The FIFA World Cup is the world championship for men’s national football teams. Decided on 28 May 1928 by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) under the impetus of its president Jules Rimet, it was opened to all teams of federations recognized by FIFA, including professionals, distinguishing themselves in this from the Olympic football tournament, at the time reserved for amateurs.
| General | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Creation | 1928 (first edition: 1930) |
| Other name(s) | Association World Cup, Jules Rimet Cup, FIFA World Cup, World™ Cup |
| Organizer(s) | FIFA |
| Periodicity | 4 years |
| Participants |
Final round: 32 210 starters |
| Official website | fifa.com/worldcup |
| Charts | |
| More title(s) | Brazil (5 titles) |
| Top scorer(s) | Miroslav Klose (16 goals) |
| More appearances | Lionel Messi (26) |
It was held for the first time in 1930, in Uruguay (Olympic champion in 1924 and 1928), and every four years since (except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II). Since the second edition, in 1934, the World Cup includes a qualification phase by continental zones, currently organized by each continental confederation, and a final phase that brings together the qualified teams (16 from 1934 to 1978, 24 from 1982 to 1994, 32 from 1998) in one or more countries for about a month. This final phase currently includes a first round by pools that qualifies sixteen teams for a knockout phase from the knockout stages. The host country of the final phase is designated by FIFA and is automatically qualified.
Of the twenty-two editions played until 2022, only eight nations have already been titled at least once and only thirteen nations have reached the final (including winners). Brazil, the only team to have played in all the finals of the competition, holds the record with five world titles and earned the right to retain the Jules-Rimet Cup in 1970 after its 3rd final victory in the competition, with Pelé, the only three-time world champion player. Italy and Germany have four trophies and Argentina three. Uruguay, home winners of the first edition, and France have each won the Cup twice, England and Spain once. The last edition took place in Qatar in 2022 for the first time in autumn. The 2026 edition in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the first edition with 48 participating teams.
The Football World Cup is the most-watched sporting event on television in the world along with the Olympic Games and the Cricket World Cup. Economically, competition is an important source of revenue for FIFA and can have positive effects on the growth of certain sectors of activity and on the development of the host country. Infrastructure, including stadiums, is built or renovated on this occasion. A global event, it is present in popular culture, the subject of many films and documentaries, and is an opportunity to create national songs or anthems. Although conveying values of peace and universality, competition has a political aspect. It has occasionally been the scene of violence around meetings, and many packages and boycotts, but also reconciliations, dot its history.
FIFA World Cup History
Origin of the competition
The project to organize an international competition began with the creation of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in 1904. In 1906, the first edition initiated by the Dutch leader Carl Hirschman was scheduled in Switzerland and four pools of four teams as a first-round were set up. But when the confirmations of registration for the sixteen invited selections close, on August 31, 1905, no federation confirms its participation and the project is buried.
With the establishment of an Olympic football tournament from 1908, Hirschmann wanted to proceed with the recognition of this Olympic tournament as an amateur football world championship. The idea was validated at the FIFA Congress in 1914, but the First World War blocked this initiative.
With 22 and 17 teams, including for the first time teams from Latin America and the United States, in addition to those from the Old Continent and Egypt, the Olympic tournaments of 1924 and 1928 were the first real-world football championships. After his election as President of FIFA, Jules Rimet made every effort, together with Henri Delaunay, Secretary General of the French Federation of Association Football, to set up a new international competition.
This project was adopted by FIFA at a congress held on the sidelines of the Amsterdam Olympic Games on May 26, 1928, by 25 votes in favor and five against, with one abstention. The FIFA Congress held in Barcelona on May 18, 1929confirmed the first edition of the Association Football World Cup for 1930 and entrusted the organization to Uruguay, the two-time reigning Olympic champion, which celebrated the centenary of its independence that year. He decided that the World Cup would be held every four years, in even-numbered years, alternating with the Olympic Games. At that time, almost all teams had amateur status and presented the same teams in both competitions. However, the objectives and values diverge: if the Olympic tournament is still theoretically reserved for amateurs, FIFA recognizes teams that have opted for professionalism and opens the World Cup to all, amateurs and professionals alike.
First World Cup (1930)
For the first edition of the World Cup, the competition was held in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1930. FIFA issued invitations and counted on the registration of sixteen teams, but only thirteen nations responded favorably to participate in the tournament. Only four European countries cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat to compete in the competition. Belgium, France and Romania take a ship named “Conte Verde” from Villefranche-sur-Mer. Yugoslavia embarks aboard the “MS Florida”. Other European countries are declining for financial and stewardship reasons.
Jules Rimet is even forced to carry out a round of France to convince authorities, players and employers so that France does not miss this first world meeting. All the other countries are American, there are two North American teams: the United States and Mexico, the others are South American. Impressive during the tournament, the teams of Argentina and Uruguay, both undefeated, met in the final in Montevideo. The two neighboring countries are rivals and Argentine fans turn out in large numbers to attend the final. However, the Celeste is at home which gives it a significant advantage.
The match was played on July 30, 1930, at the Centenario Stadium. Uruguay opened the scoring, but Argentina responded and scored back-to-back goals to lead 2–1 at half-time. The match then knows a new reversal of the situation in the second half. Pushed by its supporters, the Uruguayan team finally scored three more goals in the second half and won the game with a score of 4-2.
Pre-war European events and Italian victories (1934-1938)
Italy is hosting the second World Cup in history amid an economic crisis and rising fascism in parts of Europe. The defending champion, Uruguay, did not participate in the competition, which included thirty-two nations, much more than in the first edition. A preliminary round must be set up to reduce the number of teams participating in the final phase to sixteen. Coached by Vittorio Pozzo, the Italian team hosted Spain at the Giovanni Berta Stadium in the quarterfinals. After a tough first meeting, the two teams are tied and must play again the next day.
The violent Luis Monti forces a Spanish player out on injury at the beginning of the match. Italy qualified thanks to a goal from Giuseppe Meazza and joined Austria in the semi-finals. Meazza again offers victory to his family. In the second semi-final, Czechoslovakia eliminated Germany three goals to one. In the final, Czechoslovakia opened the scoring by Antonin Puc in front of Benito Mussolini and the many soldiers present in the stadium of Rome. Italy snatched extra time five minutes from the end on a goal by Raimundo Orsi and finally won after extra time on a goal by Angelo Schiavio.
The organization of the 1938 FIFA World Cup was entrusted to France. Thirty-six countries are engaged in the playoffs in which England, Uruguay and Spain do not participate, the latter nation being ravaged by civil war. The final phase finally brought together only fifteen teams, following the forfeit of Austria which had just been annexed by Germany. In the knockout rounds, Brazil and Poland offer an excellent match in Strasbourg during which the Brazilians triumph 6-5 after extra time thanks to three goals from Leônidas. In the quarter-final between Brazil and Czechoslovakia, the match turned into a general battle that ended in three expulsions and five injuries.
Qualified, Brazil challenged Italy in the semifinals by resting senior players like Leônidas who had allowed the Brazilian selection to beat the Czechs two days earlier. The Italians qualified for the final thanks to a 2-1 success. In the other semi-final, Hungary qualified by beating Sweden 5–1. The final was again won by the defending champion Italy, who beat the Hungarians in the final 4–2 thanks to doubles from Silvio Piola and Gino Colaussi. Vittorio Pozzo’s team is the first national team to win the competition twice consecutively.
Interruption and return of competition (1942-1950)
In 1939, the federations of Germany and Brazil were candidates for the organization of the 1942 FIFA World Cup. FIFA President Jules Rimet travels to South America to evaluate the Brazilian project. While in Rio de Janeiro, German troops attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, and World War II began. Preparations for the 1942 World Cup were interrupted even before the choice of the host country.
The Luxembourg Congress of July 26, 1946 marks FIFA’s great return to business after the World War. In tribute to the activity of the FIFA President, the Congress decided that the World Cup would henceforth be called “Jules Rimet Cup”.
The congress is marked by the choice of the host countries of the next two editions and the decision to change the periodicity of the World Cup. The trophy will now be awarded every two years (instead of every four years). In order to avoid competition from the Olympic Games every other time, FIFA plans its world tournament in odd-numbered years. Brazil and Switzerland (the only two candidate countries) inherited the organization of the 1949 and 1951 World Cups respectively. Two years later, however, in July 1948, FIFA backtracked by finally opting to maintain the traditional quadrennial organization in non-Olympic even-numbered years. The World Cup in Brazil was then delayed by a year (1950), the one to be played in Switzerland was postponed to 1954.
The fourth World Cup took place in Brazil in 1950. For the first time in the history of the competition, England, which had repeatedly declined FIFA invitations in the 1930s, finally agreed to affiliate with FIFA and participated in the qualifiers, where thirty-three countries were involved. Conversely, many national teams were absent from this first post-war edition, Austria and Belgium did not register for the qualifiers, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador withdrew. In the Maracanã, a stadium built for the occasion, 150,000 spectators gathered to watch a decisive first-round match between Brazil and Yugoslavia. With a 2–0 victory, Brazil qualified for the final pool.
The English were beaten by the United States on a goal by Joe Gaetjens, then again by Spain a few days later. Sweden won a decisive match against Italy in São Paulo and also qualified for the final round. The fourth and final group consisted of two teams, Uruguay easily beat Bolivia 8-0. In accordance with the wishes of the organizing country, the championship formula is repeated in the second round in the form of a final pool with four teams. This is the only time in the history of the competition where there is no knockout match. The Brazilians were impressive and performed an attacking festival against Sweden and Spain for victories 7-1 and 6-1 respectively. Brazilian striker Ademir scored nine goals in the competition and was his top scorer.
Their main rival, Uruguay, were less flamboyant, but only conceded one point in the first two games. Heading into the final day, Brazil and Uruguay are the only two teams still in the race for the title. They faced each other in the decisive final match at the Maracanã on July 16, 1950, in front of nearly 200,000 people, considered a real final, with the nuance that Brazil can settle for a draw to win what is now called the Jules-Rimet Cup.
The Uruguayan defense contained the Brazilian offensives and the score was 0-0 at half-time. Early in the second half, Brazil scored through Friaça. In the 65th minute, Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalized for the Uruguayans before Alcides Ghiggia scored the decisive goal for Uruguay. Brazil lost the World Cup on home soil to the great disappointment of Brazilian fans. The Uruguayan team is crowned world champion for the second time in history.
“The Miracle of Bern” (1954)
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, then known as the Championnat du monde de football – Coupe Jules-Rimet, was held in Switzerland. The favorite of the tournament, the Hungarian team, also called the Hungarian Golden Eleven, which dominates world football, confirms its status in the first matches of the competition by strangling South Korea 9 goals to 0 and a FRG playing beaten 8 goals to 3, the German coach having decided to rest some of his players for the support match against Turkey. In the latter, the German players won 7-2 and qualified for the quarter-finals. Italy was defeated in the second leg by Switzerland, who qualified with England.
In the quarter-finals, the most spectacular match (the most prolific in goals to date in the history of the World Cup) was played between Switzerland, the host country, and Austria, its neighbor: the Austrians won 7 goals to 5 after being led 3 to 0. The two big posters of these quarter-finals oppose Uruguay (defending champion) to the ambitious England, and Hungary to Brazil (outgoing vice-champion). Defending champion, the Celeste is too strong for England who is nevertheless up to the event. Hungary beats logically, but in pain (more literally than figuratively) a Brazil rougher than inspired. Indeed, while the match is 3-2, Hungarians and Brazilians begin to fight and this lasts until the entry into the locker room of the players after three expulsions. Germany easily dismissed Yugoslavia.
