FRANCE 98 - History of The Cup

Past World Cups

Football, man's favorite game, has become universal because of its simple rules and also because of the widespread influence of the World Cup. Every four years, the entire world is spellbound by this wonderful spectacle. On May 26, 1928, the Congress of the Federation Internationale de Football Association, held in Amsterdam, decided by 23 votes for and 5 against, to organize a competition "open to teams representing all affiliated national associations." The final approval of this project was voted at the Barcelona Congress the following year. It needed all the perseverance of two Frenchmen, Jules Rimet, elected President of FIFA in 1921, and Henri Delaunay, Secretary-General of the French Football Federation, to turn what was for a long time a utopian idea into reality. When the whistle blew for the first World Cup in Montevideo in July 1930, it was difficult to imagine that this competition would become the greatest sporting festival. In fact, no other international meeting or event has enjoyed such a resounding success, and this grandiose tournament has permanently assumed a superlative dimension (1.5 billion viewers in front of the small screen just for the 1994 final between Brazil and Italy). Since the World Cup is a rendezvous between football and its legend, all nations are involved in the event. With the prospect of the final competition to be organized by France in 1988, 172 countries--and this is a record--have registered to participate in the eliminating matches. 172 countries for only 30 qualifying places, with Brazil as the title holder and France as the host country being qualified as a matter of course. These 172 countries are divided as follows: Europe (50), Africa (38), Asia (36), North and Central America (28), South America (10) and Oceania (10). Unique in the history of football and the most famous of all champions in any other sport, the Brazilian Edson Arantes do Nascimento, affectionately known all over the world as Pele, is the only player to have won three World Cups, in 1958, 1962 and 1970, with the Brazilian team.
	Brazil has taken part in all the final phases since 1930, in other words, 15 times. The Brazilians have won 49 out of 73 matches.
	matches have been played in the final phase since the first World Cup. 1584 goals have been registered in the course of these matches.
	this is the record of goals scored during a final phase, held by the French player Just Fontaine. It happened in Sweden in 1958.
	The French sculptor Abel Lafleur was commissioned by FIFA to create the first trophy for the World Cup. This was a gold statuette weighing about 1.5 kilograms, representing an allegorical winged victory on an octagonal base. This famous "Jules Rimet Cup" was first stolen in London in 1966, then recovered. It finally went to Brazil, the first country to have won three World Cups, before being stolen again, and this time it was never found. The present trophy is the work of the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga.