Infographic: History of the FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the members of Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s global governing body. The FIFA World Cup takes place once every four years, with the first edition being held way back in 1930. There was a hiatus of 12 years after the 1938 FIFA World Cup, with the next edition taking place only in 1950 due to the Second World War.

The World Cup is among the world’s most viewed sporting events, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Italy and France held in Germany. The 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup is going to commence next month in Brazil. With each edition, the popularity of the tournament only gets bigger and thereby, there is massive anticipation across the world surrounding the 2014 edition of the FIFA World Cup.

The rich history of this glorious competition has seen performances of the highest calibre from national teams and individual players alike. With the World Cup around the corner, here is a look back at the history of the FIFA World Cup.