What is the World Cup (or Copa Mondial)?
The current World Cup is solid 18-carat gold and stands 36cm tall. The cup is contested every four years. Uruguay, South America, was selected to stage the first World Cup because Uruguay was a strong footballing nation, winning the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games. Uruguay was also selected because the country was to celebrate its 100th year and Uruguay had large budgets set aside for their celebrations. In 1930 the first World Cup, or Copa Mondial, was won by Uruguay from a field of 13 nations. FIFA steadily grew as the success of the World Cup spread throughout the world. However, as this was FIFA’s only source of income, the federation became heavily reliant on the World Cup. In 1974 the new President of FIFA, Dr. Joao Havenlange, focused on expanding FIFA’s revenue streams. During his term he transformed the federation to a truly global entity. Today under the current FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter from Sweden, the federation has 204 National affiliates making football (soccer) the