In the semi-finals, Germany showed efficiency by outclassing Austria 6-1. In the “final before the letter” between the two most impressive teams of the tournament so far, Hungary must draw on its reserves to overcome Uruguay at the end of extra time and qualify for the final (4-2) in a match of exceptional quality, entered into the legend as one of the greatest in history. The final takes place on July 4, 1954, in Bern. Hungary quickly led 2-0 but were surprised in the wake with two German goals. To everyone’s astonishment, Helmut Rahn scored the decisive goal for the FRG, which concluded a match nicknamed the “miracle of Bern”. The competition was a success, with a total of 943,000 spectators attending the competition in the stands. Sportingly, the record is good and marked by an offensive festival with an average of 5.4 goals per game.
The Brazil of Pelé and Garrincha victorious (1958-1962-1970)
The sixth edition of the World Cup, in 1958, was held in Sweden. The USSR team made its appearance in the competition. The edition was marked by Italy’s failure to qualify for the final phase of the competition. Unexpectedly, France’s team surprised with its offensive game. The progress of the French players is stopped in the semi-finals by Brazil on the score of 5-2 thanks to a hat-trick of the young Pelé.
In the other semi-final, Sweden, at home, qualified for the final by beating West Germany. In the final of the competition, Brazil won 5-2 with two more goals from Pelé and two others from Vavá. With 13 goals, Just Fontaine is undoubtedly the top scorer of the competition well helped by his complicity with the French playmaker Raymond Kopa; they allow France to climb for the first time on the podium by winning third place against the FRG, outgoing world champion.
Four years later, the World Cup returned to South America and settled in Chile. Fifty-six countries participated in the qualifiers, France, a semi-finalist of the previous edition, failed to qualify. We quickly note an evolution of the game towards a more defensive style. The host country, Chile, advanced to the semi-finals after eliminating the Soviet Union in the quarter-finals. It was dominated at this stage by Brazil of Vavá and Garrincha who scored two goals each. In the other semi-final, Masopust’s Czechoslovakia, winner of the Ballon d’Or at the end of the year, beat Yugoslavia 3-1. In the final, the Brazilians achieved the double by beating the Czechoslovaks 3-1. The Yugoslav Jerkovic finished top scorer of the event with five goals and Garrincha, the crazy dribbler, best player in the absence of Pelé.
After England’s home win in 1966, the ninth FIFA World Cup was held in Mexico in 1970. A record number of countries lined up at the start of the qualifiers with 75 different national teams. Portugal, Hungary, France, Spain and even Argentina failed to qualify for the final phase of the edition. Conversely, Israel and Morocco are invited for the first time in the qualified teams. West Germany and England faced each other in the quarter-finals: led 2-0 twenty minutes from the end, the Germans came back to tie and then won 3-2 after extra time. In the semi-finals, the German team faces Italy in the Azteca Stadium, built for the occasion.
After extra time, Italy won the game 4-3 on a goal by Gianni Rivera while Franz Beckenbauer remained on the field for almost an hour with his arm in a sling because of a broken collarbone. In the final, the Italian players lost 4-1 to Brazil and its prolific attack. With 10 goals, German striker Gerd Müller is the competition’s top scorer. In front of the metronome Gerson, Pelé once again showed his talent with a 50-meter lob attempt on Ivo Viktor, a great bridge on goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz and four new goals in the competition. He won his third World Cup, the third for Brazil, which thus obtained the right to keep the Jules-Rimet Cup, only twelve years after his first title.
Host victories (1966-1974-1978)
North Korea was the surprise of the 1966 World Cup held in England. On the final day of Group 4, the Asian team defeated and eliminated Italy, thus advancing to the first round. In the quarter-finals, they quickly took a big advantage against Portugal 3-0 before losing their footing and conceding five goals, including four from Eusébio. At home, England has an advantage, firstly because they play all their matches in the same Wembley stadium and more because the refereeing is in their favor. In the quarter-finals, Argentina captain Antonio Rattín was sent off in the 35th minute against England, leaving his team 10 against 11.
The English players won and qualified for the final after a 2-1 success over Portugal thanks to a double from Bobby Charlton. In the final, England faced the Federal Republic of Germany. The English players conceded a goal quickly, but equalized and then took the lead. A few minutes from the end, the Germans equalized and both teams had to play two periods of 15 minutes of extra minutes. In the 100th minute, the match referee awarded a contentious goal to Geoffrey Hurst. Hurst scored again in the last minute of the match while fans were on the pitch. England won their first (and so far, only) World Cup.
After the 1970 edition won by Brazil, the competition was held four years later in West Germany. Haiti creates the surprise by qualifying at the expense of Mexico. Australia is also making its debut in the competition. In the first round, the FRG played the GDR with the stake of first place in Group I. On June 22, 1974, the GDR beat the host country 1-0 by a goal by Jürgen Sparwasser. Not without difficulties, the Netherlands, Brazil and Italy, which is even led 1-0 by Haiti, also qualify for the second round which also takes place in groups.
The last day of this second phase offers in both groups decisive posters synonymous with real semi-finals between the four teams still in contention for the title: on the one hand, the Netherlands dominates Brazil with the manner while on the other the FRG beats Poland on the flooded field to win a place in the final. The Netherlands, led by Johan Cruyff, developed total football. In the final, West Germany won 2-1 at home against the Netherlands. Cruijff was named the best player of the competition.
Qualifying for the 1978 World Cup promised to be difficult. As West Germany and Argentina are automatically qualified, only 14 places remain to be allocated between the 97 teams playing in the preliminary rounds. Brazil, Italy and the Netherlands are also favorites. The France team qualified, unlike the USSR, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and England, once again absent. Iran and Tunisia are also present for the final phase taking place in Argentina.
The competition again takes place in two group stages. The FRG and the Netherlands meet in particular in the second round and play one of the best matches of the tournament, the score of parity at the end being more the case of the Dutch than the Germans. On the final day of Group A, Italy faced the Netherlands and believed in their chances of a final when they opened the scoring. However, the Dutch managed to reverse the score in the second half and win, thus qualifying for the final. While they had to beat Peru by four goals to beat Brazil on goal difference and obtain first place in Group B qualifying for the final, Argentina won the match 6-0 and achieved their goal. In the final, Mario Kempes opened the scoring shortly before half-time.
Dominated by the Netherlands, the second half ended with a goal by Dick Nanninga for the Dutch players eight minutes from the end minutes. Tied at 1-1, both teams headed to overtime. During this one, the Argentine players made the difference by scoring twice, first by Kempes, who finished top scorer and was named best player of the Mundial, then by Daniel Bertoni. Argentina won its first world title on home soil.
Third Italian title (1982)
The 12th World Cup in Spain sees 24 teams participate in the finals for the first time. The Netherlands, finalist of the previous edition and beaten in the qualification phase by Belgium and France, are the big absentees of the tournament. The first round was marked by Hungary’s historic 10-1 victory over El Salvador, Algeria’s surprise victory over West Germany and the non-match between Germany and Austria qualifying both countries at the expense of Algeria. Italy narrowly crossed the first round after three draws in three games and then woke up in the second round by beating Argentina, the outgoing champions, and especially Brazil, the favorites of the competition. The semi-finals are between four European teams. Poland, without its suspended master Boniek, lost to Italy on two goals from Paolo Rossi.
The other semi-final was between France and West Germany in Seville. The very intense match had many twists and turns and saw Germany qualify on penalties. In the final, Italy won 3-1 against Germans physically marked by the previous match. Italian striker Paolo Rossi finished as the competition’s top scorer.
Coronation of Maradona’s Argentina and German revenge (1986-1990)
Originally scheduled to take place in Colombia, the 1986 edition of the World Cup was held in Mexico. France finished third in the tournament after eliminating Brazil on penalties in the quarterfinals after a historic match and then failing again in the semifinals against Germany, as four years earlier. The competition is marked by the meeting between Argentina and England in the quarter-finals. The Captain of the Argentine team, Diego Maradona scored a goal in the 51st minute.
The referee, who did not see the illicit gesture, validates this goal which will be nicknamed “the hand of God”. Four minutes later, Maradona dribbled through six England players and goalkeeper Peter Shilton to score an equally historic and valuable goal. Author of a new double in the semi-final against Belgium, Maradona is elected best player of the tournament. His team dominated West Germany 3–2 in the final and won the World Cup. Gary Lineker finished as the competition’s top scorer with six goals ahead of Maradona, Emilio Butragueño and Careca with five goals each.
Defending champions, Argentina played the opening match of the 1990 World Cup in Italy against Cameroon and lost against all odds. Cameroon even became the first African nation to qualify for the quarter-finals of a World Cup after a victory over Colombia thanks to a double from Roger Milla, then 38 years old. The Cameroonian team is eliminated in the quarter-finals by England after extra time on a score of 3-2. If Brazil is beaten by Argentina in the knockout stages, other favorites such as Germany and Italy are present.
The two semi-finals feature Italy-Argentina and England-FRG. The meeting between Italy and Argentina took place in Naples, the city of the club where Diego Maradona played and of which he was an idol. The Italian players opened the scoring through Salvatore Schillaci but then conceded their first goal of the competition on a header from Claudio Caniggia. Both teams go to extra time and then to penalties. Sergio Goycochea, already decisive in the quarter-finals in the penalty shoot-out against Yugoslavia, stopped shots from Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena and qualified Argentina for their second consecutive final.
The other semi-final is also played on penalties. Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missed their attempts and coach Franz Beckenbauer’s West Germany reached their third consecutive world final. Two Argentine players were sent off during the final, which ended with a decisive goal by Andreas Brehme on a penalty kick five minutes from the end of the game. German captain Lothar Matthäus lifts the trophy. After losing the previous two finals, Germany won its third world title after a disappointing final, but became over the sixteen-year period 1974-1990 and the five editions played, the only team to have played four finals and won two.
Coronations of Brazil and France (1994-1998-2002)
Following Cameroon’s performance, FIFA decided to offer a third qualifying place for the African continent. The competition takes place in the United States. 147 countries participated in the qualifiers which saw the defeat of England, Portugal, France, Denmark, reigning European champions, and Uruguay. The beginning of the World Cup is marked by the positive doping control and the exclusion of Diego Maradona from the tournament. The host country was eliminated in the eighth round by Brazil. The Brazilians continue in the competition by beating the Netherlands and Sweden, one of the surprises of the World Cup.
Also a semi-finalist of the 1994 World Cup, Bulgaria is the other revelation of the edition. Qualified at the last minute at the expense of France in the preliminary phase, Bulgaria pinned to its chase board in America the two finalists of 1990, in the first round Argentina, and in the quarterfinals Germany, defending champions. The Bulgarian team and its striker author of six goals Hristo Stoitchkov are eliminated in the semifinals by Italy whose course has been strewn with pitfalls. Italy narrowly passed the first round by ranking among the “best third” after a defeat against Ireland in its first match.
