Fifa Worldcup
The senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world's governing organization of association football, compete in the FIFA World Cup, often referred to as the World Cup. Since the first competition in 1930, the championship has been given out every four years, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, when it was postponed due to the Second World War. France, who won their second championship in the 2018 competition in Russia, are the current champions.
The qualifying phase of the present structure determines which teams advance to the tournament phase, and it occurs over the previous three years. 32 teams, including the host nation(s), who automatically qualify, play for the championship over the course of around a month at sites inside the host nation(s).
Twenty-one championship matches, with 79 national teams, have been played as of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Eight national teams have claimed the prize as their own. Brazil is the only team to have competed in every event and has won five times. Germany and Italy are the other World Cup champions, each with four championships; Argentina, France, and Uruguay, the first-place finishers, each with two titles; and England and Spain, each with one trophy.
The World Cup is not only the most renowned association football competition ever, but it's also the most watched and followed athletic event ever. An estimated 715.1 million viewers, or a tenth of the world's population, watched the World Cup final, bringing the total number of viewers for the tournament to an estimated 26.29 billion.
The World Cup has been held by 17 nations. While Uruguay, Switzerland, Sweden, Chile, England, Argentina, Spain, the United States, Japan, and South Korea (jointly), South Africa, and Russia have each hosted once, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, and Mexico have each hosted twice. The 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar, and the 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, making Mexico the first nation to host matches in three World Cups.
History
International Past Matches
A challenging game between Scotland and England was played in Glasgow in 1872 and is regarded as the first international football game. The first British Home Championship, an international competition for countries, was held in 1884. Football was played as a demonstration sport at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics (although the International Olympic Committee has retroactively upgraded their status to official events), as well as the 1906 Intercalated Games, as the sport gained popularity in other parts of the world at the beginning of the 20th century.
FIFA attempted to organize an international football competition between countries outside of the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906, a year after its founding in 1904. The tournament was deemed a failure in FIFA's official history, which was written during the very early years of international football.
Football was included as an official event at the London Summer Olympics in 1908. The tournament, which was organized by the Football Association (FA), England's football governing body, was only open to amateur players and was viewed with suspicion as a performance rather than a match. The gold medals were won by Great Britain, which was represented by the England National Amateur Football Team. The achievement was duplicated at the Stockholm Summer Olympics in 1912.
The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy competition was held in Turin in 1909 since the Olympic event was still only competed in by amateur teams. The Lipton Tournament was a competition between clubs (as opposed to national teams) from several countries, each of which was a representative of an entire country. The most elite professional club teams from Italy, Germany, and Switzerland competed in the tournament, which is often referred to as The first World Cup." However, the FA of England refused to support the event and turned down the invitation to send a team. Lipton instead asked County Durham's West Auckland, an amateur team, to represent England. West Auckland won the competition, and they successfully defended their championship in 1911. From 1876 to 1904, prior to the Lipton Tournament, matches between elite English and Scottish clubs were regarded as the "football world championship," as shown by Sunderland A.F.C.'s victory against Heart of Midlothian F.C. in 1895.
FIFA accepted responsibility for organizing the event and decided to recognize the Olympic competition as a "World Football Championship for Amateurs" in 1914.
This cleared the way for the first intercontinental football tournament for countries, which took place in the 1920 Summer Olympics and was won by Belgium in front of Egypt and 13 other European teams. The next two Olympic football competitions, in 1924 and 1928, were won by Uruguay. Given that FIFA's professional era began in 1924, the two events also served as the sport's first open world championships.
Competitions before World War II
With President Jules Rimet as the driving factor, FIFA once again began considering holding its own international tournament outside of the Olympics as a result of the popularity of the Olympic football competitions. The FIFA Congress in Amsterdam voted to host a world championship on May 28, 1928. Uruguay was chosen by FIFA to host the first World Cup competition because they are now the two-time reigning official football world champions and to commemorate their 100th anniversary of independence in 1930.
The national associations of the chosen countries were asked to submit a team, but since Uruguay was the competition's location, European teams had to travel a long way and at great expense across the Atlantic. Indeed, until two months before the championship began, no European nation committed to sending a team. In the end, Rimet convinced delegations from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to go. 13 countries participated in all, including two from North America, four from Europe, and seven from South America.
The 1930 World Cup final was held at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay.
