History of International Football
Arguably the most popular sport in the world, football--called soccer in North America--dates to antiquity with games that were similar in nature. The ancient Chinese, Romans and Greeks all played games similar to football. The first official rules of the game, however, were not introduced until 1863 in England. Over the next century, the game grew in popularity, culminating every four years with the FIFA World Cup.
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Inception of FIFA
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FIFA, which stands for the Federation Internationale de Football Association, was founded in 1904 as the overall governing body of worldwide football. Seven original members, all of which were from Europe, signed the foundation act. Oddly enough, although England was the birth of the modern game and wrote the rules, it was not an original member of FIFA. The first official international match took place between Belgium and France on May 1, 1904.
Growth of FIFA
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As Robert Guerin took over as FIFA president soon after its inception, the organization was faced "with an immense task because FIFA only existed on paper, as it were. Now came the real work: to give this new body shape and attract new members." England needed to be convinced to join the organization, as it was considered the birthplace of the game, according to FIFA's web. In 1905, England joined. Shortly thereafter, other United Kingdom countries joined. By June 1905, Hungry, Germany, Austria and Italy also joined FIFA. Talks for an international competition--which would eventually become the FIFA World Cup Tournament--had begun to take place.
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The First FIFA World Cup
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Prior to the inauguration of the FIFA World Cup, the Olympic Games were the only international channel for football. FIFA, however, wanted to stage its own competition. In May 1928, it was decided that the first World Cup would take place in Uruguay in 1930. The economic crisis of the 1930s compounded with the long distance between Europe and South America meant that, because of logistical reasons, some nations would not participate. The first tournament was a sporting and financial success and would begin to occur every four years.
FIFA's Evolution
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Through most of FIFA's history, the organization was surviving financially from proceeds earned during the World Cup, which was--at that time--primarily a competition between European teams and South American teams. Newly independent nations within Africa soon began to demand their representation in the tournament. FIFA's president at the time, Dr. Joao Havelange, expanded the field of contestants from 16 in 1978 to 24 for the 1982 World Cup. The field of competitors was again increased from 24 in 1994 to 32 in 1998 as more associations joined FIFA.
Popularity
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With the World Cup being the centerpiece of international football, the 2006 competition drew 5.9 billion cumulative viewers worldwide, according to WorldCupBlog. The final match was viewed by 284 million people. The average match in 2006 also attracted 93 million viewers, 41 percent of which were female. These numbers were an increase of 10 percent from 2002's World Cup numbers. With the expected growth of economic markets in Asia and North America, the popularity of the sport should continue to rise throughout the 21st century.
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- Photo Credit soccer ball image by Rich Johnson from Fotolia.com