The final was played between Brazil and Italy at the Rose Bowl. Unlike the rest of the competition rather offensive with 2.7 goals per game, the final is closed. At the end of regulation time, the score was still 0-0, a result that did not change in overtime. The match was the first final to be decided on penalties. The first two shooters failed, but it was the failures of the Italians Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio that proved decisive and allowed the Brazilian players to become world champions.
The 1998 World Cup is the second to be played in France, sixty years after the 1938 World Cup. The qualifiers recorded a record participation with 174 countries registered. For the first time, the final phase brings together 32 teams. Defending champions, Brazil overcame a first-round defeat to Norway and once again reached the World Cup final by eliminating the Netherlands on penalties in the semifinals. After three wins in three games in Group C, France went through the rounds in difficulty, first by beating Paraguay in the eighth final in Lens on a golden goal from Laurent Blanc, then by eliminating Italy on penalties.
The France team won in the semi-finals 2-1 against the surprising Croatian team thanks to a double from Lilian Thuram responding to the goal of the competition’s top scorer Davor Šuker. France made its most successful performance in the final by beating Brazil 3-0 at the France stadium thanks to a double from Zinedine Zidane and a goal from Emmanuel Petit. This is the sixth time the event has been won by the host country. Brazilian striker Ronaldo is voted the best player of the competition.
Held in South Korea and Japan, the 2002 World Cup saw Brazil play its third consecutive final, as Germany had done in the previous decade. Brazil faces Germany in the final: it is the first meeting in the history of the World Cup between these two great nations. The Brazilians are crowned world champions for the fifth time, thus signing the “Penta”, thanks in particular to Ronaldo, already decisive in the semi-final against Turkey and author of the only two goals of the final. The Brazilian striker finished as the competition’s top scorer with eight goals.
Host country coached by Guus Hiddink, South Korea is the surprise of this edition. After beating and eliminating Portugal in the group stage, South Korea successively eliminated Italy in the knockout rounds, on a golden goal by Ahn Jung-hwan, and Spain in the next round, on penalties, before losing on the smallest of scores against Germany in the semifinals. The defending champions France were eliminated in the first round of the competition without scoring a goal. Also eliminated in the first round, Argentina and Cameroon are among the disappointments of the first Asian World Cup.
European hegemony (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018)
The 2006 World Cup was held for the second time in Germany, thirty-two years after 1974. At home, the National Mannschaft reached the semi-finals thanks to the 5 goals of Miroslav Klose who finished top scorer of the tournament. They were defeated by eventual champions Italy. After a laborious first round, the France team woke up and beat Spain and Brazil. In the semi-finals, they met Portugal, who had eliminated the Netherlands and England.
Thanks to a penalty from Zinedine Zidane, France qualified for its second World Cup final. After Zidane opened the scoring with a panenka, Marco Materazzi equalized for Italy with a header from a corner. The two teams neutralize each other, the extra time is marked by the bad gesture of Zinedine Zidane, elected best player of the competition: it gives a headbutt to Materazzi and is expelled. France and Italy finally decided on penalties. Unfortunate in the final in the same exercise twelve years earlier, the Italians won the session, and therefore their 4th world title, by scoring all their shots, while David Trezeguet missed his on the French side.
The 2010 World Cup was held for the first time on the African continent, in South Africa. The final phase brings together 32 national teams. All previous World Cup winners are present. European champions, Spain is one of the main favorites while New Zealand, Honduras and North Korea are the least feared teams. The first round is marked by several surprises, starting with the elimination of the two finalists of the previous edition, which is a first. Other favorite teams are hooked by supposedly weaker teams, such as Germany, beaten by Serbia, or Spain, beaten by Switzerland. The host country, South Africa, is the first host country not to go beyond the first round of the World Cup. Brazil and Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals, while Uruguay reached the semi-finals after eliminating Ghana, the third African team in history to reach the quarter-finals, on penalties.
The Netherlands dominated the last South American nation in the semi-finals and returned to the final, 32 years after the one played in Argentina. Despite losing in the group stage, Germany and Spain reached the semi-finals and met there. The Spaniards, who are in the last four for only the second time, win and go to the final of the World Cup. For the second time in a row, the final pits two European nations against each other, which means a first European victory outside Europe. The first appearance in the final is the right one for Spain, crowned world champions thanks to a goal scored in the 116th minute by Andrés Iniesta, during extra time (1-0), while the Dutch fail at this level for the third time. This final is the most prolific in terms of warnings, with 14 yellow cards given by the referee.
The 2014 World Cup is being held in Brazil for the second time in World Cup history. The first round still saw surprises such as the elimination of Spain, the defending champions, and the brilliant performances of Costa Rica who finished top of Group D ahead of three former world champions, Uruguay, Italy and England, the latter two being eliminated. The Central American team reached the quarter-finals for the first time in its history where it was only eliminated on penalties by the Netherlands. Another team to reach this stage for the first time, Colombia led by James Rodríguez, the top scorer of the tournament with six goals scored.
It was eliminated by the host country, Brazil. In the semi-finals, the Germans humiliated the Brazilians on their home turf, seven goals to one, a record score at this stage of the competition. It was Brazil’s heaviest World Cup defeat. The other semi-final saw Argentina eliminate the Netherlands on penalties four shots to two after a goalless draw. Brazil suffered another disappointment in the third-place match, beaten by the Netherlands by three goals to nil. The final was played at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro between Germany and Argentina. Germany won a goal to nil in extra time thanks to a goal by Mario Götze. Germany won its fourth title, twenty-four years after its last trophy.
The 21st edition of the World Cup takes place in Russia from June 14 to July 15, 2018. The absence of Italy and the Netherlands, who failed in the qualification phase, is noticeable. The main surprise of the tournament is the elimination of the Mannschaft, defending champions, in the 1st round, while the Germans had each time reached at least the quarter-finals from 1954 to 2014. Spain, eliminated by Russia, and Brazil, knocked out in the quarterfinals by Belgium, also disappointed. Thus, for the second time, 88 years after the previous case in 1930, we find neither Brazil nor Germany in the last square. In addition, for the fifth time in history, the semi-finals feature two 100% European posters.
Belgium climbed to the final podium by beating England 2-0 and achieved the best World Cup performance in its history. As for France, they reached the final by beating Belgium 1–0, while Croatia became the thirteenth finalist in history by beating England in extra time 2–1 in the other semi-final. The final turns to the advantage of the French over the Croatians (4-2). France won the second world title in its history, twenty years after the one obtained at the expense of Brazil. Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps becomes the third man, after Brazil’s Mário Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, to win the world trophy as a player and then as a coach. Over the 20-year period 1998-2018 and the last six editions played, France is the only team to have played three finals and won two.
Argentina’s third title, in Qatar (2022)
The 22nd edition of the World Cup takes place in Qatar, a small but rich gas emirate, from November 20 to December 18, 2022. Originally planned for summer, it was moved to the fall, due to weather conditions. This is the first time that an Arab country from the Middle East has hosted the competition.
The 2022 World Cup sees to start Qatar, the host country, to be eliminated in the pools after 3 defeats, which is a first. Another surprise, the future winner, Argentina, is surprised on the first day by Saudi Arabia by losing 2-1. This edition also sees for the first time countries from four continents represented in the knockout stages, including two Asian countries, Japan and South Korea, which do not go beyond this stage of the competition. For its part, Morocco became the very first African (and also Arab) team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup but it was beaten by France (2-0).
On Sunday, December 18 at the Lusail stadium, Argentina won its third World Cup (after 1978 and 1986) by taking the best on France, reigning world champion, winning in the final on penalties 4 to 2 (3-3 a.p.). This final is marked by a hat-trick of the French striker Kylian Mbappé and a double of Lionel Messi which offers the title so eagerly awaited by the latter and the Argentine people, 36 years after Diego Maradona and his family, and after the defeat in the final in 2014.
The 2026 World Cup in North America
The 23rd edition of the World Cup will take place from June To July 2026 in North America and will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. It will be the first to gather 48 national teams instead of 32 (16 groups of 3 in the first round).
Charts
By edition
| Winners of the FIFA World Cup | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edition | Year | Victor | Score | Finalist | Third |
| 1st | 1930 | Uruguay (1) | Argentina | United States | |
| 2nd | 1934 | Italy (1) | Czechoslovakia | Germany | |
| 3rd | 1938 | Italy (2) | Hungary | Brazil | |
| 4th | 1950 | Uruguay (2) | Brazil | Sweden | |
| 5th | 1954 | West Germany (1) | Hungary | Austria | |
| 6th | 1958 | Brazil (1) | Sweden | France | |
| 7th | 1962 | Brazil (2) | Czechoslovakia | Chile | |
| 8th | 1966 | England (1) | West Germany | Portugal | |
| 9th | 1970 | Brazil (3) | Italy | West Germany | |
| 10th | 1974 | West Germany (2) | Netherlands | Poland | |
| 11th | 1978 | Argentina (1) | Netherlands | Brazil | |
| 12th | 1982 | Italy (3) | West Germany | Poland | |
| 13th | 1986 | Argentina (2) | West Germany | France | |
| 14th | 1990 | West Germany (3) | Argentina | Italy | |
| 15th | 1994 | Brazil (4) | Italy | Sweden | |
| 16th | 1998 | France (1) | Brazil | Croatia | |
| 17th | 2002 | Brazil (5) | Germany | Turkey | |
| 18th | 2006 | Italy (4) | France | Germany | |
| 19th | 2010 | Spain (1) | Netherlands | Germany | |
| 20th | 2014 | Germany (4) | Argentina | Netherlands | |
| 21st | 2018 | France (2) | Croatia | Belgium | |
| 22nd | 2022 | Argentina (3) | France | Croatia | |
Individual awards
At the end of each World Cup tournament, several trophies are awarded to players and teams that have distinguished themselves from others in different aspects of the game. In 1938, FIFA published a standard team at the end of the competition. The absence of Italian Silvio Piola in this typical team caused such an uproar that FIFA then refused to renew this type of appointment. Between 1982 and 2002, there is a trophy for the most quickly scored goal awarded with a gold chronometer.