On July 13, 1930, the first two World Cup games were played simultaneously, and the winners were France and the United States, who beat Mexico 4-1 and Belgium 3-0, respectively. France's Lucien Laurent scored the tournament's first goal. In front of 93,000 spectators in Montevideo, Uruguay overcame Argentina 4-2 to win the World Cup for the first time. Football was removed from the 1932 Summer Olympics due to disagreements between FIFA and the IOC about the status of amateur players when the World Cup was established. Olympic football made a comeback for the 1936 Summer Olympics when the IOC and FIFA resolved their issues, although it was now eclipsed by the more prestigious World Cup.
Early World Cup competitions had to deal with conflict and the challenges of cross-continental travel. For the 1934 World Cup, few South American teams were ready to go to Europe, and all countries in North and South America, with the exception of Brazil and Cuba, boycotted the 1938 competition. The only South American squad to take part in both was Brazil. Due to World War II and its aftermath, Germany and Brazil's bids to host the tournaments in 1942 and 1946, respectively, were canceled.
World Cups after the Second World War
The first World Cup with British competitors was staged in Brazil in 1950. British teams resigned from FIFA in 1920, in part because they didn't want to play against nations they had been at war with and in part to protest foreign meddling in football, but they returned when FIFA extended an invitation. The 1930 World Cup winners, Uruguay, who skipped the previous two World Cups, also participated in the competition. After beating the tournament's hosts Brazil in the "Maracanazo" (Portuguese: Maracanaço) encounter, Uruguay once again took home the trophy.
With the exception of 1938, when Austria was annexed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the tournament with 15 teams, and 1950, when India, Scotland, and Turkey withdrew, leaving the tournament with 13 participants, 16 teams played in each tournament between 1934 and 1978.
A tiny percentage of the participating countries came from North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, with the majority of them being from Europe and South America. The South American and European teams often beat these teams with ease. The only teams from outside of Europe and South America to make it beyond the first round up to 1982 were the USA, who reached the semifinals in 1930; Cuba, who reached the quarterfinals in 1938; North Korea, who reached the quarterfinals in 1966; and Mexico, who reached the quarterfinals in 1970.
Expansion to 32 teams
In 1982, the tournament was increased to 24 teams, and subsequently to 32 teams in 1998, enabling additional teams from North America, Asia, and Africa to participate. Since then, teams from these regions have experienced greater success, with several of them making it to the quarterfinals. These teams include Mexico (1986 quarterfinalists), Cameroon (1990 quarterfinalists), South Korea (2002 fourth-place finisher), Senegal (2002 quarterfinalist along with USA), Ghana (2010 quarterfinalist), and Costa Rica (2014 quarterfinalist). However, European and South American teams continue to dominate. For instance, the quarterfinalists in 1994, 1998, 2006, and 2018 as well as the winners of all tournaments to date were all from Europe or South America.
In the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds, 200 teams participated. For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, 198 countries tried to qualify, while for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a record 204 countries did the same.
Expansion to 48 teams
Sepp Blatter mentioned securing a spot for the Caribbean Football Union's area in the World Cup in October 2013. Blatter said the following in the FIFA Weekly on the 25th of October 2013: "From a strictly sporting standpoint, I would want to see globalization finally taken seriously and the FIFA World Cup give the African and Asian national associations the respect they deserve. The bulk of World Cup spots cannot be claimed by the confederations of Europe and South America." These two statements gave analysts the impression that Blatter would be running for the FIFA Presidency again.
Following the publishing of the magazine, Michel Platini, the president of UEFA and Blatter's potential rival for the FIFA Presidency, reacted by announcing his intention to expand the World Cup to 40 national associations, adding eight more teams to the competition. Platini said that he would give UEFA one extra spot, two to each of the Asian and African Football Confederations, two to CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, and a guaranteed spot for the Oceania Football Confederation. Platini was extremely forthright about his motivations for wanting to grow the World Cup. He stated: "Since there aren't the greatest teams in the World Cup, [the World Cup is] not based on the caliber of the teams, but it's still a decent compromise." The issue is political, so why not include more Africans?The goal of the tournament is to invite everyone from everywhere "They advance if you don't offer them the chance to participate."
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, expressed support for a 48-team World Cup in 2026 in October 2016.
48 teams will compete in the 2026 World Cup, FIFA announced on January 10, 2017.
