Association futball, more commonly
known as futball or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of
eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in
the world. It is a futball variant played on a rectangular grass or artificial
turf field, with a goal at each of the short ends. The object of the game
is to score by manoeuvring the ball into the opposing goal. In general
play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or
arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to
kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head to
intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the
end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either
a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout,
depending on the format of the competition.
The modern game was codified in England following
the formation of The Futball Association, whose 1863 Laws of the Game created
the foundations for the way the sport is played today. Futball is governed
internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Futball
Association (International Federation of Association Futball), commonly
known by the acronym FIFA. The most prestigious international futball competition
is the FIFA World Cup, held every four years. This event, the most widely
viewed in the world, boasts an audience twice that of the Summer Olympic
Games.
The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football
World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international
football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members
of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA),
the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every
four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946,
due to World War II.
The current format of the tournament involves
32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over
a period of about a month (this phase is often called the World Cup Finals).
A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three
years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together
with the host nation(s). The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting
event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the
2006 final.
Of the 18 tournaments held, seven nations have
won the title. Brazil is the only team that has played in every tournament
and has won the World Cup a record five times. Italy is the current champion
and has won four titles, and Germany is next with three. The other former
champions are Uruguay, winner of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina,
with two titles each, and England and France, with one title each.
The most recent World Cup was held in Germany
in 2006, and was won by Italy, who defeated France in the final. The next
World Cup will be held in South Africa, between 11 June and 11 July 2010,
and the 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil.