FIFA World Cup

Africa’s long wait finally ends today when the first World Cup on the continent kicks off with the host nation facing Mexico in the opening match.

South Africa has been brimming with pride and anticipation all week as the Rainbow Nation rides a wave of euphoria not seen since the demise of the apartheid regime and Nelson Mandela’s election 16 years ago.

“There are some moments which define the history of a country. We are on the verge of living one of these moments when the 2010 World Cup gets underway,” said South Africa president Jacob Zuma.

“What an honour, what a privilege for our democracy.”

Thirty-one of the 32 teams are safely in the country - favourites Spain are to arrive on Friday - as billions of people across the planet get set to tune in and cheer on their favourite stars over the month-long football fiesta.

The FIFA World Cup, also called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men’s national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not contested because of World War II.

The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month – this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s).

1934 FIFA World Cup

The 1934 FIFA World Cup, or the World’s Cupas it was known then, was the second football World Cup staged, and hosted by Italy from 27 May to 10 June. Italy was chosen as hosts by FIFA at the Stockholm congress of October 1932. It was the first World Cup for which teams would have to qualify in order to take part. 32 nations entered the competition, and after qualification, 16 teams participated in the finals tournament. Italy became the second World Cup champions, beating Czechoslovakia in the final, 2–1.

1938 FIFA World Cup

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. France was chosen as hosts by FIFA in August 1936. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.

1950 FIFA World Cup

The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup, and the first staged in 12 years due to World War II. Brazil was chosen as the host country by FIFA in July 1946. It was also the first tournament that the trophy itself would be referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup, to mark the 25th anniversary of Rimet’s presidency of FIFA.

It was won by Uruguay, who had won the inaugural competition in 1930, clinching the cup by beating the hosts Brazil 2–1 in the deciding match of the four-team final group (this was the only tournament not decided by a one-match final).

1954 FIFA World Cup

The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. As the year saw the 50th anniversary of FIFA, it was appropriate for football’s premier competition to be played in the home of its governing body, and Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament still remains as the highest average of goals per game. The tournament was won by West Germany, who defeated Hungary 3–2 in the final, giving them their first title.

1958 FIFA World Cup

The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. Sweden was chosen as hosts by FIFA in June 1950. It was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. As of 2010, this was the only time that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European team. The World Cup marked the debut on the world stage of a precocious, largely unknown 17-year-old known as Pelé.

1962 FIFA World Cup

The 1962 FIFA World Cup, the seventh staging of the World Cup, was held in Chile from 30 May to 17 June. Chile was chosen as host by FIFA in June 1956, as the World Cup returned to the continent of South America after 12 years. It was won by Brazil, who retained the championship by beating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final.

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England was chosen as hosts by FIFA in August 1960 to celebrate the centenary of the standardisation of football in England. England won the final, beating West Germany 4–2, giving them their first (and to date, only) World Cup win, and becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.

1970 FIFA World Cup

The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. Mexico was chosen as the host nation by FIFA in October 1964. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by Brazil, who beat Italy 4–1. With their third World Cup triumph, Brazil were allowed to keep the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently.

1974 FIFA World Cup

The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. West Germany had been chosen in July 1966 as hosts by FIFA. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was won for the third time by Brazil in 1970 and awarded permanently to the Brazilians. The host nation won the title beating the Netherlands in the final, 2–1. The victory was the second for West Germany, who had won in 1954.

1978 FIFA World Cup

The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. Argentina was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1966. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina who became the fifth team (after Uruguay, Italy, England, and West Germany), to be both hosts and world champions.

1982 FIFA World Cup

The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July, 1982. Spain was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1966. The tournament was won by Italy, after beating West Germany 3–1 in the final. Italy equalled Brazil’s record of winning the World Cup 3 times. For the first time the World Cup was expanded to feature 24 teams, 8 more than in the previous tournament 1978.

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June.

Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to host the competition and officially resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format, although unlike the previous edition in 1982, the second round of the tournament was played on a knock-out basis rather than groups. It was won by Argentina (second title after 1978), who beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca.

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated continents entered the competition, with its qualification process beginning in April 1988. Twenty-two teams qualified from this process, along with host nation Italy and holders Argentina, for the finals tournament.

The tournament was won by West Germany, who claimed their third World Cup title by defeating reigning champions Argentina 1–0 in the final, a rematch of the previous final four years earlier. Hosts Italy beat England 2–1 to finish third after both lost their semi-finals in penalty shootouts.

1994 FIFA World Cup

The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from June 17 to July 17 1994. The United States was chosen as hosts by FIFA on 4 July 1988. Brazil became the first nation to win four World Cup titles when they beat Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 0-0 after extra-time, the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties.

Average attendance was nearly 69,000, which broke records that had stood since 1950, due to the bigger capacities of the American stadiums compared to those of Europe and Latin America. The total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams (and from 52 to 64 matches) in 1998. It was also the highest-attended single sport event in U.S. history.

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 1 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the first host nation to win the tournament since Argentina in 1978.

Expansion to 32 teams

The tournament was expanded to 24 teams in 1982, and then to 32 in 1998, allowing more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. In recent years, teams from these regions have enjoyed more success, and those who have reached the quarter-finals include:

Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1986; Cameroon, quarter-finalists in 1990; Korea Republic, finishing in fourth place in 2002; and Senegal and USA, both quarter-finalists in 2002. European and South American teams have remained the stronger forces; for example, the quarter-finalists in 2006 were all from Europe or South America.

198 nations attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, while a record 204 countries entered qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the World Cup, held in the Republic of Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. The two countries were chosen as hosts by FIFA in May 1996 and was the first tournament in its history to be hosted by two countries. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia. This World Cup was also the last wherein the Golden Goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0 in the final. Turkey beat Korea Republic 3–2 in the third place match.

2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation, Germany, for the finals tournament.

The tournament was won by Italy, who claimed their fourth World Cup title. They defeated France 5–3 in a penalty shootout in the final, after extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw. Germany defeated Portugal 3–1 to finish third.

2010 FIFA World Cup