World Cup Soccer History
The origins of football can be traced back in history to just about every corner of the world from Japan to the Scandinavian countries. The Chinese played a form of football some 3000 years ago, the Romans and the Ancient Greeks used the sport to prepared warriors for battle. But it was in England that football really began to take shape, in 1863 when two football association (association football and rugby football) split off on their different courses. The Football Association was founded in England, the existing game rules were refined from that of Rugby and soccer rules founded. Within a decade no less than 50 clubs joined the association and by 1872 International soccer games were being played - the first soccer competition in the world was started in the same year - the FA Cup, which preceded the League Championship by some 17 years.
This sudden boom of organized soccer accompanied by staggering crowds of spectators brought with it certain problems with which other countries were not confronted with until much later on. Two Darwin players, the Scots John Love and Fergus Suter, are reported as being the first players ever to receive remuneration for their soccer talents thus opening the door to professional soccer as it is known today. The spread of soccer outside of England, mainly due to the British influence abroad, started slowly, but soon gathered momentum and spread rapidly to all parts of the world. This international soccer community grew steadily, although it sometimes met with obstacles and setbacks. In 1912, 21 national associations were already affiliated to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). By 1925, the number had increased to 36; in 1930 it had 41 members - the year of the first World Cup. Frenchman Jules Rimet, the creator of the world championship games, founded the World Cup (The Golden Nike).
The cup designed and made by the French sculptor Abel Lafleur, depicted Nike of Samothrace. Abel Lafleur used no less than 1,82 kg of pure gold for the sculpture of the trophy. The FIFA World Cup as we know it today was founded in 1971, the trophy was designed by Silvio Gazzanigi of Italy, and is made of 18-carat gold and malachite; the cup is 36 cm tall and weighs 5 kg. The sculpture depicts two triumphant football players holding a globe in their raised hands. The trophy that the winning country keeps is a gold-plated replica of the original. At the 1929 FIFA congress, Uruguay was chosen in honour of its achievements in sports to arrange the first ever World Cup. Even though Uruguay offered to pay all team expenses, only four European countries made the three-week sea voyage to South America. The Soccer World Cup of 2010 is being hosted by South Africa and is the first host country on the continent of Africa to do so. Since the announcement of the South Africa being the host nation several new stadia have been build in various location around the country to fill the need for such places for sporting activities. Modern airline travel will bring to this venue many thousands of soccer fans and national teams from every corner of the globe.
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Get up to date on all the latest scores, betting options and inside information on every game. Best World Cup Soccer sporting events taking place right now.
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