The World Cup is the premier international football championship, organized every four years by the International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA. Although FIFA was founded in Paris in 1904, the first World Cup was not held until 1930. FIFA’s first precursor to the event was an international tournament held in 1906, but at that time, FIFA’s membership was all European. It would not expand to other continents until after 1909. The First World War proved a major stumbling block to both FIFA and any efforts to organize future international football events, as most of the membership were belligerents. However, FIFA did become involved in organizing Olympic football events during this period, which greatly spurred momentum towards a non-amateur tournament.

The first World Cup was held in Uruguay, as they were the two-time champions of FIFA’s most recent efforts at international tournaments. Thirteen countries sent teams, with Uruguay defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final. The early tournaments of the 1930s were plagued by issues stemming from international travel: team from the Western Hemisphere were largely unwilling to travel to Europe for the tournament, and vice versa. Despite these difficulties, the World Cup rapidly came to overshadow Olympic football as the premier football event in international competition.

The Second World War interrupted World Cup football again, with the tournaments of 1942 and 1946 being canceled. The 1950 World Cup, held in Brazil, was therefore noteworthy for two reasons: it was the first Cup to be held since 1938, and it featured the return of the teams from the United Kingdom and Uruguay, both of which had been boycotting FIFA events for years. Uruguay beat Brazil in a famed match known as the Maracanazo.   Tournament finals have been held every four years since 1950. The tournament has since expanded from 16 slots to 24, and finally to 32. The growth of the tournament represents both the growth of footballs international popularity, as well as the fame and prestige of the tournement as football’s premier event. Read the rest of this entry »