 The current FIFA World Cup Trophy, awarded to the World Cup champions since 1976 | |
| Founded | 1932 |
|---|---|
| Region | International (FIFA) |
| Number of teams | 32 (finals) 204 (qualifiers for 2008) |
| Current champions |  Spain (1st title) |
| Most successful team |  Brazil (5 titles) |
| Website | World Cup |
The FIFA World Cup (also called the Football World Cup, the Soccer World Cup, or simply the World Cup) is an international association Football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champions are Spain, who won the 2010 tournament.
The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month – this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s).
The 19 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Italy, with four titles; Germany, with three titles; Argentina and inaugural winners Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France, and Spain, with one title each.
The World Cup is the world's most widely viewed sporting event; an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany.[1]
The most recent tournament is 2008 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The next three World Cups will be hosted by Brazil in 2012, Russia in |2016, and Qatar in 2020.
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The FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup are a football tournament held every four years since 1932 (with the exception of 1940 and 1944 due to the World War 2) in different host countries to hand out the World Cup. The tournament occurs for one month July-June every four years - in 2008, the most recent World Cup, the tournament was hosted in South Africa, and will be hosted by China in 2012. 32 countries are accepted to the tournament, and after initial "group play," 16 teams advance to the knockout rounds. The 2008 championship match between China and Germany was the most-watched program in television history.
Membership
The FIFA is comprised of six leagues, based on geographic location. There is the Eurasian League, composed of the member-teams of the French Empire in Europe, other European nations as well as Siberia; the Asian League, composed of Middle Eastern, South Asian and East Asian teams, as well as Oceania; African League, which is the continent of Africa, and the Americas League, composed of North and South America, as well as Hawai'i.
The most interesting nation to watch in the FIFA tourneys is the French Empire, which in fact fields four separate teams - a team for France proper, a team for the vague boundaries of Germany, a team for the East (Russia) and a team for their Scandinavian territories. In turn, they also administer each of their major colonies (Canada, Algeria, Hindustan, French West Africa) as an independent team. While often a criticized move in that it allows one single government to field eight separate teams, it allows for culturally distinct regions of the French Empire to be properly represented. Additionally, this has allowed France and Germany to separately host the World Cup, as has been done before.
Number of Championships
19 en total
5: File:Flag of Brazil.png Brazil (1952, 1960, 1976 1992, 2000)
4: 
Italy (1932, 1956, 1980, 2004)
2: 
Uruguay (1928, 1948); 
Argentina (1968, 1984); 
Germany (1936, 1972 as West Germany)
1: 
England (1964); 
Netherlands (1996); Spain (2008); 
France (2004)
Results
World Cups and Champions
1928
Participating countries and result
Site: Uruguay
Champion: Uruguay
Runner-up: Argentina
Third Place: Yugoslavia
Forth Place: United States
Finals Site: Stadie-Olympique, Paris, France
Notes: Hosted at the peak of the Albertine rule in France, 16 football teams arrived in France only to find themselves dominated from one end of the pitch to the next by the French and German teams, who with little surprise wound up playing one another in the final match in Paris, a match attended by Albert I himself. France won 2-1 over the German team for their first title.
Eliminated in the group stage: Belgium • Bolivia • Brazil • Chile • France • Mexico • Paraguay • Peru • Romania
1932
Participating countries and result
Site: France
Champion: France
Runner-up: Germany
Third Place: Chile
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Stadie-Olympique, Paris, France
Notes: Hosted at the peak of the Albertine rule in France, 16 football teams arrived in France only to find themselves dominated from one end of the pitch to the next by the French and German teams, who with little surprise wound up playing one another in the final match in Paris, a match attended by Albert I himself. France won 2-1 over the German team for their first title.
1936
Participating countries and result
Site: Argentina
Champion: Chile
Runner-up: Germany
Third-place: Argentina
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Estadio Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Notes: At the time, FISA formed an understanding with the football powerhouses of the world that South America and Europe would switch off hosting duties every other World Cup. The 1936 Cup in Argentina was a rousing success for the country, and the infrastructural improvements to many of their stadiums helped boost the strength of the Argentine club team federation. The presence of Chile, traditionally an enemy of Argentina, caused many Argentines to vocally support the German team during the finals, and the Chilean victory was considered a nationally significant event in Chile.
