No other sporting event captures the world's imagination like the FIFA World Cup. Ever since the first tentative competition in Uruguay in 1930, FIFA's flagship has constantly grown in popularity and prestige.
A group of visionary French football administrators, led in the 1920s by the innovative Jules Rimet, are credited with the original idea of bringing the world's strongest national football teams together to compete for the title of World Champions. The original gold trophy bore Jules Rimet's name and was contested three times in the 1930s, before the Second World War put a 12-year stop to the competition.
When it resumed, the FIFA World Cup rapidly advanced to its undisputed status as the greatest single sporting event of the modern world. Held since 1958 alternately in Europe and the Americas, the World Cup broke new ground with the Executive Committee's decision in May 1996 to select Korea and Japan as co-hosts for the 2002 edition.
Since 1930, the 16 tournaments have seen only seven different winners. However, the FIFA World Cup has also been punctuated by dramatic upsets that have helped create footballing history - the United States defeating England in 1950, North Korea's defeat of Italy in 1966, Cameroon's emergence in the 1980s and their opening match defeat of the Argentinean cup-holders in 1990....
Today, the FIFA World Cup holds the entire global public under its spell. An accumulated audience of over 37 billion people watched the France 98 tournament, including approximately 1.3 billion for the final alone, while over 2.7 million people flocked to watch the 64 matches in the French stadia.
After all these years and so many changes, however, the main focus of the FIFA World Cup remains the same - the glistening golden trophy, which is the embodiment of every footballer's ambition.
YEAR | WINNERS | RUNNERS-UP | HOSTS & TOTAL TEAMS |
1930 | Uruguay | Argentina | Uruguay: 13 teams were invited. no qualification |
1934 | Italy | Czechslovakia | Italy: 16 teams qualified through qualification round |
1938 | Italy | Hungary | France: 16 teams qualified but Austria withdrew |
1950 | Uruguay | Brazil | Brazil: 13 teams competed after 3 teams withdrew |
1954 | West Germany | Hungary | Switzerland: 16 teams from 4 regions |
1958 | Brazil | Sweden | Sweden: 16 team from three regions (no asia) |
1962 | Brazil | Czechslovakia | Chile: 16 teams (no teams from Asia or Africa) |
1966 | England | West Germany | England: 16 teams 4 regions (North Korea Asian) |
1970 | Brazil | Italy | Mexico: 16 teams 5 regions (Morocco 1st africa side) |
1974 | West Germany | Netherlands | West Germany: 16 teams 5 regions |
1978 | Argentina | Netherlands | Argentina: 16 teams |
1982 | Italy | West Germany | Spain: Expanded to 24 teams from 6 confederations |
1986 | Argentina | West Germany | Mexico: 24 teams and 52 matches made it biggest |
1990 | West Germany | Argentina | Italy: 24 teams (More than 1 Asian team for first time) |
1994 | Brazil | Italy | United States: 24 teams 5 confenderations |
1998 | France | Brazil | France: Expanded to 32 teams (8 groups of 4 teams) |
2002 | Brazil | Germany | Korea/Japan: 32 teams, (first time in hosted in asia) |
2006 | Italy | France | Germany: 32 teams, 64 matches, record attendance |
2010 | Spain | Netherlands | South Africa: 32 teams (first time in Africa) |
2014 | Germany | Argentina | Brazil: 32 team (most viewed world cup in history) |
Most Successful FIFA World Cup Team: Brazil has won the competition record 5 times (2002, 1994, 1970, 1962 and 1958) they also lost two finals in (1998 and 1950). Pele is the only player to have won three world cups which is a unique record and from the looks of things will stay forever.Germany and Italy has won four world cups each. West Germany was by far the most consistent team after 1950 as they not only won 4 world cups but also lost 4 world cup finals. Netherlands is the only team to have appeared in the final more than 2 teams and fail to win the world cup. They lost three finals (1974, 1978 and 2010). Only European or South American teams has won the world cup so far. Only United States and Turkey are the only teams (outside Europe and South America) to have finished 3rd in world,
Germany won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2014 and it was their fourth title but first since coming a unified country.
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