World Cup Trophy

The FIFA World Cup or FIFA World Cup c , is the world championship of men's national teams soccer . Decided on May 28, 1928 by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) at the instigation of its president Jules Rimet , it was open to all teams from federations recognized by FIFA, including professional ones, distinguishing themselves in this tournament. Olympic football , at the time reserved for amateurs.

It took place for the first time in 1930 , in Uruguay (Olympic champion 1924 and 1928), and every four years since (except in 1942 and 1946 because of the Second World War ). Since the second edition, in 1934, the World Cup has included a qualifying phase by continental zones, currently organized by each continental confederation, and a final phase which brings together the qualified teams (from 16 in 1934 to 32 from 1998) in one or more countries for about a month. This final phase now has a first round by hens that qualifies sixteen teams for a knockout phase from the final round. The host country of the final tournament is appointed by FIFA and is automatically qualified.

Of the twenty-one editions contested until 2018, only eight nations have already been titled at least once. Brazil , the only team to have played in all the final stages of the competition , holds the record with five world titles and won the right to keep the Jules-Rimet Cup in 1970 after its third final victory in the competition, with Pelé , the only triple world champion. Italy and Germany have four trophies. Uruguay , home winners of the first edition, Argentina and France have each won the Cup twice, England and Spain once. The last edition took place in Russia in 2018, the next one is due to take place in Qatar in 2022 . That of 2026 , in the United States , Canada and Mexico ) will be the first edition with 48 participating teams.

The FIFA World Cup is the most watched sporting event on television in the world along with the Olympics and the Cricket World Cup 1 . Economically, the competition is an important source of income for FIFA and can have positive effects on the growth of certain sectors of activity and on the development of the host country. Infrastructures , in particular the stadiums , are built or renovated on this occasion. A world 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 the values of peace and universality , the competition has a political aspect. It has occasionally been the scene of violence around meetings, and many packages and boycotts , but also reconciliations, punctuate its history.