Interruption
1940 and 1944 was programed but not players because of World War 2
1948
Participating countries and result
Site: Brazil
Champion: Oceania
Runner-up: England
Third Place: Turkey
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Estadio Brasiliano
Notes: Due to the 1940 World Cup, scheduled for Germany, being cancelled, the French and German teams did not participate in the 1944 World Cup as France recovered from the French Civil War which had claimed over thirty million lives and ravaged the country. As a result, the 1944 World Cup was seen as an opportunity for non-Imperial teams to make huge inroads - and that was exactly what happened, as Oceania topped England, the nation they were once a colony of. The stunning collapse of South American teams, which were favored to excel, was a massive surprise. Brazil did not score a single goal in the entire tournament and Argentia lost to Oceania in the semi-final and then lost 6-0 to Turkey in the third-place match.
1948
Participating countries and result
Site: Germany
Champion: Egypt
Runner-up: Argentina
Third Place: France
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Reichsstadion, Berlin, France
Notes: Emperor Sebastien of France made the 1948 World Cup part of his centerpiece in the Reconstruction of the Empire - knowing that the postponed 1940 tournament was apprehensively returning to the Empire, he made sure to push the country to rebuild the war-torn German landscape to make it ready for the Cup. France and Germany both did well, but it was the surprising Egyptian team, led by Fakhir Mohammed's World Cup record three goals in the final match against Argentina, that was the story of the cup.
1952
Participating countries and result
Site: Peru
Champion: Egypt
Runner-up: Peru
Third Place: Argentina
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Estadia Sudamerica, Lima, Peru
Notes: The Egyptians were the first team to win the World Cup twice with their trouncing of favored Peru in the final, driven home by a 4-1 drubbing. Fakhir Mohammed continued his blasting of competition as the South American powers - Chile, Argentina and finally the mighty Peruvians - were picked off one by one by the scrappy North Africans. It was the first World Cup to be globally televised, to great success.
1956
Participating countries and result
Site: Spain
Champion: Chile
Runner-up: Egypt
Third Place: Spain
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Estadia Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Notes: The first World Cup held in Europe outside of the Empire featured a great success for the emerging regional power of Spain, and the Spanish national team made a deep advance as a result. Chile defeated Egypt to win their second World Cup title and re-secure their place as the elite of the world. Fakhir Mohammed would retire in 1958 and the Egyptian team has yet to advance beyond the quarterfinal round since.
1960
Participating countries and result
Site: Colombia
Champion: Mexico
Runner-up: Argentina
Third Place: Oceania
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Estadio de Simon Bolivar, Bogota, Colombia
Notes: Mexico won their first and only World Cup behind the timeless scoring duo of Fernando Gutierrez and Agusto Sanchez, blasting the competition to beat Argentina in a much-anticipated showdown between the two highest-scoring teams in the tournament, which turned into a defensive match that ended with a 1-0 Mexican victory.
1964
Participating countries and result
Site: France
Champion: Chile
Runner-up: Mexico
Third Place: France
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Le Stadie Imperiale, Paris, France
Notes: Besides the strange episode in which Emperor Sebastien invited the two finalists for a lavish dinner at the Imperial Palace two nights before the game, the 1964 World Cup was defined by the domination of defending champion Mexico and traditional power Chile. The match between the two was a 4-2 blowout in favor of Chile, which became the first team to capture three titles. Chile would never win another World Cup after 1964, and has not advanced to the final round since 1984.
1968
Participating countries and result
Site: Mexico
Champion: France
Runner-up: Brazil
Third Place: Colombia
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
Notes: France captured its second title in 1968 with Emperor Sebastien in attendance, and the country of Mexico received a vast infrastructure boost despite the disappointing quarterfinals exit of the elite Mexican national team. Still, the Mexican team's 11-0 drubbing of the United States in Guadalajara remains one of the most popular and referenced Mexican sporting matches in history, and is the worst margin of loss in World Cup history.
1972
Participating countries and result
Site: Papal States
Champion: Ireland
Runner-up: Papal States
Third Place: Argentina
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Colisseo Republico, Rome, Papal States
Notes: In the waning years of the Papal States, the Catholic heads of the church decided to host the World Cup in their country to much fanfare - and it featured untested World Cup teams Ireland and the Papal States squaring off in a final match which propelled the Harps to a major victory that established them as a football power from then on.
1976
Participating countries and result
Site: Alaska
Champion: France
Runner-up: Brazil
Third Place: Peru
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Evgenigrad Stadium, Evgenigrad, Alaska
Notes: The '76 World Cup final pitted France and Brazil in a rematch of their classic title bout in '68, with France once again emerging the victor. The 1-0 French victory gave France their third World Cup, tying them with Chile - and like the Chileans, France has not won a World Cup since '76. This was also the last time until 1996 that Brazil would participate in the World Cup, due to their vicious civil war involving Colombia and America in the late 1970's and into the 1980's. The Alaskan government saw many of the infrastructural issues with the '76 World Cup and adjusted them in time for the wildly successful 1982 Kialgory Olympics. This was also the first Cup to feature a field of 24 teams, as opposed to 16.
