Soccer

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International Competition

The most famous competition in soccer is the World Cup, which is regarded as the world championship of the sport and is considered the most popular spectator event in the world. A worldwide television audience of 1.7 billion, or nearly one-third of the world's population, witnessed the 1998 World Cup championship game between France and Brazil won by France, 3-0. By comparison, about 800 million people watched the Super Bowl of American football that same year.

Preliminary matches for the World Cup begin about two years before the finals. Regional elimination tournaments narrow the field of competition. Once a field of 32 countries has been established, those teams meet in the World Cup tournament. Historically, a single nation hosts the tournament, with matches taking place throughout the country in different cities. The host country’s national team is always given an automatic berth in the field of 32 entries.

Brazil, with four titles, has more World Cup championships than any other country. Italy and Germany have won three titles each. (All three of Germany's titles were won by West Germany before the country reunified in 1990.) Uruguay and Argentina have each won twice, and France and England have each captured the cup once. Although Europe and South America are the only continents to have produced World Cup champions, national teams on other continents are gaining strength, especially in Africa, where Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana are among the countries that have produced talented players and teams.

Olympic soccer, which debuted at the 1900 Games in Paris, France, is the second most important international competition. After pre-Olympic regional tournaments, 16 teams compete during the Summer Games. Olympic guidelines require that players must be younger than 23 years old, although in some years nations have been allowed to use as many as three players older than 23.

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International competitions based on the World Cup and Olympic tournaments are also held for women, although these competitions were established much later than those for men. The United States won the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991 and won the gold medal when women’s soccer debuted at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. The United States won a dramatic penalty-kick tiebreaker over China to capture the 1999 Women’s World Cup, an event hosted by the United States that broke attendance records for women’s sports. Germany won the 2003 Women’s World Cup and repeated in 2007.

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History

Evidence from many ancient societies—Chinese, Greek, Maya, and Egyptian—reveals that kicking games were a part of those cultures. The modern game of soccer began in the 19th century in England, when a variety of football games developed, all of which involved both handling and kicking the ball. The first laws of the modern game were supposedly drafted in 1862 by J. C. Thring of the Uppingham School. At a meeting of the London Football Association (FA) in 1863, the game was split into rugby football (the parent sport of American football), which permitted handling and carrying the ball, and association football, or soccer, which banned the use of the hands.

At first soccer was played mostly in private schools and universities, but before long people of the working classes picked up the sport. The FA Cup, a tournament first organized in 1871, sparked the rapid spread of soccer in England. (The tournament, which is still played, climaxes with the annual Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London.) An 1872 game in Glasgow, Scotland, between an English all-star team and its Scottish counterpart marked the beginning of international play. In 1885 the FA recognized the legitimacy of professional players and regular league play started in England in 1888.

Soccer's global spread began in the late 1800s, when British traders, sailors, and soldiers carried the sport all over the world. Germans, Italians, and Austrians were eager converts in Europe, while Argentines, Uruguayans, and Brazilians took quickly to the sport in South America. FIFA was formed in 1904. By 1930 professional leagues were operating in many countries, and that year FIFA organized the first World Cup in Uruguay.

One nation that long resisted soccer was the United States. Soccer was played in the United States, mostly among immigrants, but it was not until the 1970s that a national professional league gained some popularity. The North American Soccer League (NASL), founded in 1968, earned a devoted following thanks in part to the import of players such as Brazilian star Pelé, and by 1980 the league had 24 teams. But the league was not financially sound, and in 1984 it went out of business. However, the NASL left a legacy of growing American involvement in the sport at the youth level. By the 1990s soccer was the fastest-growing college and high school sport in the United States.

The growing number of players in the United States attracted sponsorship for the sport, and faith in its future was recognized by FIFA when it granted the USSF the right to organize the 1994 World Cup. The event proved to be a great success, attracting nearly 3.6 million attendees over the course of its 52 games. This strong show of support led to the formation of Major League Soccer, which brought top-level soccer back to the United States two years later.

A new U.S. women’s professional league, the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), started up in 2001. The league, which was formed after the great success of the Women’s World Cup in 1999, showcased many of the top female players from around the world. The eight-team league lasted three seasons before financial problems forced it to shut down after the 2003 season.

In 2002 two countries shared World Cup hosting duties for the first time, as Japan and South Korea teamed up for the first World Cup to be held in Asia. Germany was selected to host the 2006 World Cup. China was named host of the 2003 Women’s World Cup, but the competition was moved to the United States after severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged as a serious health problem in China. China then hosted the 2007 Women’s World Cup. See also World Cup (soccer).

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