Football World Cup - FIFA

 Introduction

The Football World Cup is one of the most celebrated sporting events worldwide. People from all countries watch the event, and there is a lot of buzz around the game and the teams that are a part of the game. The Football World Cup is also known as the FIFA World Cup. As the name suggests, it is a soccer event where teams from different countries participate. The event is organised once in 4 years. The duration between two consecutive games is four years to ensure enough time for practice and qualification of teams.

Also, the four-year duration gives the parent company enough time to prepare for the mega event that brings all the nations together. The FIFA World Cup began 93 years ago, and 32 teams are a part of the event. Brazil is the country that has won the maximum number of Football World Cups to date. Currently, the game is only associated with men's footballers, and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association manages the entire event.

The format includes a qualification round for the previous three years to determine which teams advance to the tournament phase. Thirty-two teams play for the championship during the tournament phase over a month at locations in the host nation(s). The host nation(s) automatically advances to the tournament's group stage.

For the 2026 competition, the FIFA World Cup is expected to increase to 48 teams.

Table of Contents

• Table

• History

• Theme

• Schedule

• Registrations

• Host Countries

• Ceremonies

• Conclusion

Table

Let’s have a look at the important highlights of the Football World Cup:

The event has been organised 22 times, and 80 national teams have participated. Brazil has won the tournament five times, and seven other countries have won the trophy over the years.

History

The Football World Cup holds great significance for the world and has a rich history. The first-ever international football match was played between England and Scotland in 1872 in Glasgow. Post that, the British Home Championship, the first international tournament, was organised in 1884 which a few European nations participated. Football started becoming popular, and these events added to the popularity.

The game was made a part of the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics. However, it was just played as a demonstration sport.

In 1904, FIFA came into the picture. FIFA tried to take football outside the purview of the Olympic Games and organised its first tournament in Switzerland in 1906. This tournament did not achieve its desired mission. Again in 1908, Football became a part of the Summer Olympics in London. However, it was a part of the competition this time, and medals were awarded to the winning team.

The Football Association or the FA, a football governing body of England, managed the entire event. Only amateur teams were a part of the event. In 1904, Sir Thomas Lipton started a football tournament named the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy Tournament.

The unique thing about this tournament was that it was a championship in which different clubs from different countries participated. It is also considered the first World Cup by a few historians.

In 1914, FIFA returned to the picture where it was entrusted with managing the football event of the Olympic Games. This marks the beginning of the world’s first intercontinental football event. The football tournaments of FIFA were a massive success; hence, the President of FIFA, Jules Rimet, was considering organising FIFA outside the purview of the Summer Olympics. The FIFA Congress in Amsterdam voted to host a world championship on May 28, 1928.

Uruguay was chosen by FIFA to host the first World Cup competition because they are now the two-time reigning official football world champions and to commemorate their 100th anniversary of independence in 1930.

The first two World Cup matches were played on 13th July 1930, and France and the US emerged as winners. Lucien Laurent, a part of the French team, scored the first-ever goal. In 1950, post World War 2, British Football Associations were made a part of the game. There were several uproars among the countries, and a few decided to boycott the event due to the increasing geopolitical tension among the nations.

Earlier, the tournament only involved 24 teams, but the number was increased to 32 in 1998 to encourage participation from Asian and African countries. 

In the year 2026, the Football World Cup will include 48 teams that will compete against each other.

FIFA has expanded its horizon in the last couple of years and has organised several other events like the FIFA Women’s World Cup. FIFA also promotes youth football and organises the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the FIFA U-17 World Cup

Theme

The theme of the Football World Cup is dynamic and depends on the host country and the event's focus for that particular year. FIFA releases a motto and a theme song for all its tournaments. These help in creating a buzz around the event. The motto of FIFA is For the Game. For the World. The motto of the Football World Cup that was organised in 2022 was ‘Expect Amazing’.

A few songs like ‘The Cup of Life ‘by Ricky Martin and ‘Waka Waka’ by Shakira have emerged as popular song tracks and have gotten international acclaim.

Schedule

Attached below is the Schedule for Round 16 of the Football World Cup 2022, based on which other rounds were scheduled:

Registrations

FIFA manages different kinds of registrations. You can either become a volunteer at the event or register for the tickets. The ticket registrations open quite early, depending on the host country. You need to visit the official FIFA website to register your interest. Fill in the basic details like your name, e-mail id, etc., are click on send. You will start receiving updates, the latest news from FIFA, and any information on your tickets.

Host Countries

The Football World Cup has been organised 22 times to date. Let’s have a look at the host countries of all these tournaments that have been conducted to date:

Eighty nations have been a part of at least one World Cup. Eight national teams have added stars to their badges because of their victories, each star denoting a World Cup triumph.

However, the four stars on Uruguay's team represent their two gold medals from the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, which FIFA considers World Championships, and their two World Cup victories in 1930 and 1950. Brazil is one country that has been a part of every Football World Cup to date.

Ceremonies

Play

The Football World Cup comprises different ceremonies, which are a part of every tournament. The opening ceremony marks the beginning of the Football World Cup, and the host countries celebrate it with great pomp and show. There is no standard format for conducting an opening ceremony. The 2022 opening ceremony was conducted on 20th November at the Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Several celebrities, like Morgan Freeman, Jungbook, etc., were a part of the opening ceremony.

Once the tournament ends, the host countries are also responsible for organising a closing ceremony. The winners are declared and presented with the trophy, and the tournament is closed on a very high note. Several performers come together to pay tribute to the host country and celebrate the country's victory that emerges as a winner.

Conclusion

The Football World Cup is one of the world's most celebrated events. It is one of the most-watched events on television.

The tournament's primary aim is to promote the spirit of sportsmanship and bring countries together. The winning country takes home the World Cup for the year, after which the man of the match and the man of the tournament is declared.