Thirteen Teams and a Long Boat Ride
The biggest sporting event on Earth began almost humbly. In 1930, FIFA president Jules Rimet championed a world championship for national teams, and Uruguay hosted the first edition. Just 13 teams took part, and they were invited rather than qualified.
Getting there was half the battle. For European sides, the choice of Uruguay meant a long and costly voyage across the Atlantic in the middle of the Great Depression, and several stayed home.
The gamble paid off in front of 93,000 spectators in Montevideo, where hosts Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 to lift the first trophy. The tournament has been held every four years since, with only two editions missed, in 1942 and 1946, because of World War II and its aftermath.
The Trophy That Vanished
The World Cup's original prize, the Jules Rimet Trophy, has a story worthy of a heist film. After Brazil won their third title, they were allowed to keep the trophy permanently, a reward for their dominance.
Then, in 1983, it was stolen in Brazil and never recovered. The most famous prize in football simply vanished.
Its successor is the current FIFA World Cup Trophy, designed by the Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga in 1974. It weighs 6.175 kilograms and is made largely of solid gold. Unlike the Jules Rimet Trophy, no team gets to keep this one: champions receive a replica, while the original stays with FIFA, waiting for the next winner to raise it every four years.
Half of Humanity Tunes In
No other event on the planet gathers an audience like this. An estimated 3.57 billion people, close to half the global population, watched the 2018 World Cup. Engagement with the 2022 edition was estimated at 5 billion, with about 1.5 billion people watching the final match alone.
The tournament has grown to match its audience. From 16 teams for much of its history, it expanded to 24 in 1982, 32 in 1998, and 48 teams starting with the 2026 edition.
Hosting has evolved too. Nineteen countries have staged the finals. The 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan was the first in Asia and the first shared by two nations, while the 2026 World Cup went further still, spread across three co-hosts: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Eight Names on the Cup
In 23 tournaments, only eight nations have ever won. Brazil lead with five titles and are the only team to have played in every single World Cup. Germany and Italy have four each, Argentina three, while France, Spain, and Uruguay have two, and England one.
The latest chapter belongs to Spain, who won their second title at the 2026 World Cup by defeating the holders, Argentina, in the final.
Heartbreak is part of the tournament's DNA. In 1950, Uruguay stunned hosts Brazil in the deciding match, an upset remembered as the Maracanazo, still one of the most dramatic moments in sport. And the stage keeps widening: 84 national teams have now competed at the finals, and the FIFA Women's World Cup, first held in China in 1991, has carried the tournament's story into a new era.