Currently, five official trophies are awarded:
- The Golden Shoe has been awarded since 1982 to the top scorer;
- the Ballon d’Or for the best player of the World Cup (first trophy in 1982);
- the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper since the 1994 World Cup;
- Best Young Player is an award given to the best player under 21 at the beginning of the year since the 2006 FIFA World Cup;
- the FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team that demonstrates the best sportsmanship and behavior on and off the pitch since the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
| Individual FIFA World Cup honors | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edition | Year | Top scorer | Best Player | Best goalkeeper | Best Young Player |
| 1st | 1930 | Guillermo Stábile (8) | Not assigned | Not assigned | Not assigned |
| 2nd | 1934 | Oldřich Nejedlý (5) | |||
| 3rd | 1938 | Leônidas (7) | |||
| 4th | 1950 | Ademir (8) | |||
| 5th | 1954 | Sándor Kocsis (11) | |||
| 6th | 1958 | Just Fontaine (13) | Bare | ||
| 7th | 1962 | Flórián Albert Garrincha Valentin Ivanov Dražan Jerković Leonel Sánchez Vavá (4) | Flórián Albert | ||
| 8th | 1966 | Eusébio (9) | Franz Beckenbauer | ||
| 9th | 1970 | Gerd Müller (10) | Teófilo Cubillas | ||
| 10th | 1974 | Grzegorz Lato (7) | Władysław Żmuda | ||
| 11th | 1978 | Mario Kempes (6) | Antonio Cabrini | ||
| 12th | 1982 | Paolo Rossi (6) | Paolo Rossi | Manuel Amoros | |
| 13th | 1986 | Gary Lineker (6) | Diego Maradona | Enzo Scifo | |
| 14th | 1990 | Salvatore Schillaci (6) | Salvatore Schillaci | Robert Prosinečki | |
| 15th | 1994 | Oleg Salenko Hristo Stoitchkov (6) | Romário | Michel Preud’homme | Marc Overmars |
| 16th | 1998 | Davor Šuker (6) | Ronaldo | Fabien Barthez | Michael Owen |
| 17th | 2002 | Ronaldo (8) | Oliver Kahn | Oliver Kahn | Landon Donovan |
| 18th | 2006 | Miroslav Klose (5) | Zinédine Zidane | Gianluigi Buffon | Lukas Podolski |
| 19th | 2010 | Thomas Müller (5) | Diego Forlán | Iker Casillas | Thomas Müller |
| 20th | 2014 | James Rodríguez (6) | Lionel Messi | Manuel Neuer | Paul Pogba |
| 21st | 2018 | Harry Kane (6) | Luka Modrić | Thibaut Courtois | Kylian Mbappé |
| 22nd | 2022 | Kylian Mbappé (8) | Lionel Messi | Emiliano Martínez | Enzo Fernández |
Statistics and records
Nations
Two continents have historically dominated the World Cup: South America and Europe. They have won every edition since inception in 1930. The eight different winners of the FIFA World Cup are South American or European. In addition, between Brazil’s victory in 1962 and Italy’s victory in 2006, European and South American teams have alternated in the rankings every four years. The organization of the event in other continents, first in North America (1970, 1986 and 1994), then in Asia (2002) and finally in Africa (2010), globalized the competition, which is now a universal event.
A total of 80 countries currently members of FIFA have already participated at least once in the competition, out of the 211 national federations, since 1930.
The records are held mainly by the historical nations of the competition. The only team to have participated in all the finals of the World Cup, Brazil holds the record for victories in the competition by being the only five-time winner (five wins). Brazil is also the team to have won the most matches in the finals (76 wins in 114 matches). In addition, Brazil, Germany and Argentina are the only teams to have won the World Cup on their own continent and on a continent other than their own. Brazil did not win at home.
Brazil and Germany are the only two nations to have always managed to qualify for the final phase of the competition. Germany is the team that has played the most finals (eight in total) and semi-finals (twelve in total, 13 appearances in the last four). Brazil has also played the most matches (114 in 22 appearances). Regarding the number of goals in the finals, the crossover between the two historically most successful nations continues: at the end of the 22nd World Cup, Brazil regains the lead in the ranking of the most goals scored (237) ahead of Germany (232).
Five nations have hosted the World Cup twice: Italy, France, Mexico, Germany and Brazil. With the exception of Brazil and Mexico, each has won the World Cup once on its own soil. Unlike Mexico, twice eliminated in the quarterfinals at home, Brazil has reached the last four as many times on its own soil (runner-up in 1950). Five outgoing champions were eliminated in the first round (Brazil in 1966, France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018).
Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934, England in 1966, Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 and France in 1998 became home champions (six times out of 21). Germany is the only country to have already won the World Cup before triumphing at home.
From the 13th World Cup in 1986, the rule concerning the final to be replayed in case of a tie after extra time (which had never happened) was abandoned by FIFA. Since then, three World Cups (out of ten) have been played on penalties after a draw in the final after extra time: 1994 one between Brazil and Italy won three penalties to two by Brazil, the 2006 World Cup between Italy and France Italian players won five penalties to three and the 2022 one between Argentina and France won four penalties to two by Argentina.
In World Cup qualifying, Spain was the first country to win ten out of ten games, in 2010. The German team repeated this performance during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. In 1970, Brazil won six out of six matches. Moreover, in 1982 and 2010 respectively, West Germany and the Netherlands won eight out of eight matches. In the qualifying phase, the largest success went to Australia, with their 31-0 victory over American Samoa in 2001, 13 of the goals were scored by Archie Thompson which is the record for the most goals scored in an international match.
With only two goals conceded, the France in 1998, the Italian team in 2006 and the Spanish team in 2010 achieve the best defensive performance. The Federal Republic of Germany scored 25 goals in their victory at the 1954 World Cup, which was the best performance by a winning team. This edition also set the record for goals scored in a final: 27, by the Hungarian team.
Hungary is the only team to have managed to score ten goals in the same match in the finals, signing on June 15, 1982, the biggest win (10-1) in the history of the tournament against El Salvador on the first day of Group 3. Hungarian substitute László Kiss scored the fastest hat trick in World Cup history in the 70th, 73rd and 78thth minutes; this is the first “hat trick” of an incoming player. Two other matches ended with a score of nine goals (9-0), seeing Hungary win again against South Korea on June 17, 1954 and of Yugoslavia against Zaire on June 18, 1974.
Players
Frenchman Lucien Laurent is the first scorer in the history of the World Cup by scoring in the first match in Uruguay against Mexico, on an assist from Ernest Libérati. The 1000th goal of the competition was scored by Dutchman Robert Rensenbrink in the Netherlands’ defeat against Scotland on June 11, 1978.
Germany’s Miroslav Klose holds the record for goals scored in the World Cup with 16 goals, followed by Brazil’s Ronaldo (15 goals) and Germany’s Gerd Müller with 14. Frenchman Just Fontaine remains the top scorer in a single edition with 13 goals in 1958. He did not score in another edition. Pele is the fifth-highest scorer in World Cup history with 12 goals. With four goals in the final, Frenchman Mbappé (2018, 2022) is the top scorer in the final.
France’s and England’s Hurst are the only players in history to have scored a hat-trick in the final. Russia’s Oleg Salenko remains the top scorer in a single World Cup match with five goals in the Russia-Cameroon match won by Russia 6–1 in 1994. In this match, another record was broken by Roger Milla. He became the oldest goalscorer in the competition at 42 years and 39 days, he was also the oldest outfield player in a finals. In 2018, Egyptian goalkeeper Essam el-Hadari became the oldest player to play in a World Cup, at the age of 45 years and 161 days. The youngest was Northern Irishman Norman Whiteside, who was 17 years and 41 days old in the first match against Yugoslavia in 1982.
Only one player has won three world championship titles with his team: the Brazilian Pelé, crowned in 1958, 1962 and 1970. However, he did not play in the final in 1962. Pelé also holds records of precocity, he is the youngest scorer and winner of the World Cup. In contrast, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff is the oldest player to have won the competition.
Antonio Carbajal, Gianluigi Buffon, Lothar Matthäus, Rafael Márquez, Guillermo Ochoa, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only players to have played in five World Cup finals. Lionel Messi is the one who has played the most matches with twenty-six matches between 2006 and 2022. Brazil’s Cafu is the only player to have played in three World Cup finals: winner in 1994, runner-up in 1998 and winner in 2002, the latter as captain. Luis Monti has played in two finals representing two different countries. He lost in 1930 with Argentina and won in 1934 with Italy.
The Germans Fritz and Ottmar Walter and the English Bobby and Jack Charlton are the only two siblings to have been world champions in the same team, respectively in 1954 and 1966.
Uruguayan Alcides Ghiggia (1950, 4 goals), Frenchman Just Fontaine (1958, 13 goals) and Brazilian Jairzinho (1970, 7 goals) are the only players to have scored in all the matches played by their team during a finals.
The record for the fastest goal scored in a World Cup finals is currently held by Turkey’s Hakan Şükür with a goal scored 10.8 seconds after kick-off. This goal came early in the third-place match between Turkey and South Korea at the 2002 World Cup, which Turkey won 3–2. In qualifying, the fastest goal was scored after 7.5 seconds by Belgian striker Christian Benteke in a match against Gibraltar during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
In 1986, José Batista was sent off by French referee Joël Quiniou during the Uruguay-Scotland match after only 56 seconds for a tackle from behind, the fastest red card of the World Cup.
Breeders
The most successful coach was Vittorio Pozzo with Italy’s victories in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. Brazil’s Mario Zagallo holds the overall record for World Cup titles. Already victorious as a player in 1958 and 1962, he won the competition as coach in 1970 and as an assistant in 1994. He is followed by the German Franz Beckenbauer, who achieved this double with his victory in 1974 as a player and in 1990 as coach, then the Frenchman Didier Deschamps, winner as a player in 1998 and as coach in 2018.
Also of German nationality, Helmut Schön is the coach who has managed the most games on the bench with twenty-five games between 1966 and 1978 for West Germany. Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari holds two records. He is unbeaten twelve games in a row, seven with Brazil, with whom he won the title in 2002, and five with Portugal in 2006, the first eleven meetings ending in victories, it is the longest winning streak in regulation time in the World Cup.
Brazil’s Carlos Alberto Parreira is also a historic World Cup coach. He led Kuwait in 1982, the United Arab Emirates in 1990, became world champion with Brazil in 1994, then managed Saudi Arabia four years later. He returned to lead the Brazilian national team in 2006 and reached the quarter-finals before becoming coach of South Africa in 2010. Bora Milutinović has also participated in five World Cups with five different caps. He led Mexico in 1986, Costa Rica in 1990, the United States in 1994, Nigeria in 1998 and China in 2002.
The youngest coach is Argentina’s Juan José Tramutola in 1930 at 27 years and 267 days, while the oldest is Germany’s Otto Rehhagel who leads the Greek team at 71 years and 317 days during the 2010 World Cup.
Organization of the FIFA World Cup
Selection of host countries
At the FIFA Congress held in Barcelona on May 18, 1929, the organization of the first World Cup is entrusted to Uruguay to celebrate the centenary of its independence, but also because the country is the two-time reigning Olympic champion.
For the second edition in 1934, Italy established itself as the host country after having provided the necessary financial conditions. Sweden, well engaged, withdrew in front of the Italian candidacy. The designation, first scheduled for May 1932 at the Stockholm Congress, was finally postponed to December following requests to postpone the competition. Austria and other European countries wanted to postpone the competition until 1936 because of the economic context marked by the Great Depression.
In 1938, Jules Rimet wanted the competition to take place in his country, France. Argentina and Germany are also running as candidates for the organization. FIFA questions France’s ability to have sufficient facilities to host the competition. Finally, FIFA gives on August 15, 1936 the responsibility of the competition at France by a vote.
Brazil and Germany were candidates to host the 1942 World Cup, with the organizer to be chosen at a congress in 1938. Following persistent disagreements, the decision was postponed to a congress in 1939, but war broke out before the host country was chosen and the competition was canceled.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Brazil, already a candidate for the organization in 1942, and Switzerland were the only two countries to volunteer. They are both designated on July 26, 1946, in Luxembourg to organize the first post-war competitions, in order, to respect the alternation between Europe and South America, Brazil in 1949 and Switzerland in 1951. The decision to change the calendar is made on July 27, 1948: the World Cups initially scheduled for 1949 and 1951 are shifted to 1950 and 1954 94 and return to a quadrennial rhythm in even years when the Olympic Games are not held (as was the case before the war with the World Cups in 1930, 1934 and 1938).
