The The FIFA World Cup

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The The FIFA World Cup (often called the Football World Cup, Soccer World Cup or simply the World Cup) is the most important competition in international football (soccer), and the world's most representative team sport event. Organised by Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's governing body, the World Cup is contested by the men's national football teams of FIFA member nations. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930 (except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II), however, it is more of an ongoing event as the qualifying rounds of the competition take place over the three years preceding the final rounds.

The final tournament phase (often called the "Finals") involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period in a previously nominated host nation, with these games making it the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world.[1] In the 17 tournaments held, only seven nations have ever won the World Cup Finals. Brazil is the current holder, as well as the most successful World Cup team, having won the tournament five times, while Germany and Italy follow with three titles each. The next football World Cup Finals will be held in Germany between June 9 and July 9, 2006.

Association football, soccer, or simply football is a team sport played between two teams consisting of eleven players each. It is a ball game played on a rectangular grass field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by maneuvering the ball into the opposing goal. Other than the goalkeepers, players may not use their hands or arms to propel the ball in general play. The winner of the match is the team that has scored most goals at the end of the match. The sport is known by many names throughout the English-speaking world, although football is the most common. Other names, such as association football and soccer, are often used to distinguish the game from other codes of football, since the word football may be used to refer to several quite different games.

The origins of football are thought to be over 2000 years old. Indeed, in 2004, football's governing body Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) officially acknowledged that China was the birthplace of football, when people played the sport of cuju around 200 BC. Association football in paticular dervived out of games played at public schools in England in the Nineteenth Century.

The game is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game, which are summarised below.

Two teams of eleven players each compete to get a round ball (itself known as a football) into the other team's goal, thereby scoring a goal. The team which has scored the most goals at the conclusion of the game is the winner; if both teams have an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. The primary rule for this objective is that players, other than the goalkeepers, may not intentionally touch the ball with their hands or arms during play (though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart). Although players mainly use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms.

In typical game play, players attempt to move towards a goal through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling (running with the ball close to their feet); by passing the ball from team-mate to team-mate; and by taking shots at the goal. Opposition players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent who controls the ball, however physical contact between opponents is restricted.

Football is generally a free-flowing game with the ball in play at all times except when the ball has left the field of play by wholly crossing over a boundary line (either on the ground or in the air), or play has been stopped by the referee. When play has been stopped, it recommences with a specified restart.

At a professional level, usually a few goals are scored during a match. For example, during 2004-05 season of the FA Premier League, an average of 2.57 goals per match were scored, and 88% of the matches ended up with not more than four goals scored. However, only 8% of the matches finished goal-less.

History and development

The Laws of the Game are based on efforts made in the mid-19th century to standardise the rules of the widely varying games of football played at the independent schools of England. The first set of rules resembling the modern game were produced at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1848, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury, but they were far from universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs were formed, throughout the English-speaking world, independent of schools or universities, to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club (formed by former pupils from Harrow) in 1857, which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.

These efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863 which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, London[2]. The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse. The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, who was the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting, the first which allowed for the running with the ball in hand and the second, obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other English rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA but instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under the charge of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, went on to ratify the original fourteen rules of the game. Despite this, the Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s.

Today the laws of the game are determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886[3] after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association.

The world's first football league was founded in England in 1888 by Aston Villa director, William McGregor. The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and the North of England.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA, the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to the rules laid down by the IFAB. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the IFAB in 1913. Today the board is made up of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations.

The FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is the main "knockout" cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association.

The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world, commencing in 1872 (the Scottish Cup beginning a year later in 1873). As such, its reputation as the sport's premier domestic cup competition extends around the world. Because it involves clubs of all standards playing against each other, there is great scope for "giant-killers" from the lower divisions to eliminate top clubs from the tournament. A record 674 teams have entered the FA Cup in 2005-2006. In comparison, the League Cup, a lower prestige English football knockout tournament, can involve only the 92 respective members of the Football League (which organises the competition) and the FA Premier League.

The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament. The equivalent competition for women's teams is the FA Women's Cup. The women's cup has a much lower public profile than the men's, in common with all women's football in England. Many nations also have similar competitions, inspired by this legendary tournament.

Arsenal are the current holders of the trophy, although they were eliminated from the 2005-2006 Cup by Bolton Wanderers. The 2006 final will be between Liverpool and West Ham United.


© 2006 This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Football