:
The 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as part of the schedule due to the low popularity of football in the United States, as American football had been growing in popularity. FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was dropped from the Games. FIFA president Jules Rimet thus planned the inaugural World Cup tournament to be held in Uruguay in 1930. The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides. Indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip. In total 13 nations took part — seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America.
The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously, and were won by France and the USA, who beat Mexico 4-1 and Belgium 3-0, respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and became the first nation to win a World Cup.
Qualification:
Since the second World Cup in 1934, qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament. They are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides the number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams, but also subject to lobbying from the confederations.
The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two-year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs. For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team from the Asian zone will enter a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup. From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations have received an automatic berth in the finals. This right had also been granted to the defending champions since 1938, but it has been withdrawn starting from the 2006 FIFA World Cup, requiring them to qualify as well, meaning that Brazil, who won in 2002, became the first defending champion to play in a qualifying match.
Final tournament:
The current finals tournament features 32 national teams competing over a month in the host nation(s). There are two stages: a group stage followed by a knockout stage.
In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. The finals draw, held six months before the tournament in the host nation, determines the groups. Eight teams are seeded (including the hosts, with the other teams selected using a formula based on both the FIFA World Rankings and performances in recent World Cups) and drawn to separate groups. The other teams are assigned to different "pots", usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998, constraints have been applied to the draw to ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation.
Each group plays a round-robin tournament, guaranteeing that every team will play at least three matches. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among the teams. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since 1994, three points have been awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss (prior to this, winners received two points rather than three). If two or more teams end up with the same number of points, tiebreakers are used: first is goal difference, then total goals scored, then head-to-head results, and finally drawing of lots (i.e. determining team positions at random).
Bidding for the 2014 FIFA World Cup:
After the 2010 FIFA World Cup was allocated to Africa, the 2014 FIFA World Cup was allocated to South America in 2003, which will be the first held in South America since 1978. Brazil and Colombia had formally expressed interest in hosting the tournament, but Colombia subsequently withdrew, leaving Brazil as the sole bidder. However, if none of the candidates in South America meet the standards set by FIFA, the tournament may be moved to another continent. In September 2006, FIFA president Sepp Blatter indicated that "Brazil is likely to be the host", but also said that "I can't guarantee that Brazil will be the host, but the ball is in Brazil's court now." The final decision will be made by FIFA's Executive Committee on 30 October 2007.
Bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup:
The 2018 FIFA World Cup has not been allocated to any continent; in fact, the policy of continental rotation may not continue beyond 2014. Countries which have expressed an interest in hosting the 2018 World Cup include Australia, Nigeria, England, Russia, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, United States and China, while the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) are planning a joint bid, after Belgium and the Netherlands successfully co-hosted the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship. FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated on February 28, 2007 that the World Cup, "should be in North America in 2018 and there are three countries who could host it there—the United States, Mexico and Canada." This, however, depends upon decisions regarding the rotation of hosts. In April 2007, Blatter said "this would mean that the next World Cup after 2014 would go to Asia." If the rotation system were extended retrospectively, North America, which last hosted the tournament in 1994, could claim precedence over Asia which hosted the 2002 finals.
The World Cup is a gold trophy that is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup. Since the advent of the World Cup in 1930, two trophies have represented victory: the Jules Rimet Trophy from 1930 to 1970, and the FIFA World Cup Trophy from 1974 to the present day.
The Jules Rimet Trophy, originally named Victory, but later renamed in honour of former FIFA president Jules Rimet, was made of gold plated sterling silver and lapis lazuli and depicted Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Brazil won the trophy outright in 1970, prompting the commissioning of a replacement. The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in 1983 and never recovered.
The replacement trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was first used in 1974. Made of 18 carat gold with a malachite base, it depicts two human figures holding up the Earth. The current holders of the trophy are Italy, winners of the 2006 World Cup.