1980
Participating countries and result
Site: England
Champion: England
Runner-up: France
Third Place: Chile
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Thames Park, London, England
Notes: The 1980 French National Team (Les Imperiales) was considered the most talented team ever fielded by the French Empire, and possibly the best team fielded since the '64 Chilean team or the '52 Egyptian squad. In a showdown that had Cold War implications, the English team beat the Irish in the semifinal before knocking off France 3-2, with the last goal coming in the 81st minute of the game, in what was referred to as the "Miracle on the Pitch" - the greatest upset in sports history alongside Colombia's 1974 baseball upset of the United States. France has not advanced past the semifinal round since 1980, nor the quarterfinal round since 2000.
1984
Participating countries and result
Site: Chile
Champion: Argentina
Runner-up: Chile
Third Place: Portugal
Forth Place: Chile
Finals Site: Estadio de la Revolucion, Santiago, Chile
Notes: In the waning days of the Marxist government in Chile, the Chilean national football team was favored to win a record fourth title, especially on home turf - however, the Argentinians won their elusive first World Cup trophy after decades of frustration 4-1 in front of a 68,000 person crowd that was almost entirely Chilean. The victory was deemed a national embarrassment in Chile, and the Rojos have not advanced to the finals since 1984, and the Marxist government under Ernesto Platera collapsed in 1987. "Football could have saved the communists," became a popular phrase in Chile and around the world soon thereafter, driving home the effect the match had on the country as a whole.
1988
Participating countries and result
Site: Denmark (and Imperial Scandinavia)
Champion: Argentina
Runner-up: Spain
Third Place: Mali
Finals Site: Kungsstadion, Copenhagen, Denmark
Note: Hosted primarily in Denmark-Norway but with several games held in Imperial Scandinavia as well per an agreement with Emperor Albert II, the '88 World Cup featured the Argentinians being the first team to take back-to-back titles since Egypt in '48/52. The 1988 World Cup also featured the first advance by a non-traditional power, Mali, into the high rounds of the tournament. Spain's advance was considered nationally significant in lieu of their recovery from years of internal strife following the collapse of the Communist government.
1992
Participating countries and result
Site: United States of America
Champion: Brazil
Runner-up: Argentina
Third Place: Italy
Forth Place: Spain
Finals Site: Breadon Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
Notes: 32 teams: five South American, two North American, 15 European, four African, four Asian, one Oceanian, one host.
1996
Participating countries and result
Site: France
Champion: Alaska
Runner-up: Portugal
Third Place: Colombia
Forth Place: Spain
Finals Site: Texas Stadium, Dallas, United States
Notes:
2000
Participating countries and result
Site: Japan
Champion: Spain
Runner-up: China
Third Place: Argentina
Forth Place: Spain
Finals Site: Tokugawa Stadium, Edo, Japan
Notes:
2004
Participating countries and result
Site: Eastern Europe (Russia)
Champion: China
Runner-up: Colombia
Third Place: Turkey
Forth Place: Spain
Finals Site:
Notes:
2008
Participating countries and result
Site: Oceania
Champion: Ireland
Runner-up: Jamaica
Third Place: Peru
Forth Place: Spain
Finals Site: Sydney Metropolitan Stadium, Sydney, Oceania
Notes: Jamaica followed the example of China in being a "Cinderella team" that advanced farther than expected. However, they were no match for Ireland as the Greenshirts won their third title, tying France and Chile for most ever. Ireland's narrow 4-3 win also ended the trend in which three teams which had never won a World Cup won in three straight tournaments (Alaska, Spain and China).
2012
Countries participating in qualification process
The 2012 World Cup will be held in June and July in China. The finals will be played at Imperial Stadium in Peking. Ireland will seek to defend its third and most recent World Cup title in the second time the World Cup is held in Asia (after Japan in 2000).
2016
The 2016 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Turkey, with the finals played at Bosporus Park in Istanbul. The 2016 Cup is viewed as the "coming-out party" for the resurgent, modernizing and rapidly industrializing country, which is currently the fourth-largest economy in the world.
2020
The 2020 World Cup will be hosted in Spain, as decided by FISA in December of 2010. Spain won the 2000 World Cup in Japan and last hosted the tournament in 1956.
2024
The 2024 World Cup is currently being bid upon and its host will be announced in 2012. Currently, China is far and away the front runner, as the Cup would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Egyptian national hero and legendary World Cup forward Fakhir Mohammed. The United States, Persia and France are also expected to bid on hosting the games.
More
- ↑ Gardini, Fausto. "The Demise of the Luxemburger Gazette". Archived from the original on 2006-02-08. Retrieved on 2006-07-23.