Daniel Gorman
The World Cup - History
The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA president Jules Rimet decided to stage an international football tournament. The first
tournament was held in Uruguay in 1930, and only 13 teams played. Since then, the FIFA World Cup has changed to its current 32-team final
tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving almost 200 teams from all over the world.
• The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of
the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been
awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second
World War. The current champions are Spain, who won the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
• The 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month; this phase is called the World Cup
Finals.
• The 19 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to
have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Italy, with four titles; West Germany, with three titles; Argentina and
inaugural winners Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France, and Spain, with one title each.
• The World Cup is among the world's most widely viewed sporting events; an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the
2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany.
• The next three World Cups will be hosted by Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018, and Qatar in 2022.
Belgium – The country
Some Interesting Facts about Belgium
1.
Belgium produces around 220,000 tonnes of chocolate every year. That means, 22 kg of chocolate is consumed per person per year or
61 grams per day on an average. The world’s biggest chocolate selling point is Brussles National Airport
2.
The diamond capital: The world’s main diamond center and second largest petrochemical center is in Belgium. Almost 90% of raw
diamonds in the world are negotiated, polished, and distributed in Antwerp, Belgium.
3.
Belgium has 3 official languages. Majority people speak Flemish, which is a local dialect of Dutch, then French is the 2nd most popular,
finally very small percent of Belgians (may be 1%) speak German. Luckily, most of the locals can speak Flemish and French very well
along with English in cities like Brussels, Brugges, Gent or Antwerp
4.
Heart of Europe: Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of European Union (EU) and houses the headquarter of
NATO. That’s why Brussels is called the “Heart of Europe”.
5.
Royal Palace of Brussels: The Royal Palace of Brussels is 50% longer than Buckingham Palace.
6.
Quality of Education: A 2007 UNICEF report on child well-being in rich countries ranked Belgium as the best country for children’s
education well-being.
Belgium Football
• The Belgian national football team has represented Belgium in football since 1904.
• Belgium's home stadium is the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels and Marc Wilmots is their national manager. They are
nicknamed the Red Devils
• The best achievements from Belgium in international tournaments so far were the qualification for six successive FIFA World Cups
between 1982 and 2002 including a fourth place finish in 1986, the title of European runners-up in 1980 and the 1920 Olympic
Football Gold Medal
• On 11 October 2013, Belgium qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Belgium have been very strong contenders with players such
as attackers Mirallas, Benteke, Lukaku, as well as midfielders Fellaini, Witsel, Dembélé, De Bruyne and Hazard. Also the strong
defence is very good with players such as Kompany, Vermaelen, Alderweireld, Vertonghen as well as the goalkeepers Courtois and
Mignolet.
Famous Belgium Players
Hazard
Kompany
Fellaini
Famous Belgium Players
Mirrallas
Courtois
Lukaku
THANK YOU FOR
WATCHING