The World Cup is arguably the most popular football event in the world. It is played once every four years, and all countries from around the world have the chance to qualify for the event and play amongst the very best. The competition has been won by eight nations, including Brazil, who have won the competition a record 5 times, Germany and Italy who have won the competition 4 times each, Argentina, France and Uruguay who have won the competition 2 times each and Spain and England, who have both won the competition once each. There have been an additional five teams who have made the final, including the Netherlands, who reached the final 3 times, Czech Republic and Hungary who reached the final twice each, and Sweden and Croatia who have both reached the final once.
The World Cup is truly an international competition, and has a distribution of teams from the major footballing confederations such as the European nations, from the UEFA confederation, South American teams from the CONMEBOL confederation, North and Central American as well as Caribbean teams in the CONCACAF confederation, African nations from the CAF confederation, Asian teams from the ACF confederation and Oceanic nations from the OCF confederation.
Fans from all around the world will have the chance to support their national teams, favourite teams and favourite players in the fantastic competition. There are many moments of pure joy, as well as those of drama and upset, but one thing is certain, the tournament is more popular now than ever before.
Which Countries Have Hosted the World Cup?
The World Cup is usually held in summertime, with the exception of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and all of the action is packed into one month, so there is never any shortage of excitement. The anticipation for each event is huge; it has produced heroic performances from both old talents and young players, and winning the World Cup cements a team’s place in history amongst the greatest footballers who have graced the game.
The World Cup has been hosted by 17 different countries, including Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, who have all hosted the tournament on two separate occasions, as well as Uruguay, Sweden, Switzerland, Chile, England, Argentina, Spain, the United States, South Africa, Russia and Japan and South Korea (who held the tournament together).
How Are World Cup Hosts Selected?
The World Cup has been hosted in many countries, but in the early competitions it was not easy for all teams to meet the schedule and cover the travel expenses. The two main centres of football were South America and Europe, and the huge distances that had to be travelled resulted in many teams not participating in the early competitions.
Nowadays travel is much easier and football teams have huge sponsors and funds, which allow them to fly their players around the world. The hosts are determined by an exhaustive ballot system, which is voted by the members of FIFA's council. Each country puts in a bid to host an upcoming World Cup tournament, and the FIFA delegations need to see if they have stadiums in proper conditions and the capacity to host a huge number of international fans.
So far the Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA, has hosted the competition the most times, with 11 different World Cups held by European nations. With the 2022 Qatar World Cup, it will be the second time an Asian Football Confederation, or AFC, nation hosts the World Cup, with the other being Japan in 2002. The South American Football Confederation, or CONMEBOL, has hosted the World Cup on 5 different occasions, including the very first World Cup tournament that was held by Uruguay in 1930. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF, has hosted the tournament three times, and in 2026 it will host its fourth World Cup, which will be played by a record 48 teams in stadiums in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Confederation of African Football, or CAF, has hosted the competition only one time, in 2010 in South Africa. The Oceania Football Confederation, or OFC, is the smallest confederation of football and it has never hosted the World Cup.
Why is the Qatar World Cup Special?
Not only will this be the first time a World Cup will be held in an Arab country, but it is also the first World Cup to be held outside the summer season. Due to the heat of summer in Qatar, the tournament was pushed to be played between November and December.
The tournament will start on the 21st of November and last until the 18th of December, meaning it also has a reduced timeframe of only 28 days. The World Cup final will be placed on the very last day, 18 December, which is also the Qatar National Day.
Preparations for the tournament had some controversy, with many allegations of corruption by FIFA, and the conditions under which the new stadiums were being built in Qatar. Another point of contention is that Qatar follows Sharia law, meaning that public consumption of alcohol is forbidden. However, the Qatari government has said that it will permit limited drinking during the event.
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