History of the FIFA World Cup – Records, Mascots, Trophy and Hosts

The World Cup is the pinnacle of football competition. While the UEFA Champions League can produce similarly entertaining matches, it will never be able to match the prestige of the World Cup because of its shorter history and reliance on a single team to represent a whole nation. It’s impossible to find another sporting event compared to the recent FIFA World Cup, viewed by nearly three billion people worldwide and one billion people just for the final.

FIFA World Cup Trophy

In addition to the FIFA World Cup Trophy, the top teams usually receive several other awards. Numerous trophies are presented to the best athletes and teams who achieve specific goals during the tournament. The Golden Ball is awarded to the game’s MVP.

The second-placed player receives the Silver Ball, while the third is awarded the Bronze Ball. The Golden Boot goes to the top scorer, the Golden Glove to the top goalkeeper, and the Best Young Player Award goes to the top performer 21 or younger.

All World Cup Competitions

Since the first event, which occurred in Uruguay in 1930, it has been held every four years. (with exceptions for pauses caused by the Second World War). However, there were unofficial World Cup competitions in the late 1800s, even before FIFA’s founding in 1930. The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, an unofficial “world cup” held before 1930, was awarded between 1909 and 1911. The finest national teams before 1930 may have been determined by their success in football competitions at the Summer Olympics. In contrast to the professionals participating in the World Cup, only amateurs compete in Olympic events.

FIFA was Established in 1904

As soon as it was founded in 1904, FIFA, the worldwide governing body for soccer, began planning for the first international tournament between countries. Those were some of the first days in international soccer, and the early FIFA competition could have been more successful.

In the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London, soccer was officially recognized as a sport at the international level. The inaugural competition was more of a spectacle than a competition because amateurs held it. Nevertheless, the England amateur national soccer team prevailed.

The Football World Championship

Before Sir Thomas Lipton’s competition, English and Scottish clubs competed in a pair of games known as the Football World Championships. Sunderland won the 1895 game between Heart of Midlothian F.C. and Sunderland A.F.C., one of these contests.

Before FIFA launched its mission to arrange credible soccer events, a few years passed. In 1914, the governing body agreed to organize the Olympic competition for amateur athletes, and for the first time, it also recognized the competition.

Uruguay Hosted the Tournaments

The first World Cup was held in Uruguay, which could have been more convenient for European teams. Each nation was asked to submit a representative, but only the European nation committed to fielding a team once the competition was less than two months away.

To get countries like Romania, Belgium, Yugoslavia, and France to send teams, the FIFA President had to convince them. There were a total of 13 signatory countries.

France won the First Match of the World Cup

In July of 1930, the first and second World Cup games happened simultaneously. The U.S. defeated Belgium 3-0, while France defeated Mexico 4-1. Frenchman Lucien Laurent scored the inaugural World Cup goal.

In front of tens of thousands of spectators in Montevideo, Uruguay defeated Argentina by a score of 4-2. Thus, Uruguay became the inaugural winner of the World Cup. It was clear now that their success in the Olympic soccer competitions was no fluke.

The Professional Time for FIFA

The beginning of FIFA’s professional era in 1924 coincided with the first two open soccer competitions. The success of the Olympic soccer tournaments inspired Jules Rimet, the president of FIFA, to plan an independent international tournament.

In May 1928, the Amsterdam FIFA conference determined they would organize a separate world championship. Since Uruguay was a two-time winner, they were selected to host the first World Cup.

The FIFA World Cup Mascots

Each FIFA World Cup has had its logo or mascot since 1966. The first World Cup mascot, World Cup Willie, was adopted for the 1966 tournament.

There are also official match balls designed for each World Cup; Adidas became FIFA’s official supplier after Slazenger manufactured the FIFA World Cup ball for the 1966 Finals. Famous artists such as Will Smith and Shakira typically perform the official song for each World Cup.

Telecast in 1954

The World Cup is today the most extensively followed and watched sporting event in the world, yet television wasn’t readily available in the early days of the tournament. Since 1954, when it was first shown on television, the World Cup has been televised.

In the 2006 World Cup, a total cumulative viewership of 26.29 billion was recorded, with 715.1 million people tuning in to see the final match; 300 million people also watched the 2006 World Cup draw, which determined how the teams would be divided into groups.

“Get more sports news, cricket news, and football updates, log on to sportsdigest.in. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.”