Soccer and the FIFA World Cup

By: Seora Kerr, 2007

History of Soccer
Soccer is a sport that many cultures have
played throughout history.
Different forms of soccer have been played
around the globe for centuries.

Early forms of Soccer

The earliest form of soccer can
be traced back to the 2nd and
3rd centuries B.C. in China.
Another form of soccer also
came from Japan.
The Greeks and Romans also
played forms of soccer.

Soccers Voyage to England

Historians propose that the
Romans took a form of soccer
with them to England.
In England, through many years,
soccer transformed into the game
we know today.
It slowly began to spread in
popularity all throughout Europe
and into South America.

The Creation Process

Different organizations were made to hold

national and international soccer
tournaments.
Of these organizations, the FIFA was formed
and began recruiting more and more
countries to be part of their association.
Without a doubt, the FIFA became the most
successful soccer association, and still is to
this day!

FIFA
FIFA..What does it mean?
Fdration Internationale de Football
Association - French
International Federation of Association
Football - English

FIFAa little more

FIFAWhat is it?
FIFA is an international association of soccer
that currently oversees many international
soccer tournaments, most notably, the World
Cup.
FIFA is currently the largest sport governing
body association and the second largest
international organization in the world.

International Soccer begins

Before the formation of the FIFA, the first ever
international soccer match was played in England and
Scotland in 1872. Soccer, at that time was a stage
sport and was not normally seen outside of Great
Britian. As soccer began to spread in popularity, an
organization called FIFA began in 1904. This
association was comprised of 7 European countries.

Off to a slow start

At first, FIFA was very unsuccessful at advancing
the popularity of soccer internationally. People did
not take soccer seriously because it was not
viewed as a competitive sport, like the many
others. It actually took them 26 years to come up
with a plan for their first international tournament,
which we know now as the World Cup.

Soccer at the Olympics

Before the World Cup competition was created,
soccer was held as a demonstration sport at the
Olympics in 1900, 1904 and the Summer Olympics
in 1906. In 1908, soccer finally became an official
competition at the Olympics. It was considered by
the majority a show instead of a real sport.
England won the soccer event in both 1908 and
1912.

Unpopular with the Gringos

In the early 1900s, soccer was becoming a

little more popular around the world, except
in the United States. Because of the
unpopularity of soccer in the U.S.A., the
decision was made to eliminate soccer from
the 1932 Olympics.
Because of this decision, FIFA decided it
was time to make a move. The organization
then made a decision that would change the
future of soccer worldwide.

Decisions, Decisions
It was 1930 when FIFA decided to try
and change the role soccer played on
the world. From the very beginning of
the association, the president of FIFA
at the time, Jules Rimet, wanted
soccer to be more than just a fun sport
viewed at the Olympics. He wanted
the world to view soccer as a
competitive sport, full of excitement
and pleasure.
The members of the FIFA organized
an international soccer competition
called the World Cup that would hold
its first competition in Uruguay.

World Cup
From the very first
competition in
Uruguay, the
World Cup has
grown in popularity
and prestige.
Today, the World
Cup holds the
entire world under
its spell.

FIFA
The FIFA World Cup consists of mens
national soccer teams belonging to the FIFA
organization.

World Cup Championships

The championship
has been held every
4 years since the first
tournament in 1930
excluding the years
1942 and 1946, due
to World War II.

Talk about Popular

No other sporting event
captures the worlds attention
like the World Cup.
The World Cup Finals, is the
most widely-viewed sporting
event in the world, with an
estimated 1.1 billion people
watching the tournament in
2002.

World Cup in France

In Frances 1998
tournament, 37 billion
viewers watched and
2.7 million flocked to
watch the 64 matches
held there.

The Process
The manner in which FIFA determines which
national teams will compete in the
tournament is quite complicated.
Only 32 national teams compete in the World
Cup tournament.
To determine the participating teams, there
are qualifying rounds that each nation must
compete in. The qualification process takes
about 3 years and they normally begin soon
after the Finals have taken place.

The Process
The whole competition takes approximately
a month from start to finish and takes place
in the host nation or nations.

Victorious Brazil
There have been 18
tournaments in all and
only 7 nations have
won the title!
Brazil has the most
successful World Cup
team, having 5 wins
under their belt!

Cup Holders
The current cup holders,
Italy, have won the
competition 4 times and
Germany has won it 3
times.
Uruguay has won one title
and Argentina, two titles.
England and France both
have one title.

U.S.A.
Guess what? The United States has never
won! Poor Gringos!

2006 World Cup

The most recent World Cup
Finals were held from June
9th and July 9th in 2006. The
host nation was Germany,
and as mentioned earlier,
Italy won the title. They
competed against France in
the Finals. The competition
was won by a penalty
shootout 5-3 after the match
finished with a score of 1-1.

World Cup-2010
The next World Cup will be held in South
Africa in 2010.

World Cup for Women!!

Since 1991, FIFA has
organized a World Cup
for women, known as
the FIFA Womens
World Cup. They also
play every 4 years and
the process of
qualification is much
the same as the mens.

FIFA today
After all these years,
and many changes the
FIFA has seen, the main
focus of the FIFA World
Cup remains the
samethe glistening
golden trophy, which is
the embodiment of
every footballers
dream.