Jules Rimet Trophy:
The Jules Rimet Trophy was the original prize for winning the World Cup. Originally called "Victory", but generally known simply as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, it was officially renamed in 1946 to honour the FIFA President Jules Rimet who in 1929 passed a vote to initiate the competition. Designed by Abel Lafleur and made of gold plated sterling silver on a blue base of lapis lazuli, it stood 35 centimetres (14 in) high and weighed 3.8 kilograms (8.4 lb). It comprised an octagonal cup, supported by a winged figure representing Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory. The Jules Rimet Trophy was taken to Uruguay for the first FIFA World Cup aboard the Conte Verde, which set sail from Villefranche-sur-Mer, just south of Nice, on June 21, 1930. This was the same ship that carried Jules Rimet and the footballers representing France, Romania and Belgium who were participating in the tournament that year. The first team to be awarded the trophy were Uruguay, the winners of the 1930 World Cup.
During World War II, the trophy was held by 1938 winners Italy. Ottorino Barassi, the Italian vice-president of FIFA and president of FIGC, secretly transported the trophy from a bank in Rome and hid it in a shoe-box under his bed to prevent the Nazis from taking it.
On 20 March 1966, four months before the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, the trophy was stolen during a public exhibition at Westminster Central Hall. The trophy was found just seven days later wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a suburban garden hedge in Upper Norwood, South London, by a dog named Pickles.
As a security measure, The Football Association secretly manufactured a replica of the trophy for use in the post-match celebrations. The replica was also used on subsequent occasions until 1970. The replica was sold at an auction in 1997 for £254,500, when it was purchased by FIFA. The high auction price, several times the reserve price of £20,000-£30,000, led to speculation that the auctioned trophy was not a replica, and was in fact genuine. Subsequent to the auction, FIFA arranged for the replica to be displayed at the English National Football Museum in Preston.
The Brazilian team won the tournament for the third time in 1970, allowing them to keep the real trophy in perpetuity, as had been stipulated by Jules Rimet in 1930. However, the cup was stolen again on 19 December 1983, when it was taken from a display at the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The trophy was kept in a cabinet with a front of bullet-proof glass, but a rear made of wood was pried open with a crowbar. The trophy was never recovered, which suggests it may have been melted down. Four men were eventually tried and convicted in absentia for the crime. The Confederation commissioned a replica of their own, made by Eastman Kodak, using 1.8 kg (3.97 lb) of gold. This replica was presented to the Brazilian president in 1984.
FIFA World Cup Trophy:
The replacement trophy was first presented at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, to West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer. Designed by Silvio Gazzaniga and produced by Bertoni, Milano, it stands 36.5 centimetres (14.4 inches) tall and is made of 5 kg (11 lb) of 18 carat (75%) solid gold with a base (13 centimetres [5.1 inches] in diameter) containing two layers of malachite. The trophy, which weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb) in total, depicts two human figures holding up the Earth.
The trophy has the visible engravement "FIFA World Cup" in outpouring letters at its base. The name of the country whose national team wins each tournament is engraved in the bottom side of the trophy, and therefore is not visible when the trophy is standing upright. The text states the year in figures and the name of winning nation in English, for example "— 1978 Argentina". As of 2006 nine winners have been engraved on the base. It is not known whether FIFA will retire the trophy after all of the name plaques at the base are filled in; this will not occur until after the 2038 World Cup at the earliest.
FIFA's regulations now state that the trophy, unlike its predecessor, cannot be won outright: the winners of the tournament receive it on loan for four years and receive a replica (gold plated rather than solid gold) to keep.
Shortly before the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the trophy was briefly returned to Italy for restoration before eventually being awarded to the same country. On 14 July 2006 it was reported that The World Cup Trophy appeared to have been broken after being in Italy's hands for only a few days. Fabio Cannavaro, Italy's captain, was photographed holding a piece of green malachite that had broken off the base, which was subsequently glued back into place.
