Football World Cups

The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to World War II. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 World Cup by defeating France. The contest starts with the qualification phase, which takes place over the preceding three years to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 48 teams (as of the 2026 World Cup) compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over the course of about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify for the group stage of the tournament. Nineteen countries have hosted the world cup up until the 2026 World Cup, with some countries sharing hosting duties. The 2026 tournament is being hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico, with the final being played in New York in the USA. Up until the 2026 World Cup, 23 final tournaments have been held since the event's inception in 1930, and a total of 80 national teams have competed. The trophy has been won by eight national teams. Brazil have won it 5 times and is the only team to have played in every tournament. Germany and Italy have four titles each; Argentina, with three titles; France and inaugural winner Uruguay, each with two titles; and England and Spain, with one title each. The World Cup is globally regarded as the most prestigious association football competition, as well as the most widely viewed and followed sporting and cultural event in the world. The viewing figures of the 2018 World Cup was estimated to be 3.57 billion, close to half of the global population, while the figures for the 2022 World Cup was estimated to be 5 billion, with about 1.5 billion people watching the final match.