The 10 Greatest Moments in FIFA History
FIFA has been around for a long time, and it’s hard to believe that the organization has only been around since 1904. Since then, FIFA has made an impact on the sport of soccer and continues to impact it today with new tournaments and initiatives. Here are 10 great moments in FIFA history! Before that you can check out the “메이저놀이터” to get sports related news and information.
1. Being featured in a song
Toto’s Africa was released in 1982 as the first single from their fifth album Toto IV. The song was written and composed by the band’s keyboardist David Paich.
2. Becoming a verb
While the word “video game” is a pretty specific term, sometimes you need to use it in different ways. For example, you might say “I love playing video games all day” or “the earth orbits around the sun in a predictable way that is governed by physics, but I still think it’s fun to play FIFA with my friends on Sundays.” In both of these examples, the word video game is acting as a verb; it describes an action (playing) or state of being (enjoying).
It makes sense that FIFA would become such an important verb in this way: if you want your reader to understand exactly what you’re talking about when discussing FIFA (whether positively or negatively), then using this word will help them relate their own experiences back onto yours.
3. Beating their biggest competitor
FIFA is the biggest sports organization in the world, and they’re not shy about reminding you of that fact. Even if you’re not a soccer fan, it’s likely that at some point during your life you’ve heard someone utter one of these phrases: “FIFA is like God,” or “FIFA can do no wrong.” With so many fans and followers around the globe, FIFA has quite a few competitors—but none come close to matching their size and reach.
One such competitor is UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football). They have been trying for decades now to overtake FIFA as football’s most powerful body, but despite their best efforts they have failed miserably at doing so. Their flagship tournament, The Champions League, has only 32 teams participating compared to FIFA’s whopping 64 (and growing).
UEFA may be big on paper but when it comes down to actual accomplishments under their belts versus those achieved by FIFA—well let’s just say there isn’t much competition here either
4. The World Cup tournament began
In 1930, FIFA held its first World Cup tournament at the Estadio Centenario in Uruguay. Uruguay won the inaugural event with a 4-2 victory over Argentina in front of 60,000 fans in Montevideo. It remains to this day one of the most important moments in FIFA history and helped launch an international football competition that has grown into one of sports’ most popular events every four years.
The inaugural tournament also featured 13 teams as opposed to today’s 20 or 24 teams (depending on your level of math skills). However, in 1930 there were only 16 countries competing at all; it wasn’t until 1950 when another eight nations joined them on stage.
5. Unveiling the first golden ball trophy
In 2010, FIFA unveiled the first golden ball trophy to be awarded at the end of each World Cup. It is awarded to the best player of that tournament and was designed by then-president Sepp Blatter. The trophy is made of gold and features a 24-carat gold plated figure of a footballer in action with arms outstretched.
6. The creation of the Club World Cup tournament
One of the biggest developments in FIFA history is the creation of the Club World Cup tournament. The first edition of the tournament was held in 2000, and since then it has grown to become one of FIFA’s most prestigious events.
The tournament is played every year between December and January in a host country chosen by FIFA from among those countries that have won their respective continental confederation championships (UEFA Champions League or Copa Libertadores). The format for this event is simple: it features 16 teams who are divided into four groups made up of four teams each, with each team playing three matches against another team from its group before advancing to play another team from another group until all eight quarter-finals have been played out. The winners move on to face off against each other in two semi-finals before going on to compete for first place in one final match at the end of it all!
7. The introduction of women’s tournaments
The women’s game has been around in FIFA tournaments since 1995, but the first fully-fledged World Cup was held in 1991. The inaugural tournament was held in China and won by the United States, who defeated Norway 2–0 in the final.
Since then, women’s football has grown exponentially — especially in Europe and North America — as players have become increasingly skilled and professionalized. Women now compete at all levels of international competition and have even been awarded their own FIFA World Cup since 1991 (a year before men).
8. The first Women’s World Cup tournament was held
The first Women’s World Cup tournament was held in 1991. It was held in China and was the most watched Women’s World Cup tournament to date. The United States won the tournament with a score of 3-2 over Norway.
9. Creating the Confederations Cup, a precursor to the World Cup Tournament
The Confederations Cup is a tournament that includes the six confederations of FIFA. The winner of the tournament gets to play in the World Cup Tournament, so it’s an important event for every country involved.
If you’re not familiar with how soccer tournaments work, here’s a quick refresher:
- There are 32 countries that compete in one massive tournament called the World Cup.
- Each country is represented by its national team (i.e., “England”).
- Depending on where they finished in their qualifying rounds, they will be placed into groups with other teams and play games against them until they all reach 16 points or more (or lose three times and get eliminated).
10. Expanding to include more teams from around the world
- The first World Cup tournament, held in 1930, featured 13 teams from Europe.
- By the 1970s, Africa and Asia had become a focus for FIFA. In 1974, the Asian Football Confederation was formed and expanded to include Australia and Oceania into its ranks. A year later, it accepted New Zealand as an associate member (a status that remains today) before joining up with North America in 1978 to form CONCACAF.
- When South America joined forces with CONMEBOL (the South American soccer confederation) in 1927 to form CONMEBOL Sudamericana (the precursor to Copa America), things started looking up for soccer’s global expansion efforts—and they haven’t stopped since then!
From creating first trophies and tournaments to being featured in songs and becoming a verb, FIFA has certainly made an impact throughout the years.
FIFA is the world’s largest sports organization, and they are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. You might be wondering what they’ve been up to for all those years? Well, there have been some pretty big accomplishments! From creating first trophies and tournaments to being featured in songs and becoming a verb (yes, FIFA used as a verb), FIFA has certainly made an impact throughout the years.
Conclusion
These are just some of the major milestones for FIFA, but there are many more. FIFA has been around for over 100 years and it shows no signs of slowing down. The future looks bright as well!