The World Cup
Despite most people’s understandable dislike for FIFA in the light of the previous section, it is hard not to love the World Cup, a tournament bringing together a disparate range of teams, peoples, and cultures, all fanatical about the sport, simply to watch competitive soccer matches. The World Cup was set up in response to the increasing popularity of international fixtures, in order to give the so-called ‘friendly’ matches more of a competitive element. Additionally, although soccer had been an Olympic Sport on and off since 1900, it was only played by amateur athletes from countries within the Olympic framework.
The original trophy was named after Jules Rimet, the FIFA President responsible for setting up the tournament. It was stolen from a public exhibition in London during England’s hosting of the tournament in 1966, but fortunately, it was found just a week later, wrapped in newspaper and stuffed in a hedge, by a dog named Pickles, who received a lifetime supply of dog food as a reward. Jules Rimet’s original rules stipulated that any team winning the tournament three times could keep the trophy, and so when Brazil did just that in 1970, the current prize was commissioned.
The first World Cup was hosted by Uruguay, who also won the tournament (see above). The tournament consists of teams drawn into groups of 4, 2 of which progress to a knock-out stage which leads to the final. It has been held every 4 years ever since, with a gap between 1938 and 1950 due to World War II. The most successful team in World Cup history is Brazil, who have won 5 tournaments, followed by Germany and Italy with 4 each. The World Cup’s all-time top scorer is Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals between 2002 and 2014.