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WORLD CUP:
formally FIFA World Cup in association football (soccer), trophy that symbolizes the
world championship. The first competition for the cup was organized in 1930 by the
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and was won by Uruguay. Held
every four years since that time, except during World War II, the competition consists
of international sectional tournaments leading to a final elimination event made up of 16
national teams. Unlike Olympic association football, World Cup teams are not limited
to amateur players, and so the competition serves more nearly as a contest between
the world's best players. Referees are selected from lists that are submitted by all the
national associations.
The trophy cup awarded from 1930 to 1970 was the Jules Rimet Trophy, named for the
Frenchman who proposed the tournament.
This cup was permanently awarded in 1970
to three-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, and 1970), and a new trophy called the FIFA
World Cup was put up for competition.
There is a gap between 1938 and 1950 because
that is when WWII was going on. Many countries couldn't afford to spare money, people or
anything else to support a soccer team going to the championship.
| 1930 | Uruguay |
1934 | Italy |
| 1938 | Italy |
1950 | Uruguay |
| 1954 | West Germany |
1958 | Brazil |
| 1962 | Brazil |
1966 | England |
| 1970 | Brazil |
1974 | West Germany |
| 1978 | Argentina |
1982 | Italy |
| 1986 | Argentina |
1990 | Germany |
| 1994 | Brazil |
1998 | France |
| 2002 | Brazil |
Encyclopædia Britannica
[Accessed April 23, 2002].
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