World Cup History
The FIFA World Cup Trophy, measuring 36 cm high,
weighing 13.6 lb is made of solid 18 karat gold
The World Cup is a tournament held every four years in which the members of FIFA compete amongst each other. The first tournament was held in Uruguay in 1930, and tournaments have been held every four years since, except for 1942 and 1946 because of World War II. In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, the tournament consisted of 16 teams, with exceptions in 1938 (15 teams) and 1950 (13 teams). For the 1982-1994 tournaments, the number of teams was expanded to 24 teams, and in 1998 it was expanded again to 32 teams to allow for more African, Asian, and North American teams to compete. In the 19 times that this tournament has been held, only 8 different countries have won this trophy:
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Brazil- 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002)
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Italy- 4 (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006)
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Germany- 3 (1954, 1974, and 1990)
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Argentina- 2 (1978 and 1986)
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Uruguay- 2 (1930 and 1950)
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England- 1 (1966)
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France- 1 (1998)
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Spain- 1 (2010)
| Year | Host | Winners | Score | Runners-up |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Uruguay |
4-2 |
Argentina |
| 1934 | Italy | Italy |
2-1 |
Czechoslovakia |
| 1938 | France | Italy |
4-2 |
Hungary |
| 1950 | Brazil | Uruguay |
2-1 |
Brazil |
| 1954 | Switzerland | West Germany |
3-2 |
Hungary |
| 1958 | Sweden | Brazil |
5-2 |
Sweden |
| 1962 | Chile | Brazil |
3-1 |
Czechoslovakia |
| 1966 | England | England |
4-2 |
West Germany |
| 1970 | Mexico | Brazil |
4-1 |
Italy |
| 1974 | West Germany | West Germany |
2-1 |
Netherlands |
| 1978 | Argentina | Argentina |
3-1 |
Netherlands |
| 1982 | Spain | Italy |
3-1 |
West Germany |
| 1986 | Mexico | Argentina |
3-2 |
West Germany |
| 1990 | Italy | West Germany |
1-0 |
Argentina |
| 1994 | United States | Brazil |
0-0 (3-2 pen.) |
Italy |
| 1998 | France | France |
3-0 |
Brazil |
| 2002 | South Korea & Japan | Brazil |
2-0 |
Germany |
| 2006 | Germany | Italy |
1-1 (5-3 pen.) |
France |
| 2010 | South Africa | Spain |
1-0 |
Netherlands |
The trophy that has been awarded to the winning team since 1974 is not the original trophy. From 1930 to 1970, the trophy simply known as the World Cup, Coupe du Monde, or the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded but after Brazil won their 3rd title, they were given the trophy permanently. The trophy was stolen in 1983 and was never returned, believed to be melted down by the thieves. The new trophy was named the FIFA World Cup Trophy and was designed by Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga.
The next world cups will be help in Brazil (2014), Russia (2018), and Quatar (2022).
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup#cite_note-wc1950-46