The official history of the FIFA World Cup is the definitive look at every FIFA World Cup, from Uruguay in 1930 to Russia in 2018. The World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, and since then, the tournament has been held every four years (with the exception of a break due to World War II). In 1930, the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) held the first World Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay (details on Uruguay, 1930).
In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympics as the “world amateur football champion” and assumed responsibility for hosting. In 1928, FIFA decided to organise its international competition outside the Olympics. The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the governing body of world football, decided to have an international men’s soccer championship in an era when FIFA President Jules Remet implemented the idea. The first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 when FIFA President Jules Rimet decided to create a more structured and competitive international football competition.
Since hosting the World Cup for the first time in 1930, Brazil – the only team to have played in all competitions – has won it five times; Italy and Germany four times; Argentina and Uruguay twice; England, France and Spain once each. Since then, the FIFA World Cup has undergone successive expansions and format changes. The current final features 32 teams, followed by a two-year qualifying tournament involving more than 200 teams from around the world. The bidding process for hosting the absolute is only open to African countries; in 2004, FIFA selected South Africa to defeat Egypt and Morocco, becoming the first African country to host the last. The biggest football tournament has been held 21 times since 1930, and the complete list of winners is below.
Since the first World Cup in 1930, all World Cup-winning teams – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, West Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay – have qualified for the 20th FIFA World Cup. However, his international run continued, with Uruguay beating Argentina to win the inaugural FIFA World Cup in the final game. Since Uruguay became a two-time official world football champion in 1930, to commemorate the centenary of Uruguay’s independence, FIFA chose Uruguay as the host country. At this point in history, Uruguay is the best national team globally, having been world champions at the previous two Olympics.
England won the 1934 World Cup, although Joao Havilanger (former FIFA president from 1974 to 1998) claimed that both games in 1974 were set up for England and Germany to win. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar starting in November; this is the first time in the tournament’s history that it will take place between the ongoing club seasons.
