Soccer

Poetry of Feet, Goals, and Passion

Traced back to more than 2000 years ago, soccer is the most followed sport in the world and is played in more than 200 countries.

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Soccer

History

The history of modern soccer can be dated back to the mid-nineteenth century when local clubs in England came forward and established a set of rules, leading to the formation of the Football Association in London, England, on 26 October 1863. A total of 11 soccer clubs were present at the first meeting of the FA, along with representatives from different schools. Eight years after its culmination, the FA had 50 member clubs. In 1872, the association started the world's oldest competition to this date: the FA Cup. Since the FA Cup was a knockout competition, 12 clubs decided to start the Football League. It was the top-tier league competition in England till 1992. However, in 1992, 22 teams decided to split and formed the Premier League.

Soccer is also known as football in many countries around the world. In 1885, the USA played its first international soccer game, which followed the rules and regulations of the London FA laws. The United States Soccer Federation was founded in 1913 and is the governing body of soccer in the United States. It also governs the Major League Soccer and the National Women's Soccer League.

The United States men's national team played its first game against Canada in 1885, which was also the first international game outside of the United Kingdom.

First international soccer game

England and Scotland played the world's first-ever international soccer game in 1872. It was held in Partick, Glasgow. The game ended scoreless with 0-0 on the scoreboard. Queen's Park club players represented Scottish players, while the English team had players from 9 different clubs.

History of the FIFA World Cup

Uruguay hosted the first World Cup tournament in 1930. Hosts Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the final to lift the inaugural world cup. The winner of the World Cup lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy, named after FIFA president Jules Rimet. However, 40 years later, the FIFA World Cup Trophy was designed to replace the old trophy.

The Brazilian national team remains the most successful team in world cup history with 5 titles. Germany and Italy have four titles each. Uruguay, Argentina, and France are next on the list with 2 titles. England and Spain are the other winners, with one title each. No team from AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, and OFC has won the world cup.

2022 FIFA World Cup

Participants

AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea

CAF: Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia

CONCACAF: Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, United States

CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay

UEFA: Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Wales

Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Argentina ran out winners after beating defending champions, France in the final. Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball award for the best player in the World Cup.

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

The 2023 FIFA Women's soccer World Cup will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. It is the first FIFA Women's world cup to be jointly hosted by two nations. It will take place from 20 July to 20 August 2023. USWNT are the defending champions with two back-to-back trophies.

For the first time 32 teams will be able to participate in the Women's World Cup, same as the men's world cup.