Once again without a vote, the organization of the 1958 edition was entrusted to Sweden on June 23, 1950, in Rio de Janeiro, almost eight years before the start of the event.
For the 1962 competition, three countries were candidates for the organization: Argentina, Chile and West Germany. West Germany withdraws and FIFA is due to vote on June 10, 1956, in Lisbon to designate in which of the two South American countries the 1962 World Cup was played. Chile was finally chosen by 32 votes to 11. A new one-round vote takes place in Rome on August 22, 1960 for the next edition and England was given the responsibility of hosting the competition in 1966. In 1970, the FIFA Congress continued the alternation between Europe and South America. It meets on October 8, 1964, in Tokyo and designates Mexico in the first round of voting.
On July 6, 1966, in London, the FIFA Congress chooses the following three host countries for the competition. The FRG and Spain were the only candidates for Europe for the 1974 and 1982 editions, the former going to the FRG, the latter to Spain. Beaten for 1962 and 1970, Argentina finally obtained the organization of the World Cup in 1978.
The vote then changes, a vote of the FIFA Executive Committee replaces the congresses. Chosen in 1974 in Stockholm, Colombia faced financial problems and had to give up hosting the event in 1982 four years later. Mexico’s bid for the 1986 World Cup was voted unanimously by the members of the executive committee. Italy was then preferred to the USSR for the 1990 World Cup. For the appointment of the organizer of the 1994 edition, a new vote was organized in Zurich in 1988. The United States defeated Morocco by three votes, breaking the alternation between Europe and South America. Morocco was again beaten four years later with the choice of France for the 1998 competition.
On 31 May 1996, a joint candidature of Japan and South Korea is proposed and voted on by show of hands by the FIFA Executive Committee. The first final phase taking place in Asia took place in these two countries in 2002.
After three rounds of voting, Germany was named host of the 2006 World Cup, beating South Africa by one vote. The latter is designated to organize the next edition at the expense of Morocco, once again beaten. South Africa becomes the first African country to host the competition. With FIFA’s rotation system, the 2014 World Cup is to be held on the South American continent. Brazil is nominated after the withdrawal of the other nominations. On December 2, 2010, the organization of the 2018 and 2022 editions are respectively attributed to Russia and Qatar, which is a first for both countries.
For 2026, the procedure is delayed by one year following Fifagate. This edition will inaugurate the 48-team format that requires more stadiums to host the competition. The voting format changes, the reduced committees disappear, each national federation votes. Two nominations were submitted: one from Morocco and the other jointly from Mexico, the United States and Canada. The joint North American bid was selected on 13 June 2018.
Competition format
While the first edition brought together only 13 teams (all invited) instead of the expected 16, the establishment of preliminary rounds was necessary in 1934 in order to select 16 teams among the 30 nations registered. This number of teams qualified for the finals remained unchanged until 1982, when it increased from 16 to 24, then evolved again from 24 to 32, for the 1998 edition. For the second edition Italy, the host country, must exceptionally play the knockout phase while Uruguay decides not to defend its title. From 1938 until 2002, the defending and organizing countries were both automatically qualified. Since then, only the organizing country is guaranteed participation in the final phase. Thus, Brazil, the world champion in 2002, must go through the preliminary round to be able to defend its title in 2006.
Preliminary round
Since the 1934 World Cup, a qualification phase has been organized before the final phase in order to limit the number of participants in the tournament. The preliminary qualifying round is divided between FIFA’s six continental zones (Africa, Asia, North, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Oceania and Europe), each represented by their confederation. FIFA sets a quota of places in the finals for each continental zone. Qualifying can begin as early as the year following the final phase and last for two or three seasons. Qualification formats vary from confederation to confederation. There are also intercontinental dams.
Final phase
The final phase of the competition has almost always combined the two formulas “championship” (group stage) and “cup” (direct elimination). In 1930 the group system, set up so that European teams that had made a long trip by boat did not leave after a single match played (in case of defeat), thus allowed the first of each group to reach the semi-finals. In 1934 and 1938 FIFA opted for the full “cup” system (from the knockout stages to the final).
Conversely, in 1950, the full two-round “championship” system was applied, with the first of each of the four groups of the first round advancing to the final pool. From 1954 to 1970, four pools of four teams produced eight quarter-finalists, the end of the tournament was then played by direct elimination. For the 1974 and 1978 editions the “championship” formula is redoubled, a second round of pools replaces the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the only matches-cup being the finals. With the increase in the number of teams qualified for the finals, from 16 to 24 in 1982, the formula of the competition now includes 6 pools of four teams in the first round releasing twelve qualified for a second round of 4 pools of three teams; Semi-finals and final then conclude the event.
From 1986 to 1994, the formula still has 6 pools of four teams in the first round as in 1982 but goes to the knockout phase in the second round: in addition to the twelve direct qualifiers, four teams (“the best third”) are drafted to complete the table of the knockout stages. Since 1998, 32 teams participate in the final phase with eight pools of 4 teams in the first round releasing 16 teams qualified in the knockout stages.
In 1990, the distribution of teams for the draw was made according to a ranking taking into account the performances of the previous events; Spain criticized the imperfection of the system, placing England at the level of the top seeds. Moreover, in 1994, the selections of Germany, Brazil, Italy and the USA (host country), negotiated with the organizers to choose their city of the first round. In 1998, so that the host country and the defending champion could not meet before the final (if they finished first in their group), the organizers prearranged the draw, as had been done almost always since 1930. This type of arrangement, validated by the FIFA authorities, was reproduced in a similar way in 2006. Since then, only the organizing country knows in advance the group in which it will be placed: Group A.
On January 10, 2017, under the impetus of its new president Gianni Infantino, the FIFA World Council meeting in Zurich unanimously decided to increase the number of teams participating in the final phase to 48 from the 2026 World Cup. According to the new formula, the forty-eight teams will be divided into sixteen pools of three in the first round, and the direct elimination phase will begin from the sixteenth finals.
| Summarizing | ||||||||||
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| Competition stage (*) | ||||||||||
| Years | Teams | 1 / 16th final | <–> | 1 / 8th final | 1 / 4 final | 1 / 2 final | 3 e v 4 th Place | Final | ||
| 1930 | 13 | 1st round 4 pools of 3 or 4: 1st qualified. |  |
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| 1934 1938 | 16 15 | |
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| 1950 | 13 | 1st round 4 pools of 4, 3 or 2: 1st qualified. | 2nd round Final pool of 4 | |||||||
| 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 | 16 | 1st round 4 pools of 4: 1st and 2nd qualified. | |
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| 1974 1978 | 16 | 1st round 4 pools of 4: 1st and 2nd qualified. | 2nd round 2 pools of 4: 1st in final, 2nd in small final. | |
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| 1982 | 24 | 1st round 6 pools of 4: 1st and 2nd qualified. | 2nd round 4 pools of 3 : 1st qualified. | |
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| 1986 1990 1994 | 24 | 1st round 6 pools of 4: 1st and 2nd qualified + 4 best 3rd. | |
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| 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 | 32 | 1st round 8 pools of 4: 1st and 2nd qualified. | |
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| 2026 | 48 | 1st round 16 pools of 3: 1st and 2nd qualified. | |
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(*) Competition stage expressed as a fraction. Procedures indicated in the case of a group stage, box ticked in the case of a knockout round.
Evolution of the Regulation
Since 1930, the rules of the competition have evolved. Players wore numbers on their shirts from the 1938 World Cup played in France. Substitutes are initially allowed only following a player’s injury. The first substitution took place in the 1950s during a test phase and limited in the first 40 minutes of the match. From the 1970 World Cup, substitutions were allowed for any reason. Teams then have the right to bring in two substitute players. In the finals, the first substitution took place between Viktor Serebryanikov and Anatoly Puzach who entered in place of his Soviet compatriot in the 46th minute in a match of the>May 31, 1970opposing the USSR to Mexico. The number of substitutions allowed then increases to three, then in 2018 to four if the match continues with extra time.
The three-point victory was set up at the 1994 World Cup, when historically it was worth two points. The back pass to the goalkeeper was banned for the 1994 World Cup in order to limit its abuse. The purpose of this ban is to develop the offensive game. The squad for the finals of the competition increased from 22 to 23 players for the 2002 edition of the World Cup.
In 2010, FIFA required that the FIFA flag, the FIFA Fair Play flag, the confederation flag and the flags of the two competing associations be hoisted in the stadium during each match of the competition. The FIFA anthem must be played while both teams enter the field. As with other international matches, the national anthems of the two competing teams are then played once the teams have lined up. The players then shake hands with their opponents and referees.
Opening Ceremonies
Before 1970, the ceremonies were simple with the presentation of representatives of the countries qualified for the final phase. Since 1970, they have become more and more colorful and alive. This transformation of the opening ceremonies began in 1970. This edition marks a turning point, the opening ceremony is a parade of young players dressed in the colors of the qualified nations. Four years later, the FRG organized a simple but unprecedented opening ceremony. The organizers have balloons in bloom that open to make room for local dancers from each country. The players are not present, but former glories are there like Pelé or Uwe Seeler.
The opening ceremonies then become more and more impressive. In 1982, the opening ceremony of the World Cup was presided over by the Royal Family of Spain. Pablo Picasso’s Dove of Peace is the symbol of the ceremony that wishes to convey a message of peace. More than 20,000 balls were released before 2,200 athletes dressed in white formed a dove on the pitch of Camp Nou. After the official speeches of the FIFA President and the King of Spain, the competition begins.
The 1990 opening ceremony took place in a renovated San Siro stadium that became Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Four heads of state were present: the president of the organizing country, the Italian Francesco Cossiga, the Brazilian president Fernando Collor de Mello, the Cameroonian president Paul Biya and the Argentine president Carlos Menem, the latter two attending the opening match between their nation, shows the growing interest in the ceremony. Gymnasts present the flags of the nations before models in the colors of the five continents enter the lawn. The World Cup anthem then sounds before a release of balloons.
In 1998, on the eve of the first match of the World Cup, a procession of four giants was organized through the streets of Paris and broadcast on television. Each figure of about twenty meters in height represents a continent: Ho for Asia, Musa for Africa, Pablo for America and Romeo for Europe.
For the opening ceremony of the 2006 World Cup, Pelé and Claudia Schiffer brought the trophy to the field. Around 150 other World Cup-winning players are on hand to watch the opening ceremony. Colorful dancers and choreographies precede the presentation of the teams qualified for the final phase with a flag of each country on the field.
For the opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup in Doha, the organizers pay tribute to the competitions of the past. It is devoted in particular to the anthems of the various World Cups. The prince of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, appears with his father Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Ghanim al-Muftah, a social media star in Qatar, starred with Morgan Freeman in a dialogue calling for tolerance and respect.
