WORLD CUP HISTORY
The history of the World Cup was first written in 1928, when FIFA president Jules Rimet decided to stage an international football tournament. The inaugural edition, held in Uruguay in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only 13 teams invited by the organization. Since then, the FIFA World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format remodeling to its current 32-team final tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving almost 200 teams from all over the world.
WORLD CUP 2010
The 2010 World Cup took place in South Africa. In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta's goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title, becoming the eighth nation to win the tournament, and the first European nation to win the tournament outside its home continent.
AWARDS
Golden Ball: Diego Forlán (Uruguay)
Golden Boot: Thomas Müller (Germany)
Golden Glove: Iker Casillas (Spain)
Best Young Player: Thomas Müller (Germany)
FIFA Fair Play Trophy: Spain
WORLD CUP 2014
Fifa has selected 12 Brazilian cities to host matches at the 2014 World Cup finals. These are Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Manaus, Belo Horizonte, Natal, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Salvador, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Recife and Porto Alegre. Fifa, agreed to increase the number of host cities from 10 to 12 because of the size of Brazil providing a good geographical spread to ensure many Brazilians get the opportunity to watch a game and spread the financial and economic benefits around this large country.