The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football governing body, decided to stage an international men's football tournament under the era of FIFA president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place. 展开

In 1930, FIFA made the decision to stage their own international tournament. The 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as part of the programme because the sport was not popular in the United States. FIFA and the IOC 展开

The FIFA World Cup was planned to take place in 1942. Germany officially applied to host the 1942 FIFA World Cup at the 23rd FIFA Congress on 13 August 1936 in Berlin. In June 1939, Brazil also applied to host the tournament. The beginning of European hostilities in … 展开

1980s
Spain hosted an expanded 1982 World Cup which featured 24 teams, the first expansion since 1934. The teams were divided into six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the second round, where … 展开

The first official international football match was played in 1872 in Glasgow between Scotland and England, although at this stage the sport was rarely played outside Great Britain. 展开

1950s
Competitions resumed with the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, which was the first to include British participants. British teams withdrew from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war … 展开

2000s
The 2002 World Cup was the first to be held in Asia, and was hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan. … 展开