A Short History of the World Cup

Football5 min readPublished October 8, 2026

The FIFA World Cup is the largest single-sport event on Earth, played every four years. It began small, with a handful of teams and a long sea voyage to get there. This guide traces its history from the beginning, with some of the moments that defined it. The winner list below runs through 2022; check an official source for later results.

Before the World Cup

FIFA, the international governing body, was founded in Paris in 1904. In the early years, football at the Olympic Games served as the main international competition, and by the 1920s it was clear that professional players and a growing audience needed an event of their own. FIFA's president Jules Rimet pushed for a world championship, and Uruguay, which had won the Olympic football tournaments of 1924 and 1928, was chosen as host of the first tournament.

1930: Uruguay

The first World Cup took place in Uruguay in 1930, with 13 teams. Because travel meant weeks at sea, many European nations declined to enter; only a handful made the trip. The final was played at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, where Uruguay beat their neighbours Argentina 4-2. The trophy was named after Jules Rimet.

The 1930s and the war years

Italy hosted and won in 1934 and retained the title in 1938 in France, under coach Vittorio Pozzo. The tournaments were affected by politics, and the Second World War cancelled the competitions that would have been held in 1942 and 1946.

1950 and the Maracanazo

The tournament resumed in Brazil in 1950, and the final stage was played as a group instead of a knockout. Brazil needed only a draw against Uruguay in the deciding match at the Maracanã, in front of a vast crowd. Uruguay won 2-1, a result so shocking that it has its own name in Brazil, the Maracanazo.

Television arrives

The 1954 tournament in Switzerland was the first to be televised, and West Germany won an unexpected victory over the heavily favoured Hungary. In 1958 in Sweden, a teenage Pelé announced himself, and Brazil won the first of their five titles, followed by 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

1966: England

England hosted in 1966 and won the only World Cup in their history, beating West Germany 4-2 after extra time at Wembley. Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick, and only one other player, Kylian Mbappé in 2022, has scored three in a men's final. The match is remembered partly for a disputed goal, which fans have argued about ever since.

The trophy

In 1970 Brazil won their third World Cup and were allowed to keep the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently. A new trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was introduced for 1974. The winners' names are inscribed on its base, but the winners receive a replica to keep.

Expansion

The tournament has grown several times. It had 16 teams until 1978, was extended to 24 in 1982, and then to 32 from 1998. The 2026 tournament, hosted jointly by Canada, Mexico and the United States, was the first with 48 teams, and the first with three host nations.

Up to and including the 2022 tournament, the men's World Cup winners were:

Brazil, five times.
Germany and Italy, four times each.
Argentina, three times, including 1978, 1986 and 2022.
France and Uruguay, twice each.
England and Spain, once each.

Moments that shaped the story

1986: Diego Maradona scored two famous goals against England, one controversial and one often described as the finest ever scored in the tournament.
1998: France won on home soil, with the team's diversity celebrated across the country.
2010: Spain won their first title, in South Africa, the first World Cup on the African continent.
2022: Qatar became the first Middle Eastern host, and the tournament was played in November and December. Argentina and France drew 3-3 in the final, and Argentina won 4-2 on penalties.

The women's tournament

The first FIFA Women's World Cup was held in China in 1991, and the United States won. Over the following decades, the tournament has grown in attendance, television audiences and competitiveness. We cover the rise of the women's game in more detail in our article on what changed after 2022.

Why it matters

The World Cup is part sporting event, part shared cultural moment. People who rarely watch football can name a goal from a given tournament, or remember where they were for a final. It is also a stage where smaller nations can surprise larger ones, and where players can become national figures overnight.

Reading further

If you are interested in the tournament's history, the best way to continue is to choose one edition and follow it from qualification to final. Each has its own story, and the details are often richer than the headlines.

Published October 8, 2026. Written with AI assistance and prepared for publication under our editorial policy. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will check it.