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• What is the World Cup?
• Why is the World Cup every four years?
• How does qualifying for the World Cup work?
• Where does World Cup prize money come from?
• Who is the World Cup’s top scorer?

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World Cup football tournament Ask Anything Also known as: FIFA World Cup Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Dec. 27, 2025 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Top Questions

What is the World Cup?

The World Cup in football (soccer) is a quadrennial tournament of 32 men’s national teams that is organized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It determines the sport’s men’s world champion. It is likely the most popular sporting event in the world, drawing billions of television viewers every tournament.

Why is the World Cup every four years?

The World Cup happens every four years in order to have enough time for the qualification tournaments and playoffs among national teams to take place. Additionally, four years provides the host country adequate time to plan the logistics of the tournament and how to best accommodate an influx of millions of fans.

How does qualifying for the World Cup work?

Qualifying for the World Cup is a long process during the years between each quadrennial tournament. Each of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s six confederations determines its own qualification system, which produces the men’s teams that represent each confederation’s region. The six confederations are Africa; Asia; Europe; North America, Central America, and the Caribbean; Oceania; and South America.

Where does World Cup prize money come from?

World Cup prize money comes from the earnings of the nonprofit Fédération Internationale de Football Association. FIFA’s revenue is generated by high bids for television, marketing, and licensing rights for major football events that FIFA organizes. FIFA does not incur expenses for the construction of World Cup infrastructure, as those fall on the host country.

Who is the World Cup’s top scorer?

The men’s World Cup all-time top scorer is Miroslav Klose of the German national football (soccer) team. He scored a total of 16 goals across four World Cup tournaments, from 2002 through 2014. Marta, playing for the Brazilian women’s national team, scored her 17th World Cup goal during the 2019 Women’s World Cup, becoming the top scorer across the men’s and women’s tournaments. She played in five World Cups, from 2003 through 2019.

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World Cup, in football (soccer), quadrennial tournament of men’s national teams that determines the sport’s world champion. It is likely the most popular sporting event in the world, drawing billions of television viewers every tournament. Countries worldwide compete vigorously, many years in advance, to host the lucrative event, and accusations of bribery connected to the awarding of hosting rights have long shadowed the tournament. In fact, the 2015 FIFA corruption scandal implicated more than two dozen FIFA officials and their associates in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. The equivalent tournament for women’s national football teams is the Women’s World Cup.

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The first competition for the cup was organized in 1930 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and was won by Uruguay. Held every four years since that time, except during World War II, the competition consists of international sectional tournaments leading to a final elimination event made up of 32 national teams. Unlike Olympic football, World Cup teams are not limited to players of a certain age or amateur status, so the competition serves more nearly as a contest between the world’s best players. Referees are selected from lists that are submitted by all the national associations.

The trophy cup awarded from 1930 to 1970 was the Jules Rimet Trophy, named for the Frenchman who proposed the tournament. This cup was permanently awarded in 1970 to then three-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, and 1970), and a new trophy called the FIFA World Cup was put up for competition. Many other sports have organized “World Cup” competitions.

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For a list of World Cup champions, see table.

FIFA World Cup—men

year	result
*Won after extra time (AET).
**Won on penalty kicks.
1930	Uruguay	4	Argentina	2
1934	Italy*	2	Czechoslovakia	1
1938	Italy	4	Hungary	2
1950	Uruguay	2	Brazil	1
1954	West Germany	3	Hungary	2
1958	Brazil	5	Sweden	2
1962	Brazil	3	Czechoslovakia	1
1966	England*	4	West Germany	2
1970	Brazil	4	Italy	1
1974	West Germany	2	Netherlands	1
1978	Argentina*	3	Netherlands	1
1982	Italy	3	West Germany	1
1986	Argentina	3	West Germany	2
1990	West Germany	1	Argentina	0
1994	Brazil**	0	Italy	0
1998	France	3	Brazil	0
2002	Brazil	2	Germany	0
2006	Italy**	1	France	1
2010	Spain*	1	Netherlands	0
2014	Germany*	1	Argentina	0
2018	France	4	Croatia	2
2022	Argentina**	3	France	3

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Mindy Johnston.