|
 No
other sporting event captures the world's imagination like the
FIFA World Cup. Ever since the first tentative competition in
Uruguay in 1930, FIFA's (Fédération Internationale de Football
Association) flagship has constantly grown in popularity and
prestige.
A group of
visionary French football administrators, led in the 1920s by
the innovative Jules Rimet, are credited with the original idea
of bringing the world's strongest national football teams
together to compete for the title of World Champions. The
original gold trophy bore Jules Rimet's name and was contested
three times in the 1930s, before the Second World War put a
12-year stop to the competition.
 When
it resumed, the FIFA World Cup rapidly advanced to its
undisputed status as the greatest single sporting event of the
modern world. Held since 1958 alternately in Europe and the
Americas, the World Cup broke new ground with the Executive
Committee's decision in May 1996 to select Korea and Japan as
co-hosts for the 2002 edition.
Since 1930, the
19 tournaments have seen only seven different winners. However,
the FIFA World Cup has also been punctuated by dramatic upsets
that have helped create footballing history - the United
States
defeating England in 1950, North Korea's defeat of Italy in
1966, Cameroon's emergence in the 1980s and their opening match
defeat of the Argentinean cup-holders in 1990....
 Today, the FIFA
World Cup holds the entire global public under its spell. An
accumulated audience of over 37 billion people watched the
France 98 tournament, including approximately 1.3 billion for
the final alone, while over 2.7 million people flocked to watch
the 64 matches in the French stadium.
After all these
years and so many changes, however, the main focus of the FIFA
World Cup remains the same - the glistening golden trophy, which
is the embodiment of every footballer's ambition.
World Cup Summaries-
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