Stages
| Finals Stadiums | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Stage | ||||
| 1930 | Centenario Stadium (Montevideo) | ||||
| 1934 | Stadio Nazionale del PNF (Rome) | ||||
| 1938 | Olympic Stadium Yves-du-Manoir (Colombes) | ||||
| 1950 | Maracanã Stadium (Rio de Janeiro) | ||||
| 1954 | Wankdorf Stadium (Bern) | ||||
| 1958 | Råsunda Stadium (Solna) | ||||
| 1962 | National Stadium of Chile (Santiago) | ||||
| 1966 | Wembley Stadium (London) | ||||
| 1970 | Azteca Stadium (Mexico City) | ||||
| 1974 | Munich Olympic Stadium (Munich) | ||||
| 1978 | Monumental Stadium (Buenos Aires) | ||||
| 1982 | Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Madrid) | ||||
| 1986 | Azteca Stadium (Mexico City) (2) | ||||
| 1990 | Olympic Stadium in Rome (Rome) | ||||
| 1994 | Rose Bowl (Los Angeles) | ||||
| 1998 | Stade de France (Saint-Denis) | ||||
| 2002 | Yokohama International Stadium (Yokohama) | ||||
| 2006 | Berlin Olympic Stadium (Berlin) | ||||
| 2010 | Soccer City Stadium (Johannesburg) | ||||
| 2014 | Maracanã Stadium (Rio de Janeiro) (2) | ||||
| 2018 | Luzhniki Stadium (Moscow) | ||||
| 2022 | Lusail Stadium (Lusail) | ||||
The first edition of the World Cup took place in 1930 in three stadiums in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. With a capacity of more than 80,000 people, the Centenario Stadium, which is the largest of the three, is not ready for the start of the competition. The first matches of the competition were played in two other stadiums: Estadio Pocitos and Estadio Gran Parque Central. The lowest attendance of the World Cup was a match between Romania and Peru at the Estadio Pocitos in 1930 where only 300 spectators gathered. The first final in the history of the competition was finally played at the Centenario Stadium.
Four years later, the competition took place in Italy. The World Cup is played in eight different stadiums. The final took place in Rome at the Stadio Nazionale del PNF. The Turin stadium, which can accommodate the largest attendance with 70,000 people, is renamed Stadio Benito Mussolini. In 1938, France increased the capacity of the Colombes stadium to 60,000 seats in order to meet the expectations of FIFA, which hoped that the attendance would be as high as four years earlier. The French organization renovated and enlarged the other eight stadiums, 374,937 spectators attended the competition. For the 1950 edition, the Maracanã stadium was built to host the competition and broke attendance records. With officially 199,854 spectators, the decisive match between Brazil and Uruguay played at the Maracanã in 1950 was the highest attendance for a football match played as part of the World Cup.
In 1954, Switzerland made six stadiums available for the smooth running of the competition. The 1954 FIFA World Cup Final was played at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern. For the Swedish campaign in 1958, the organizers built new stadiums for the occasion in Malmö and Gothenburg. Stockholm’s Råsunda Stadium is renovated to hold more than 50,000 people. A total of 821,363 spectators attended the World Cup in Sweden. In 1962, the World Cup was played in only four stadiums: Estadio Carlos Dittborn d’Arica, Estadio Braden Cooper Co. de Rancagua, Estadio Sausalito de Viña del Mar and the National Stadium of Chile in Santiago de Chile. The final takes place in the latter which, with a capacity of 75,000 spectators, also hosts almost all the matches of the host country, Chile, and the small final.
The 1966 World Cup was played on the ground where football was created: England. Wembley Stadium built in 1923 is the main venue, it is the venue for the final. England has the privilege of playing all its matches in this stadium until the final victory of the English players. Other major stadiums are Goodison Park, Roker Park and Hillsborough. For the 1970 edition, the five stadiums of the competition were built or modernized. These are Jalisco Stadium, Nou Camp Stadium, Cuauhtémoc Stadium, Nemesio Díez Stadium and Azteca Stadium. The latter, with a capacity of more than 105,000 spectators, was built for the event and to host the final of the 1970 World Cup. Located in Mexico City, it hosted ten matches in 1970 and nine more in 1986, which is a record of World Cup matches played in a single stadium.
In 1974, the Federal Republic of Germany chose to organize the competition in nine different stadiums. Two were built on this occasion, the Parkstadion and the Westfalenstadion, the others were renovated. A new record of spectators in stadiums was set with 1,774,022. Argentina did not beat the attendance record in 1978 with 1,729,292 people present in the stadiums, but sold 88% of the available tickets against 72% in West Germany four years earlier.
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was held in Spain. The Spanish organization held the record for the number of stadiums in which the competition took place with 17 stadiums spread throughout the country. The final takes place in the Santiago Bernabéu stadium where Real Madrid is the resident club. Most of the Mexican sports venues used for the 1986 World Cup are the same as in 1970, the Azteca Stadium again hosts the final of the competition. Italian stadiums hosted the 1990 FIFA World Cup matches. The Olympic Stadium in Rome is the stadium designated to host the final of the competition, 73,606 spectators gather there to watch the German victory.
The United States converted American football stadiums into football stadiums for the 1994 World Cup. This allows them to beat the record attendance of a World Cup event with 3,587,538 spectators to see the 52 matches, a record average of 68,991 spectators per match. The final was held at Rose Bowl Stadium in front of 94,194 people. In 1998, France built the France Stadium to host the final of the competition. The other stadiums are modernized. Nine other stadiums are renovated for this event. The capacity of the Velodrome stadium, which hosts a semi-final, is increased to 60,000 spectators. The small final is played at the Parc des Princes.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was played in 20 different stadiums divided equally between the two host countries, South Korea and Japan. Most of the stadiums used were built for the competition and put into service shortly before the edition. The Yokohama International Stadium hosts the final and the 69,029 spectators present for this occasion. On the occasion of the 2006 World Cup, twelve German stadiums were built or renovated for the World Cup. The Allianz Arena or Munich Arena is built. The final of the edition is played at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, renovated for this occasion. For the competition in South Africa four years later, four of the ten stadiums were built for the occasion.
In the 2000s, the construction of stadiums was subject to very precise specifications issued by FIFA so that the stadiums were approved to host the final phase of the competition. World Cup attendance is chronologically increasing. The Maracanã made the 1950 edition the most followed in the stands before the World Cup was held in England and its Wembley Stadium. The last major peak occurred in 1994 when the United States transformed American football stadiums for the World Cup.
Sometimes the low use of stadiums after the competition is criticized as the Maracanã in Rio, too big, which fell into disrepair and had to be rebuilt. However, many stadiums such as German stadiums allowed local clubs to benefit from a more modern stadium after the competition.
Official balloons
In the first final of the World Cup, each team brings its ball and the referee, John Langenus, must draw lots for the field, but also the ball to play the match. The Argentine ball is chosen by chance. From the 1934 edition, the same model of the ball is used for all matches of the same final phase. Allen supplied the balloons in 1938. In 1962, Adidas was chosen as a supplier and released its Santiago edition. After the 1966 break when the balls were Slazenger, Adidas became the exclusive supplier of the World Cup. The German equipment manufacturer releases a new model of the balloon at each edition to which it gives a name.
Tango was used for the 1978 and 1982 World Cups. Azteca in 1986 is the first ball of the competition entirely in synthetic. The ball of the 1990 edition is named Estrusco Unico. The Questra in 1994 is appreciated by the players and decried by the goalkeepers. The Tricolore ball for the 1998 edition sports the colors of the host country, France, with a blue and white ball. It is made in Morocco. The Fevernova in 2002 is gold in color with red flames. The layer of foam that composes it is enhanced by micro-balls of gas, allowing according to Adidas more precise strikes.
The Teamgeist ball in 2006 is an innovative ball. It is waterproof which allows it to keep the same weight from the beginning to the end of the game regardless of the weather conditions. Adidas named Jabulani, which means “to celebrate” in Zulu, the balloon used for 2010. It is molded in one piece, and equipped with a new concept called “Grip’n’Groove” for optimal control, stable trajectories and perfect grip. However, the 2010 World Cup ball was heavily criticized by goalkeepers for its floating trajectory. These criticisms are taken into account by Adidas during the 2014 World Cup, the trajectories of Brazuca, whose conception lasted two years, are less random.
Arbitration
The beginnings of refereeing in the World Cup are difficult. The opposition of cultures is also present for the referees. From the first edition in 1930, general fights broke out. Cards do not exist, referees can only exclude players. Belgian John Langenus, referee of the first World Cup final, noted this during the match between Argentina and Chile: “In Europe, I would have excluded the twenty-two players. In America, it was almost natural. Finally, after the intervention of the mounted police, the match could end normally. The interpretation of the rules differs among arbitrators and causes problems of fairness.
Yellow and red cards were introduced for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, four years after the case with Argentina captain Antonio Rattín who did not want to leave the field as requested by the referee. The Sunday May 31, 1970, German referee Kurt Tschenscher gave Evgeny Lovchev, the No. 6 of the Soviet Union team, the first yellow card in the history of the World Cup in the first round match in Mexico City between Mexico and the Soviet Union that ended in a 0-0 draw. The first red card was issued by Turkish referee Doğan Babacan for Chilean Carlos Caszely in a match against West Germany on June 14, 1974.
Arbitration is often at the heart of controversies. In the final of the 1966 edition, Geoffrey Hurst hit the ball on the bar in the 100th minute of the match, in extra time. The ball then bounces off the pitch and comes out of the goal. Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst validated the goal after consulting his assistant Tofik Bakhramov. However, doubt persists and an English study confirmed that the ball did not return. In the last minute of this match, Hurst scored his third personal goal while fans were on the pitch. “In-house arbitration” is often criticized, with the referee making decisions in favor of the host countries.
Some editions of the World Cup are marked by mistakes with serious consequences. During the semi-final of the 1982 World Cup, Harald Schumacher assaulted Patrick Battiston. Referee Charles Corver did not whistle a foul while Battiston had to be hospitalized. Schumacher and West Germany then won on penalties. Four years later, the World Cup was again marked by a flagrant error by the referee. The Tunisian Ali Bennaceur does not see Diego Maradona score with his hand in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, goal remained famous as the “hand of God”. In the 1990 World Cup final, Argentina and Maradona suffered the decisions of referee Edgardo Codesal Méndez, who tipped the match by sending off Pedro Monzón and then whistling a questionable penalty five minutes from the end of the match.
In 2002, several arbitration decisions favored South Korea, the host country, in the final phase. In the quarter-finals, Egyptian referee Gamal Al-Ghandour denied Spain two goals for contentious reasons. At the following World Cup in Germany, Croatian player Josip Šimunić received three yellow cards from Graham Poll before being sent off in a first-round match against Australia.
FIFA adds video assistance to refereeing (VAR) at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It has for the first time an influence on a refereeing decision during the match between Australia and France with a penalty awarded to the French team after viewing the images from the edge of the field. Referees are also equipped with an electronic device installed on the wrist to confirm whether or not the ball has crossed the goal line. Four years later, FIFA added new technology to the video assistance device to detect offside in a semi-automated way.
The FIFA World Cup Trophy
The trophy awarded to the world champions from 1930 to 1970 is a gold statuette that rests on a base of fine stones. Commissioned by Jules Rimet before the first edition of the event, it was made by the French sculptor Abel Lafleur. The statuette, called “Winged Victory”, depicts the goddess of victory holding an octagonal chalice above her. In 1946, in tribute to the FIFA President, the trophy, which was originally simply called “Association Football World Cup”, was officially named “Jules-Rimet Cup”.
During World War II, FIFA vice-president Ottorino Barassi kept the trophy hidden under his bed in a shoebox, in order to prevent the Nazis from seizing it.
In 1966, the organization fell to England, which became, de facto, guardian of the trophy for the duration of the competition. The trophy was stolen and large forces from Scotland Yard were deployed to find the statuette before the end of the competition. Eventually, a small dog named Pickles found the object in a package wrapped in newspaper, deposited in a garbage can in a public park, which his master handed over to the police.
