FIFA was formed in 1904 and held its first tournament in 1930

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the game that led to the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

The first official Women's World Cup was in 1991

The first unofficial Women’s World Cup was played in 1970 in Italy, and momentum grew throughout the 1980s with multiple international tournaments. In 1988, FIFA tested the event's viability with a 12-team invitational in China. The first official Women’s World Cup was held in 1991 in China, and was won by the US.

In 2015, FIFA's decades-old bribery network was exposed

In 2015, the US Department of Justice exposed a 24-year bribery network influencing broadcast rights and votes on World Cup host cities. Over 40 officials were indicted for accepting bribes. FIFA implemented several reforms, including term limits for presidents and council members and salary disclosures in 2016.

Brazil is one of the World Cup's most legendary teams

After a 12-year pause for World War II, the World Cup returned in 1950 in Brazil. Brazil dominated the era, claiming titles in 1958, '62, and '70 behind teen sensation Pelé, who went from poverty to a soccer legend before turning 17.

Over time, the World Cup became a commercial powerhouse

The 1954 World Cup featured the first live black-and-white televised broadcast of the event, and, in 1970, FIFA introduced color broadcasts in primetime. Increasing revenues pushed private networks to aggressively bid for broadcast rights. Today, the event is a commercial powerhouse, with the 2026 World Cup projected to generate around $4B in TV rights revenue.

The World Cup ball has had 23 different designs

Adidas has supplied the official ball for the last 15 iterations. The first World Cup final featured two different balls: one provided by Argentina and one supplied by Uruguay. Argentina was winning 2-1 before the balls were switched. Uruguay went on to win the match 4-2.

The tournament in 2026 will have 48 teams

After 24 years of having a 32-team tournament, the FIFA World Cup will get an upgrade in 2026, expanding the field to make it the largest World Cup ever.

How the soccer World Cup works

The World Cup is the biggest game in the world. Watch this video to learn how it works and how it came to be such a massive world event.

The 20th-century rise of fascism affected the World Cup

Spain, in the midst of a civil war, did not participate, and Japan, after invading China, pulled out of the competition. An additional six Central and North American teams scratched by the time that year's World Cup began.

10 controversial World Cup moments

If you're expecting a staid back-and-forth, then you'll be surprised by the World Cup, which is often filled with high drama and even higher tensions. This list highlights how controversy has been a constant on soccer's biggest stage, influencing outcomes, sparking debates, and sometimes leading to rule changes.

In 2022, Argentina defeated France in a dramatic World Cup final, winning on penalties after a 3-3 draw to claim their third World Cup title.

FIDE has governed international chess since 1924

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs was founded in Paris in 1924 to unify global chess rules and competitions. Today, it oversees world championships, regulates ratings, and serves as the official governing body for millions of players worldwide.

The first college football game was played in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton

On November 6, 1869, Rutgers defeated Princeton 6–4 in what is considered the first college football game. Played under soccer-like rules, it marked the birth of a sport that would evolve into American football.

The impact of FC Barcelona on Catalan pride

FC Barcelona is one of the most decorated soccer clubs in the world and has also become a source of Catalan pride. It all started in 1899 with a Swiss-German accountant and journalist, a newspaper advertisement, and 11 talented soccer players. Read this article to learn about the team’s humble beginnings and how its history overlaps with the Catalan resistance to Spanish rule.

Cocaine financed Uruguayan soccer player Sebastián Marset's childhood dream

Sebastián Marset was one of the most successful drug traffickers in South America. In order to launder the profits from his cocaine empire, he bought and sold professional soccer teams—which he played on.

The first official Formula One World Championship race was in 1950

On May 13, 1950, Formula 1 held its first race at Silverstone in the UK. Over 150,000 people, including the British monarch (and future Queen Elizabeth II), turned out to watch the field of 28 cars over the 70-lap race. The race wasn’t very competitive, but it’s still a fascinating artifact to observe.

The World Cup trophy was stolen in 1966—and eventually found by a dog

While on display at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, England, the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen while a church service was being held in another room. It was eventually sniffed out a week later by Pickles, a black-and-white collie.

IFA 1931 hosted the first public TV demonstration

In 1931, Manfred von Ardenne presented his cathode ray tube television to the public for the first time, marking the first public demonstration of fully electronic TV. This article examines his breakthrough and the evolution of television technology since.

The all-time list of every modern Olympic sport

Curious about which sports were played at the 1894 Olympics? Want to learn the rules of Breaking? This list gives a comprehensive overview of every Olympic sport ever played, sortable by game type and specific Olympic year. Click into a sport to see a brief overview, a list of rules, and an explainer video.

Behind the Ryder Cup, the tournament that features golfers playing for their home countries

Established in 1927, the Ryder Cup is unlike any other tournament. The scoring includes a mix of fourball, foursomes, and singles, with half-points for ties. Explore the rich history of the Ryder Cup in this detailed interactive. Each era of history includes detailed accounts of the match, historic photos, and the final score for each team.

Modern tennis was formalized in 1874

In the late 1800s England, a growing middle class could afford homes with lawns. With more lawns in England, Major Walter C. Wingfield saw an opportunity to bring lawn tennis to the masses. Modern tennis was formalized in 1874, when Queen Victoria granted a patent for Major Walter C. Wingfield's lawn tennis box set. The game was an instant hit, and by 1877, the new All England Club in Wimbledon began hosting a tournament.

The inaugural Cannes Film Festival featured legendary directors

The festival’s first year was 1946. It featured 11 films from some of the world’s best filmmakers, including Jean Cocteau, Alfred Hitchcock, George Sydney, and Billy Wilder.

The 1951 Refugee Convention established international refugee rights and state obligations amid mass World War II displacement

The international treaty defines refugee status and outlines refugees' entitled rights while establishing state obligations to protect them. The UNHCR explains the convention's significance in creating the legal framework governing refugee protection worldwide.

The Royal Game of Ur, which dates back as far as 2600 BCE, is believed to be one of the oldest board games in the world.

Roosevelt formally recognized the Soviet Union in 1933

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt formally recognized the Soviet Union—ending 16 years of nonrecognition and aiming to improve trade and stabilize relations amid growing global instability.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In its famous catalog, Sears sold $600 DIY house kits from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in an estimated 100,000 'Sears and Roebuck homes.'

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.