Free Essay for Students: The World Cup

World Cup is a quadrennial tournament played worldwide to determine the sport's world champion. From 1904, when the first World Cup tournament was launched the sporting event has developed to be one of the most popular games in the world (Crouch p2). The success of Olympic Football Tournament intensified the wish of Federation International Football Association (FIFA) to host a world championship competition where the best and professional soccer players regardless of age could compete for the world crown. Football has come to dominate the sports field with World Cup being the most iconic event in the game (Lisi p1). Therefore, this paper will discuss the history of World Cup and its development to being the most significant sporting event in the world.

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Background of World Cup

The contemporary history of soccer, the world's favorite game, spans more than 100 years. It is believed football began in 1863 in England after rugby football and association soccer branched off. However, in the previous centuries, people were enjoying kicking a ball, and some of the games resembled soccer but were different. For instance, the Chinese military in three centuries BC would play cuju (kick-ball), which involved kicking a leather ball through a goal made from bamboo canes and silk cloth (Crouch, p3). From the 19th century, a significant development took place making football one of the most popular game in universities, colleges, and schools. In 1863, the Football Association (FA) was formed in England as the first football governing body to oversee all aspects of amateur and professional game in the region. Under FA, England and Scotland played the first international soccer game in 1872 and ever since the game has continuously spread worldwide (Crouch p4). Afterward, several leagues and football association across the world emerged.

In May 1904, the Federation International Football Association was established to oversee international games and fixtures. The membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe, and in 1930 they organized the first football world cup in Uruguay. The trip to Uruguay was costly, which made European nations to boycott the tournament. Fortunately, two months before the start of the competition thirteen countries had confirmed their participation. Among them were seven nations from South America, two from North America and four from Europe. The first world cup matches kicked off simultaneously between France and Mexico and the United States and Belgium. Uruguay was the favorite for the competition and after defeating Argentina in the final in front of approximately 68, 300 people they were crowned the 1930 World Cup champions (Lisi p6). The competition marked the beginning of a new era in the world of football.

In 1934, thirty-two nations took place in the in the qualification stage of the World Cup which was to be held in Italy. After elimination sixteen nations qualified for the final stage of the tournament. However, Uruguay the defending champions decided to boycott the competition as they were upset by the poor attendance from European nations in the 1930 World Cup edition. Egypt became the first African team to participate in the tournament although they lost in the first round to Hungary (Lisi p7). Italy went all the way to win the competition and became the first European nation to win World Cup.

Over the years the competition continued to attract the attention of different nations. Every edition of the tournament was characterized with unique features. For instance, in 1938 for the first time the host nation lost. Likewise, Italy went all the way to retain the title after defeating Hungary in the finals. Nevertheless, the 1942 World Cup was canceled due to the intensity of the World War II. The competition resumed in 1950 in Brazil with British taking part for the first time. Uruguay also returned in the same year and won the crown.

World Cup continued to be more interesting, and in 1954 in Switzerland, the competition was televised. In 1958 Brazil became the first team to win the World Cup outside their home continent. Four teams have emulated Brazil with Germany being the latest after winning the competition in 2014. From Mid-20th century some renowned football professionals had started to build their names in the sporting event. For instance, Pele led the Brazilian team to win three World Cup titles, and he is the only player who has achieved such an electrifying performance.

From 1982 World Cup held in Spain the teams who were to participate were added to twenty-four. The number also increased in 1998 to thirty-two. The 2002 World Cup was the first to be held in Asia and was jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea. In 2010 South Africa became the first African country to host the sporting event with Brazil hosting the 2014 competition (History of FIFA p4). The progress of the game has continued to attract a fanatic fan base and professional footballers who have passionately given their best to have their countries win the competition.

The Preparation that Takes Place for World Cup

Preparing for FIFA World Cup is different from any other sporting event. As a governing body FIFA ensures that the hosting nation attracts both regional and international attention and interest of the involved parties. The goal of football is to develop the game, touch the world and build a better future. Therefore World Cup preparation involves local, national, regional and international relationships in efforts to achieve the objectives of the competition. On a national level, hosting World Cup calls for revamping of infrastructures and social amenities. For instance, most of the host countries have had to replenish their stadiums and address security threats as a way of ensuring every participant is safe and in a conducive environment. For this reason, preparation for World Cup involves different activities aimed at popularizing the game, safety and making the competition retain or even build its status further.

