WORLD CUP

The first international football match was played in 1872 in Glasgow between Scotland and England. The match ended in a 0–0 draw.

By 1900 football gained popularity all over the world and national football associations were founded. The first official international match outside of the British Isles was played between Uruguay and Argentina in Montevideo in July 1902. In May 1904 FIFA was founded in Paris – comprising football associations from France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

As football began to become more and more popular, it was accepted as an Olympic sport at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics. At the 1908 Summer Olympics, football became an official FIFA-supervised competition but the event was for amateur players only.

Besides the competitions between amateur teams, competitions involving professional teams also started to appear.  In 1908 was held the Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva in Turin. The competition was contested between individual clubs and not national teams.

In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognize the Olympic tournament as a "world football championship for amateurs", and took responsibility for organizing the event. This led the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, won by Belgium. Uruguay won the tournaments in 1924 and 1928.

Due to the success of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, with President Jules Rimet, wanted to stage its own international tournament outside of the Olympics. In 1928, FIFA decided to stage a world championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country of the inaugural World Cup tournament in 1930.

The national associations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay turned out to have been a bad one.  It meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip. In total thirteen nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America.

The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments were the difficulties of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South American teams were willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 and 1938 tournaments, with Brazil the only South American team to compete in both. The 1942 and 1946 competitions, which Nazi Germany and Brazil wanted to host, were cancelled due to World War II and its aftermath.

The first World cup after World War II was held in Brazil. Uruguay won the tournament again after defeating the host nation Brazil.

Nowadays, 32 teams participate at the World Cup.

1.    How popular is football in your country?

2.    Why do you think it is popular?

3.    Do you like football?

4.    Do you play? When yes, how often do you play and where?

5.    Are you a fan?

6.    Are you a member of a football club? Which one?

7.    Do you watch football games regularly? Where?

8.    Do you prefer watching the games on TV or in a stadium? Why?

9.    Have you ever been to a stadium? Where?  How was your experience?

10.  Did you wear the T-shirt of your team? Why? Why not?

11.  Do you have a favorite team in your country? Witch one?

12.  Do you have a favorite international team besides the team of your country? Which one?

13.  7. What kind of competitions do you prefer? National competitions or international competitions? Why?

14.  Who is the best football player in your country in your opinion? Why?

15.  Who is the best football player in the world in your opinion? Why?

16.  What do you think about the fact that football players are sold from one club to the other?

17.  What do you think about the salary of the players?

18.  Would you like to be a player? Why? Why not?  In what position would you like to play?

19.  Do you think that it is important for a country to host the World Cup? Why?

20.  What team will win the World Cup in 2018?