In 1970, the Brazilian team won the world title for the third time (after having already been crowned in 1958 and 1962) and thus acquired the right to retain the Jules-Rimet Cup permanently. But in 1983, the trophy was stolen from the premises of the Brazilian federation. Authorities believe the thieves overhauled it. A replica of the Jules-Rimet Cup was then made.
In 1974, a new trophy was put into play. Named after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the FIFA World Cup was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga and produced by Bertoni in Milan. The statuette (without its base) represents two athletes lifting the earth. It is 36.5 cm high and weighs 6.175 kg of which 75% is gold (18 carats). The 13 cm diameter base contains two pieces of malachite. The names of the countries that won the tournament are engraved under the cup. Only eight names can be engraved on the cup itself, meaning that the plaque where the winning teams are engraved can contain the names of the winners until 2038.
“From the base spring lines that spiral to open and receive the world. The silhouettes of two sportsmen transcended by victory are born from the remarkable dynamics of the massive base of sculpture“.
Silvio Gazzaniga, Italian creator of the World Cup about his work.
Before each competition, the trophy is displayed in many places around the world before arriving in the organizing country. Stolen several times, the World Cup is now very protected. Only world champions and heads of state can touch it. The trophy is owned by FIFA, although its supervision is entrusted to the defending country.
Star on jersey
The winner of the World Cup can have, on his jersey, one star for each trophy won. These stars appeared on the Brazil jersey in 1974. Italy, then a former three-time winner of the competition, adopted this system in the early 1990s and Germany at the end of the decade. Following the victory of the France team in 1998, the jersey of Les Bleus sports a star. Therefore, the other winning countries of a World Cup that do not yet have a star on the jersey (England, Argentina, Uruguay) adopt the use of the star in tribute to the world coronation or coronations. Only Uruguay has more stars than the number of World Cup victories.
In addition to the two stars representing World Cup successes, two other stars are on the Uruguayan jersey for the two victories in the 1924 and 1928 Olympic tournaments co-organized by FIFA, at a time when the World Cup did not yet exist (the Olympics were then the most important international competition). Each country embroiders on its jersey the star or stars in the colors of its choice. Thus, the Spanish, German, Italian, Uruguayan and Argentine stars are made of gold while those of the Brazilian jersey are green (see image on the left), the English star blends with the color of the jersey and the French are white.
The color of the stars may have evolved, the French star was once golden and the German stars, before the fourth coronation, were in the colors of the national flag (black, red, yellow). The colors of the stars may also vary depending on the design of the jersey.
FIFA Champions Badge
Introduced in 2008 by FIFA, the FIFA Champions Badge is a gold or white badge. It consists of a representation of the World Cup trophy, and the writing ” FIFA World Champions” with the year of the title indicated on the bottom of the badge. The latter appears on the jerseys of the defending champion team. Italy was the first nation to put this badge on its jersey between 2008 and 2010.
It has since been worn by all the defending champions: Spain (2010-2014), Germany (2014-2018), France (2018-2022) and currently Argentina. The badge can be worn during all matches made by the selection during these 4 years of the titleholder, whether during its continental competition or any other type of match.
Mascots
The World Cup had an official mascot in 1966. The first mascot in the history of the World Cup is World Cup Willie, a football lion wearing a Union Jack jersey. Four years later, the mascot of the Mexican World Cup is a boy dressed in a sombrero and in the colors of Mexico: green and white. He is named Juanito (Jeannot in Spanish). In 1974, the German mascot consisted of two different men, Tip und Tap, holding shoulders and wearing T-shirts with “WM” and “74” written on them. In 1978, Argentina chose as its mascot Gauchito, an Argentine boy from the pampas with a hat, a scarf and a whip. This is the last mascot representing a human.
The next mascot for the 1982 edition played in Spain was the innovative Spanish orange Naranjito with a face, a ball and cleats. In 1986, the mascot is Spades, a Mexican pepper again with a sombrero. In 1990, Italy chose a design object named Ciao representing a footballer with a footballer’s head and a body in the colors of Italy. The United States returned to animals in 1994 with a dog dressed in red, white and blue football attire with the words “USA 94”. For the 1998 World Cup, the organizers chose a blue rooster called Footix, his name was chosen by French viewers from three proposals. In 2002, Japan and South Korea chose three mascots, the spheriks Kaz, Nik and Ato, inspired by manga. Goleo VI, a stuffed lion, accompanied by a talking balloon named Pille, is the mascot retained by the Germans in 2006.
The mascot of the 2010 World Cup is called Zakumi. This is a leopard with green hair. Its name comes from “ZA”, an international abbreviation of South Africa, and “kumi”, a word meaning “ten” in various African languages in relation to the year of the competition. The mascot of the 2018 World Cup is called Zabivaka, which means “the one who scores” in Russian. He is a young and cunning wolf, who has orange glasses allowing him to better control his strikes so that the ball enters the cages.
Socio-economic aspects
Television hearing
From a global point of view, it is difficult to quantify the total number of viewers. FIFA regularly estimates its audience at around 3.2 billion for the competition, and between 1 and 1.5 billion viewers for the final. Before the 2010 World Cup FIFA changed its method of calculation, previously the association gave the total cumulative audience figure, it was around 26 billion viewers since the 1990 edition.
Domestic violence
During a World Cup the number of domestic violence increases. A 2014 British study showed that domestic violence increased by 26% during competition. In the case of the defeat of the national team, this figure even reaches 38%. The fault does not lie only with sport, of course: the exacerbated consumption of alcohol during this type of event, as well as the pre-existing violent tendencies among the perpetrators of violence are also to be taken into account. However, it is recognized that this type of competition maintains an environment conducive to violence. In 2013, a study in the United States showed similar results for American football.
To try to overcome this problem many advertising campaigns alert on this subject during the World Cup. In 2018, the Center for Domestic Violence revealed a shocking campaign featuring women’s faces where the blows draw the flag of a country playing in Russia.
Cost of the competition
The cost of the World Cup has been steadily rising for decades. Cost estimates vary according to the scope of what is taken into account (including, for example, the improvement of transport infrastructure and costs related to internal security) For example, the Court of Auditors estimated the total cost of organizing the 1998 World Cup in France at nearly 10 billion francs (1.56 billion euros), of which about 7 billion francs in investments (€1.1 billion) in sports and service infrastructure, and 3 billion francs (€460 million ) in organizational expenditure. Direct funding is provided by a local organizing committee that receives financial support from FIFA. Public funds (State, local authorities and public companies) intervene on infrastructure and private companies, sponsors of the operation on aspects related to the sports organization. This financial assistance is also a showcase for these private companies that hope for positive economic spinoffs.
The World Cup of football site estimates for its part the cost of the French World Cup in 1998 at 360 million euros; that of Germany four years later to 430 million euros; then more than 3 billion for South Africa, 8 billion for Brazil, and 21 billion for Russia. The upgrading of football stadiums, imposed by FIFA, has a stronger impact on countries whose stadiums were dilapidated or too small for the event.
Effect on the Economy
The organization of the football World Cup is not without economic consequences for the host country. Investments, which initially mainly concern the host cities, now extend throughout the host country. Non-sports facilities such as hotels are also concerned. The increasing costs of organizing a World Cup, however, provoked more and more criticism. These have been particularly strong in Brazil, where significant investments in sports facilities have been criticized by part of the population. Many protesters want the money to be used to improve public facilities (hospitals, schools) and to reduce the cost of living.
Some studies point out that winning the World Cup is a positive factor for growth. Following the success of the France team in 1998, the French Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has maintained a good level of progress. It grew by only 2.3% in 1997, compared to 3.5% in 1998 and 3.0% in 1999. The impact of the event is difficult to assess because of the multitude of other factors involved in the evolution of GDP.
There are bankruptcies related to the World Cup. The company that produces the Goleo mascot had to file for bankruptcy two weeks before the start of the 2006 World Cup. German economists were forecasting only a 0.3% increase in GDP.
The organization of the World Cup may have little effect on the volume of investment in the host country. It represents only about 1% of annual investment flows in Germany in the 2006 edition.
Some sectors benefit from the event to experience rapid growth. The sports equipment and television apparatus sectors experienced a strong increase in sales at the time of the World Cup.
For the host country, the gain comes primarily from the influx of foreign visitors, themselves sources of foreign currency (500,000 million euros for Germany according to Standard & Poor’s forecasts). For countries with outstanding performance, the effect of higher population morale leads to both a boost in domestic demand and higher labor productivity. According to INSEE, however, the effect of the World Cup on consumption in Germany is only temporary support for a trend with other explanations. Victories and defeats also lead to stock market fluctuations in national markets.
Some studies have shown a relative agreement in developing countries between periods of economic expansion and good World Cup performance. The most common analysis is that victory breeds expansion. However, some analyses, based on the fact that historically economic trend reversals precede good or bad sports results, suggest that it is economic growth that favors a team’s chances of victory.
For the host country, the organization of the event is most often seen as positive. While the increase in domestic consumption is modest, increasing for example in Germany by only 0.3% during the World Cup quarter, it can be reinforced by a national impetus as in France in 1998. Moreover, the additional consumption is partly transformed into imports of foreign products and not only into the consumption of domestic products. Thus the 2006 World Cup arouses a craze for flat screens produced in Asia.
Effect of the FIFA World Cup on local development
The event market is a factor of local development. All cities that host World Cup matches and therefore fans from all over the world record a surplus of consumption on their territory: some researchers speak of a “face-to-face economy” or a “residential economy”. At this event, countries are building infrastructure. First, the World Cup makes it possible to develop the stadiums of the organizing country. In addition, host nations have the opportunity to develop means of transport. In 2010, many means are implemented to move spectators between cities with shuttles and trains.
The organization of a World Cup boosts tourism. Tourists or “undeclared residents” have to find housing, food, entertainment and therefore spend money. This manna irrigates the local economic fabric which achieves sales higher than usual. The German public authorities, well aware of this economic potential, have also authorized traders to extend the opening of shops later during the 2006 World Cup and even on Sundays.
In Germany, we are talking about 50,000 jobs while in South Africa nearly 159,000 jobs are announced. The jobs created by and during the World Cup are not always sustainable. It is estimated for Germany that only one-third of the jobs will be retained after the 2006 competition. Indeed, the main sectors of employment, which are security, catering and the sale of derivatives, do not last after the competition.
Sources of income
Ticket office
Once an almost unique source of revenue, ticketing now represents only a modest part of the revenue generated by the World Cup. Ticketing is covered by FIFA for the final phase of the competition. The parallel market, legal in some countries, can multiply by twenty the price of the places initially planned.
