With the kick-off in Qatar less than 14 days ago, we are all feeling the soccer fever. All
football leagues worldwide are on leave, and we will be glued to our screens between 20
November and 18 December. The FIFA world cup has evolved over the years, not only in
terms of prize money; it’s become about more than soccer. It’s about entertainment, there are major sponsorship deals, and the host country gets to showcase the best it has to offer to the world.
If you are a new football fan or this will be your first world cup and are concerned about not having conversational topics during halftime, fear not. We compiled this list just for you .
These are interesting and weird FIFA World Cup facts you can throw into a conversation and
look knowledgeable about football. So instead of hiding in the kitchen and checking your
10CRIC India sportsbook wager, why not ask the guys a little trivia about the FIFA world
cup?
Countries
● Uruguay hosted the first-ever World Cup in 1930, which they also won. The
tournament had only 13 teams in it.
● FIFA World cup victors have only come from two continents, namely Europe and
South America. Europe has the most, with 18 victories of the 20 world cups staged.
● Brazil has qualified for all 21 world cups, the most of any country. They have finished
in the top four 11 of the 20 times. The South American country has also hosted the
tournament twice and won it five times (1958,1962,1970,1994,2002).
● The 2002 edition of the world cup was the first one to be hosted on the Asian
continent. The tournament had two hosts for the first time, Japan and Korea.
● The 2010 world cup staged in South Africa was the first to be hosted on the African
continent and introduced people to the noisy vuvuzela.
The Game
● The FIFA world cup is watched by more people than the Olympics. Around 3.2 billion
people watched the 2018 World Cup; this includes those who watched on streaming
platforms.
● FIFA officially banned shirt-swapping in 1986 because they didn’t want to see players
bare their chests on the pitch.
● Like the hosts, the defending champions were given an automatic spot in the
tournament. This rule was changed in 2006 when it was decided that the defending
champions would have to qualify like everyone else.
● Germany has played the most world cup games, 106 in total.
● Six awards are given to players in the world cup; the golden boot is the most popular
and coveted. The golden boot is for the top goal scorer at the tournament. The other
awards include the silver and bronze boots for the second and third scorers. Then
there is the Golden Glove Award for the best goalie; then there is the Best Young
Player Award for the best player 21 and below. The last one is the FIFA Fair Play
Trophy.
The Trophy
● The Jules Rimet Trophy is named after the former FIFA president Jules Rimet, who
was president from 1921 -1954.
● The trophy was stolen in London in the build-up to the 1966 world cup. It was later
found by Pickles, an English collie, who directed his owner to the trophy hidden
under a bush.
● In 1970 Jules Rimet’s trophy was kept in Brazil permanently but was unfortunately
stolen in 1983 and has never been found. Many theorise that the silver-plated trophy
was melted down.
The Strange
● Germany experienced a surge in babies born nine months after they hosted the 2006
world cup. These babies were conceived during the month of the world cup
tournament. Average German birth rates changed by 0.7%, but in 2006, they
increased by 10%.
● The English collie Pickles, who found the missing trophy, was invited to the English
team’s celebration after match banquet as a reward.
● The Indian team qualified for the world cup in 1950 but withdrew from the
tournament. The main reason was that they had to wear shoes during matches, and
the team had only practised barefoot.
● In 1950 Uruguay won the tournament without winning the final. For that year, only
FIFA changed the rules of the tournament. Instead of teams moving from the group
stage to the knockout stages, they moved to another group. This resulted in a final
match between the only two teams who could win the tournament. So Uruguay faced
Brazil in the final match and won 2-1.
● The most goals scored in the tournament was 171, and that was the 1998 and 2014
world cups. The lowest number of goals scored was 70, and that was in 1930 and
1934.
Lastly
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will start on 20 November in Qatar; there has been quite a bit of
controversy in the build-up to the tournament in Qatar. But as the date draws nearer, we
choose to focus on the beautiful game and all the thrills it has in store for us lovers of the game. This will be Brazil’s 22nd world cup Ronaldo’s last one; it would be quite the poignant farewell if Brazil took the trophy home for the sixth time.