FIFA corruption case from 2015
By May 2015, the FIFA corruption case, which involved accusations and criminal charges of bribery, fraud, and money laundering to corrupt the awarding of media and marketing rights (rigged bids) for FIFA games, had cast a particularly long shadow over the competition. FIFA officials were accused of accepting bribes totaling more than $150 million over a 24-year period. The US Department of Justice released a 47-count indictment against 14 persons in late May, charging them with conspiring to commit money laundering, wire fraud, and racketeering. Since then, arrests of over a dozen FIFA officials have been made, especially on May 29 and December 3. Nine FIFA officials in all, together with five executives from the sports and television industries, had already been charged with corruption by the end of May 2015. Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, said at the time that he will step down in February 2016.
Chuck Blazer said, on June 4, 2015, that he and the other members of FIFA's then-executive committee had accepted bribes to help promote the 1998 and 2010 World Cups while working with the FBI and Swiss authorities.
Swiss police confiscated computer records from Sepp Blatter's offices on June 10, 2015.
Due to suspicions of bribery in the selection of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, FIFA decided to postpone the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "Due to the scenario, I believe it's foolishness to start any bidding procedures for the time being," then-secretary general Jérôme Valcke said. Blatter and Michel Platini, a FIFA vice president, and future presidential contender, were both banned for 90 days on October 28, 2015; both insisted on their innocence in remarks to the media.
Two FIFA vice presidents were detained on December 3rd at the same Zurich hotel where seven FIFA executives had been detained in May on suspicion of bribery. The US Department of Justice issued 16 further indictments the same day.
Biennial World Cup proposition
At the 71st FIFA Congress on May 21, 2021, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation made the first proposal for a biennial World Cup, which received strong support from national federations in Africa and Asia as well as former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. The majority of football fans still favor the four-year World Cup cycle, according to a FIFA-commissioned survey and the FIFA Council debate on October 20, 2021, However, regional confederations like UEFA and CONMEBOL are opposed to the idea.
Other FIFA tournaments
The FIFA Women's World Cup, an equal competition for women's football, debuted in China in 1991. [50] The women's tournament is less well-known and larger in scope than the men's, but it is expanding nevertheless; in 2007, there were 120 participants, more than twice as many as in 1991.
With the exception of 1896 and 1932, men's football has been a part of every Summer Olympic Games. The men's football competition at the Olympics is not a top-tier competition, and since 1992, a tournament for under-23 teams with three overage players has been held instead. In 1996, women's soccer made its Olympic debut.
The FIFA Confederations Cup was a competition hosted in the country(s) hosting the World Cup a year prior to the event as a warm-up for the big event. Along with the winner of the FIFA World Cup and the host nation, it is played by the champions of each of the six FIFA Confederation Championships. The first game was played in 1992, and the most recent game was played in 2017. FIFA announced in March 2019 that the event will end due to the FIFA Club World Cup's expansion in 2021.
FIFA also hosts international competitions for club football (FIFA Club World Cup), futsal (FIFA Futsal World Cup), beach soccer, and youth football (FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup) (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup). Despite the existence of a FIFA Women's Club World Cup, the latter three do not have a female counterpart.
Every two years, including the year before each Women's World Cup, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is held. On three occasions, both tournaments were chosen via a single bidding procedure, with the U-20 competition acting as a practice run for the bigger competition (2010, 2014 and 2018).
Trophy
The FIFA Women's World Cup, a competition comparable to it for women's football, was first contested in China in 1991. The women's tournament is less popular and has a lower profile than the men's, but it is expanding; in 2007, there were 120 competitors, which is more than twice as many as in 1991.
Every Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of 1896 and 1932, have featured men's football. The men's football competition at the Olympics is not a top-tier competition, and since 1992, it has been an under-23 competition where each team is allowed three overage players. In1996, women's football was first played in the Olympics.
As a warm-up for the upcoming World Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup was a competition staged in the country(ies) hosting the World Cup one year prior. The winner of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, the winner of the FIFA World Cup, and the host nation all compete in it. The first event was held in1992, and the most recent was held in 2017. Due to the FIFA Club World Cup's expansion in 2021, FIFA announced in March 2019 that the competition would cease to exist.
FIFA also hosts international competitions for club football (FIFA Club World Cup), youth football (FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup), and football variants including futsal (FIFA Futsal World Cup), beach soccer, and more (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup). Although a FIFA Women's Club World Cup has been mooted, the latter three do not have a female version.
In addition to the year before every Women's World Cup, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is held every two years. Three times, the U-20 tournament served as a practice run for the larger competition, and both tournaments were awarded in a single bidding procedure (2010, 2014 and 2018).