As an additional security for the 2006 version, the banknotes are equipped with electronic chips to immediately deactivate blocks of lost or stolen banknotes.
| 2010 World Cup ticket prices | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of Match | Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 | Category 4 | |
| Opening match | $450 | $300 | $200 | 490 R | |
| Group matches | $160 | $120 | $80 | 140 R | |
| Eighth-finals | $200 | $150 | $100 | 350 R | |
| Quarter-finals | $300 | $200 | $150 | 525 R | |
| Semifinals | $600 | $400 | $250 | 700 R | |
| Small final | $300 | $200 | $150 | 525 R | |
| Final | $900 | $600 | $400 | R 1 050 | |
Sponsors
The increase in attendance in stadiums and in front of the television has allowed the Cup to attract sponsors allowing FIFA to increase its profits. In 1982, sponsorship revenues amounted to $2 billion, rising steadily to more than $16 billion today. The title of Official Sponsor is worth $40 million while a team sponsor will spend $10 million. Not to mention that the novelty of the 2006 edition is to finance the construction of the stadiums by the sponsors themselves. On the other hand, during the World Cup, FIFA, which does not accept names other than those of official sponsors, had all sponsored stadiums renamed to “FIFA Stadium of …».
FIFA’s historical sponsors are Coca-Cola, Fujifilm and Philips. Coca-Cola has been an official sponsor of all editions of the World Cup since 1978 and has a contract until 2022.
The main sports equipment manufacturers are fighting over an economic war during the football World Cup in order to benefit as much as possible from the economic effects of the competition. Advertising campaigns start earlier and earlier, following friendly matches closely. The stakes are high for some sports equipment manufacturers. The match between Adidas and Nike takes on its full scope with the national teams. Nike is the sponsor of Brazil and France while Adidas is the supplier of training courses such as Germany and Spain. Commercial revenues are being prepared well in advance of the World Cup.
Coverage
Newspapers are the first media to address the theme of the World Cup. The radio followed and broadcast the World Cup from the first editions, well before the appearance of television which revolutionized the media coverage of the competition even if it was still broadcast on the radio. In 2010, RMC and Radio Alfa in France, BBC Radio 5 Live in the United Kingdom and ESPN in the United States broadcast the World Cup.
The first live broadcasts of World Cup matches date back to 1954 via Eurovision. The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the first to be broadcast on color television. Since the first broadcast event, only the edition that took place in 1962 in Chile does not benefit from a live broadcast.
The football World Cup is the second most televised event in the world, behind the Olympic Games and ahead of the Tour de France. FIFA estimates the cumulative television audience at 26,288,753,000 viewers during the 73,072 hours of broadcasting of the competition worldwide for the 2006 edition. The event was broadcast in 213 countries in 2002, so the stakes for television channels were high.
In France, the maximum recorded is 30 million viewers in front of their television screen during the 1982 semi-final between France and Germany according to ratings, five million more than the first-round match between France and England in the same edition. More recently, Médiamétrie measures that the seven best audiences of the year 2006 in France are matches of the 2006 World Cup, the eighth being the presentation of the trophy to the Italian players. The semi-final against Portugal is, since the creation of Médiamétrie in 1989, the highest audience in France in the history of television with an average of 22.2 million viewers. For the final four days later, 22.1 million viewers watched the match with a peak of 25 million at 22:28.
| Amounts of TV rights | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | TV rights | Cumulative global audience | |||
| 1990 | 95 million Swiss francs (60M €) | 26.7 billion viewers | |||
| 1994 | 110 million Swiss francs (70M €) | 32.1 billion viewers | |||
| 1998 | 135 million Swiss francs (€86M) | 33.4 billion viewers | |||
| 2002 | 1,300 million Swiss francs (€830M) | 28.8 billion viewers | |||
| 2006 | 1,500 million Swiss francs (€957m) | 35.6 billion viewers | |||
The specialized press benefits from the holding of the event to increase its sales. In 1998, the victory of France allows the daily L’Équipe to achieve its sales record with 1.6 million copies against 500,000 on average. The daily La Gazzetta dello Sport reached the peak of its sales with 1.7 million copies, its average circulation being usually 400,000 following the Italian victory in 2006.
The World Cup is also an opportunity to use the image of famous football players to praise a brand.
Supporters
As the World Cup is football’s major competition, fans are particularly concerned about this month of competition. From the first edition, Uruguayan and Argentine fans are particularly present. Sports tourism began in 1934, trips with travel, board and access to stadiums were offered to supporters.
The first massive movements of supporters from different countries date back to 1982. On this occasion, English fans are especially distinguished by their hooligans. Despite these actions of a minority of fans, the final phase remains a great celebration for fans. Supporters in some countries even convey the image of friendly fans. During the 1998 World Cup in France, the party is at the rendezvous despite slippages in Marseille and Lens where the gendarme Daniel Nivel is attacked by German hooligans.
The political aspect of the FIFA World Cup
Pacification
In 1954, the West German victory had an effect far beyond sporting success. Nine years after the Second World War, a large proportion of Germans – especially in the FRG, but also in the GDR – consider themselves accepted for the first time in a long time. Several historians have even called July 4, 1954, “the true birth hour of the FRG, especially for the self-esteem of the German people”.
All stadiums bear the emblem of FIFA and the United Nations with the legend “Football for peace – Year of Peace”, “Football for peace – Peace Year” during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico after the United Nations declared 1986 as the Year of Peace.
Since 2006, FIFA has partnered with UNICEF to promote peace and UNICEF’s actions around the world. At the opening ceremony of the 2006 World Cup, German Federal President Horst Köhler said during his speech that the organization’s wish was to have “exciting matches, many goals and fair play” but also “that football can bring people together”.
The World Cup sometimes helps to reduce tensions between countries. In 1998, a World Cup match pitted Iran against the United States. This match is a symbol of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, interrupted since 1978.
In 2008, Turkish President Abdullah Gül traveled to Yerevan following the invitation of his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarkisian, to attend the football match between Armenia and Turkey as part of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Despite the climate of war present in the country, Iraqi political actors have pledged to foster a climate of trust for football fans during the World Cup.
Propaganda
The World Cup was used for great fascist propaganda during the 1934 World Cup played in Italy. The German players made the fascist salute, as did the Italian team. The German team displays two flags, one in the national colors and the other struck with a swastika. The German jersey then bears the crest of the Reich. Italy won the competition ahead of Benito Mussolini. The president of the Italian Football Federation, General Giorgio Vaccaro, said that “the ultimate goal of the event will be to show the universe what the fascist ideal of sport is. Mussolini used the victory of the Italian team to promote his political ideas.
Packages
For the first World Cup, the 1930 edition in Uruguay, most European teams withdrew or declined the invitation due to the high cost and length of the boat trip to South America. Four years later, the competition was held in Italy, withdrawing in 1930. In retaliation, Uruguay, despite being the defending champions, refused to participate in the competition. Argentina fielded a team of amateur players and Brazil sent a team of second-tier players to Europe.
In 1938, despite being registered, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the United States, Dutch Guiana, Japan and Mexico withdrew before the draw of the preliminary round. Argentina decided not to participate following FIFA’s decision to hold the tournament in France and not Argentina. Brazil is forced to organize a raffle to have enough funds to pay for the trip to France. Austria was forced at the last minute by Nazi Germany to forfeit Sweden in the 1938 FIFA World Cup because of the Anschluss.
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was played by only 13 countries instead of 16 following the forfeits of Turkey, Scotland, India and France (forfeit after being drafted following Scotland’s forfeit). According to legend, India withdrew following the refusal to obtain the exemption to play barefoot for its players. In reality, it seems that it is mainly for a lack of motivation that India has given up making the long trip to South America. The Indians considered that the Olympic tournament (in which they had participated in 1948) was much more prestigious than the World Cup whose real size they did not know. In 1966, 16 African nations withdrew from the qualifiers because of the new FIFA regulations that did not grant a firm qualifying place to the African continent. Africa won the next World Cup.
During the qualifying stages of the 1974 World Cup, the USSR refused, following Pinochet’s rise to power, to travel to Chile to play the second leg of the play-off against the South American country. The Chilean team appeared alone on the field at kick-off time and was declared the winner by forfeit, thus qualifying for the finals, while the USSR was notified of disqualification by FIFA. The 1978 World Cup raised a political controversy because Argentina (host country) was then led by General Jorge Rafael Videla who had seized power two years earlier and who has since led political repression in his country. Some nations call for boycotts and openly criticize the regime in place. A curfew was put in place throughout the competition.
For a long time it was thought that Dutch captain Johan Cruyff chose not to play in the competition out of political protest but in 2008 he claimed that his international retirement was due to personal aggression, however, the Dutch team refused Videla’s official congratulations for his second place. The 1986 World Cup was to be held in Colombia but the latter, socially and economically in difficulty, decided at the end of 1982 to withdraw because it no longer considered itself able to ensure the organization of a tournament that had since been reduced from 16 to 24 teams. FIFA then fell back on Mexico (organizer in 1970) which already had the necessary infrastructure for an enlarged tournament.
Violence and opposition
The football World Cup has led to some clashes and has developed certain rivalries between countries, that between England and Argentina after 1966 or that between France and Germany after the semi-final of 1982 for example. Violence is more common on the pitch than in the stands. The match between Peru and Romania in 1930, the Battle of Santiago in 1962 or more recently the meeting between the Netherlands and Portugal in 2006 are examples of violent matches. Violence is also present outside the pitch, in the cities where World Cup matches are played. In 1998, violent clashes between Tunisians and the British took place in the streets of Marseille. The qualifying phases are not free of violence around the matches as in the qualifying matches between Egypt and Algeria for the 2010 World Cup.
In 1969, the Honduras-El Salvador match in the qualifying phase of the Mexican World Cup was the catalyst for the latent conflict between the two countries. The final defeat of Honduras led to the Hundred Hour War that left more than 5,000 dead. In 1994, the Colombian player Andrés Escobar was murdered, outside a bar in Colombia, for scoring a goal against his side that sealed the elimination of Colombia, in the first round of the World Cup, yet cited in the favorites of the competition.
The football World Cup is not always unanimous, many opponents denounce the cost of organizing the event as well as the excesses caused by the Cup (increase in foreign debt, expulsions, social cleansing, increase in security spending, vast real estate operations, instrumentalization for the benefit of dictators, etc). Some cities or towns in the organizing countries try to keep away foreign tourists who may create troubles.
The World Cup in popular culture
In addition to numerous documentary films and even an official film of the World Cup produced by FIFA on the occasion of every edition since 1938, the World Cup has also inspired the German film The Miracle of Bern (2003) which looks back at the victory of the Mannschaft in 1954 and the American film The Match of Their Lives (2005) depicting the victory of the United States team in 1950 against to the England team. The World Cup also served as the setting for films such as The Cup (1999), The Colleagues (1999), The Van (1996) and Sixty Six (2006), among others. German students even made an animated film, Helden 06, featuring Lego characters playing a football match.
The connection points between the World Cup and popular music or song are numerous. Each selection has an anthem and many songs related to the national team or the competition are born. Some of these songs are inspired by game facts such as France-Germany 82 signed by Bartone in 2005 in reference to the famous match of Sevilla, or Coup de Boule in 2006 following Zidane’s headbutt on Materazzi. In 1998, in France, the song I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor was unanimously appreciated by spectators supporting the team of France.
Many merchandising products are created, produced and sold for each edition of the World Cup. Series of stamps are issued in different countries and represent the World Cup. Coins are engraved for the occasion as in 1998 and 2002. Each World Cup is an opportunity to release an official video game of the edition. World Cup Italia ’90 is the first to be released. World Cup 98, World Cup: FIFA 2002, FIFA World Cup: Germany 2006, FIFA World Cup: South Africa 2010 and FIFA World Cup: Brazil 2014 complete this series. EA Sports is making the series of games.
References (sources)
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