In 2010, ten stadia were used to host different matches while in 2014 two more stadia were added. Similar to Brazil Russia will have been constructing twelve stadiums and surrounding facilities to cater for the large number of people taking place in the competition as fans, players or officials. The preparation is always supervised by technicians from FIFA to affirm they meet the required standards. Therefore, from the initial stages of preparing every process and action is taken seriously and worked within a time-bound to ensure every participant is satisfied and eager to take part in the tournament. Worldwide people are always anxious to see, acknowledge and appreciate every effort made by the host nation to make the competition a success.

Apart from the thirty-two teams which take place in the World Cup over 200 nation is also involved in the qualification stage of the competition. In efforts to bring the best teams in the final stage confederation qualification matches are organized, which includes nations from the same continent. The top teams from each continent are then considered among the participants in the final stage including the host nation. During the qualification stage, people tend to support their countries to win the crown. As a result, the continental elimination rounds create a close relationship between the sporting event and the fan base. Different continents look up to their best teams to represent them in the tournament making the game a global affair.

The previous football competitions did not attract the attention of the world as they were localized. The Olympic Games were the only sporting event that involved multiple nations around the globe. However, Olympic football matches concentrated on armature players limiting involved country to name a professional team of players. FIFA took advantage to launch World Cup which world give equal chances to every player regardless of age to represent their nations in a global football crown competition. As a result, every fan has been putting their trust among the chosen players to give and display a beautiful game attracting a large number of people worldwide who are eager to witness every bit of the event. Consequently, different players have established themselves as players to watch in various World Cup editions (History of FIFA p9). Pele, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, David Beckham, David Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are but a few of all time players who have continued to grace the event and attract a broad fan base globally.

Similarly, FIFA remains committed to ensuring that its members maximize the benefits of bidding for and hosting World Cup. The governing body concentrates on bringing continuous global development of the game and attaining the social goal (History of FIFA p6). Improved facilities to support the football games at all levels, cooperation with stakeholders, enhanced partnerships and increased football development programs are some of the benefits the host nations have been experiencing. As a result, it is competitive to acquire hosting rights to one of the most adored sports event. The young people have been identifying successful players as their role models especially when the tournament is played in their home countries. As a result, apart from the middle-aged and older adults the young generation has also embraced the sporting event.

World Cup is also an institution of global good based on its popularity and its efforts to bring together 209 countries who take part in programs organized by FIFA. As a multinational sporting event FIFA has used World Cup as a tool to campaign for peace, equality and raise against racism contrary to some journals and media. As a result, World Cup has been a unifying factor which has continued to more fans surpassing the expectation of FIFA as the organizing body.

World Cup as the Biggest Sporting Event in the World

Ranking sports based on their popularity has been a puzzle for years. In fact, those that have tried to do it have always contradicted themselves from other studies. However, they are several aspect ones may consider affirming that World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world. By taking a view of football global base and audience, soccer has over four billion followers making it the most common sport in the world. Today, football is not just a game, but t is a way of life. They are several football competitions, but the World Cup is the most icon event, which is not only the most watched but it is also among the highest paying competition in the world of sports. For instance in 2014 over 3.9 billion people tuned in at some point to watch the World Cup.

Football is also one of the most accessible sport and has dominated sports headlines continuously in every country. In South, America football represents the dreams of children who have been inspired by football legends in the region. Most of the young talent dreams of representing their countries in the World Cup. It is adorable to win the World Cup crown, and even some of the most admired footballers and followed athletes have always dreamt of adding the title to their profile. Therefore, in efforts to reach the audience over 254 channels have been broadcasting the tournament since the year 2006. Likewise, if attendance is anything to go by the stadiums have always been fully packed with fans waiting for the start of any final World Cup match. For example, in South African, 2010 World Cup a total of 3,170,856 spectators attended the 64 games which were an average of 49, 670 per game (Rinke, Stefan & Kay p19).