2018 World Cup - Russia

Host country	Russia
Dates	8 June – 8 July 2018 (32 days)
Teams	32 (expected) (from 5 or 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	12 (in 11 host cities)

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, an international men's football tournament, that is scheduled to take place in 2018 in Russia.

The finals tournament will involve 32 national teams, including that of the host nation, assuming the current format of the finals is maintained. This will be the first World Cup held in the former Soviet Union.

Russia 2018 Interim Mark

The bidding procedure to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest. Initially, nine countries placed bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but Mexicolater withdrew from proceedings, and Indonesia's bid was rejected by FIFA in February 2010 after the Indonesian government failed to submit a letter to support the bid. During the bidding process, the three remaining non-UEFA nations (Australia, Japan, and the United States) gradually withdrew from the 2018 bids, and the UEFA nations were thus ruled out of the 2022 bid. As such, there were eventually four bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup: England, Russia, Netherlands/Belgium, and Spain/Portugal.

The twenty-two-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zürich on 2 December 2010 to vote to select the hosts of both tournaments. Russia won the right to be the 2018 host in the second round of voting. The Spain/Portugal bid came second, and that from Belgium/Netherlands third. England's bid to host its second tournament fell at the first hurdle.

The qualification process for the 2018 World Cup has not yet been announced. All FIFA member associations, of which there are 209 as of March 2013, are eligible to enter qualification. Myanmar, having successfully appealed against a ban from the competition for crowd trouble during a 2014 World Cup qualifying tie againstOman, will be obliged to play all their 'home' matches outside the country. Russia, as hosts, qualify for the tournament automatically.

The qualifying draw will take place in Saint Petersburg on 25 July 2015.

In October 2013, UEFA President Michel Platini proposed that the World Cup finals should be expanded from 32 to 40 teams starting from 2018. The format would be the same as now, being groups of five instead of four. This was in response to FIFA President Sepp Blatter's comments that Africa and Asia deserved more spots in the World Cup finals at the expense of European and South American teams. However, FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke said that expansion in 2018 is "unlikely", while Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko said that the country is "preparing on the basis that 32 teams will be taking part."

2014 World Cup - Brazil

Host country	Brazil
Dates	12 June – 13 July 2014 (32 days)
Teams	32 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)	12 (in 12 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Germany (4th title)
Runners-up	Argentina
Third place	Netherlands
Fourth place	Brazil
Tournament statistics
Matches played	64
Goals scored	171 (2.67 per match)
Attendance	3,429,873 (53,592 per match)
Top scorer(s)	James Rodríguez (6 goals)
Best player	Lionel Messi
Best young player	Paul Pogba
Bestgoalkeeper	Manuel Neuer

The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the tournament for the association football world championship, which took place at several venues across Brazil. Germany won the tournament and took its fourth title by defeating Argentina 1–0 in the final.

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It began on 12 June with a group stage and concluded on 13 July with the championship match. It was the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the first being in 1950. Brazil was elected unchallenged as host nation in 2007 after the international football federation, FIFA, decreed that the tournament would be staged in South America for the first time since 1978 in Argentina, and the fifth time overall.

The national teams of 31 countries advanced through qualification competitions that began in June 2011 to participate with the host nation Brazil in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches were played in 12 cities across Brazil in either new or redeveloped stadiums. For the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line technology, as well as vanishing foam for free kicks.

All world champion teams since the first World Cup in 1930 – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spainand Uruguay – qualified for this competition. The title holders, Spain, were eliminated at the group stage, along with previous winners England and Italy. Uruguay was eliminated in the Round of 16 and France was eliminated at the quarter-finals. Host and 2013 Confederations Cup winner Brazil lost to Germany in the first semi-final. By winning the final, Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup in the Americas. This result marked the first time that sides from the same continent had won three successive World Cups (following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010).

As the winners, Germany qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Fan Fest in the host cities received 5 million people, and the country received 1 million guests from 202 countries.

In March 2003, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in South America for the first time since 1978, in line with its then-active policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup among different confederations. The decision meant that it would be the first time that two consecutive World Cups were staged outside Europe and the first time two consecutive World Cups were held in the Southern Hemisphere (the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa). Only Brazil and Colombia formally declared their candidacy but, after the withdrawal of the latter from the process, Brazil was officially elected as host nation unopposed on 30 October 2007.

For a third consecutive World Cup tournament, FIFA staged FIFA Fan Fests in each of the 12 host cities throughout the competition. Prominent examples were theCopacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, which already held a Fan Fest in 2010, and São Paulo's Vale do Anhangabaú.The first official event took place on Iracema Beach, in Fortaleza, on 8 June 2014.

To avoid ghost goals the 2014 World Cup introduced goal-line technology following successful trials at among others 2013 Confederations Cup. The chosen Goal Control system featured 14 high speed cameras, 7 directed to each of the goals. Data were sent to the central image-processing centre, where a virtual representation of the ball was output on a widescreen to confirm the goal. The referee was equipped with a watch which vibrated and displayed a signal upon a goal. France's second goal in their group game against Honduras was the first time goal-line technology was needed to confirm that a goal should be given.

Following successful trials, FIFA approved the use of vanishing foam by the referees for the first time at a World Cup Finals. The water-based spray, which disappears within minutes of application, can be used to mark a ten-yard line for the defending team during a free kick and also to draw where the ball is to be placed for a free kick.

The Adidas Brazuca was the official match ball of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and was supplied by Forward Sports of Sialkot, Pakistan. Adidas created a new design of ball after criticisms of the Adidas Jabulani used in the previous World Cup. The number of panels was reduced to six, with the panels being thermally bonded. This created a ball with increased consistency and aerodynamics compared to its predecessor. Furthermore Adidas underwent an extensive testing process lasting more than two years to produce a ball that would meet the approval of football professionals.

Winner: Germany

2010 World Cup - South Africa

Host country	South Africa
Dates	11 June – 11 July (31 days)
Teams	32 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	10 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Spain (1st title)
Runners-up	Netherlands
Third place	Germany
Fourth place	Uruguay
Tournament statistics
Matches played	64
Goals scored	145 (2.27 per match)
Attendance	3,178,856 (49,670 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Diego Forlán  Thomas Müller  Wesley Sneijder  David Villa (5 goals each)
Best player	Diego Forlán
Best young player	Thomas Müller
Best goalkeeper	Iker Casillas

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations; in 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.

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The matches were played in 10 stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the final played at the Soccer City stadium in South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These 16 teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final.

In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta's goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title, becoming the eighth nation to win the tournament, and the first European nation to win the tournament outside its home continent. As a result of their win, Spain represented the World in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Host nation South Africa, 2006 champions Italy and 2006 runners-up France were all eliminated in the first round of the tournament. It was the first time that the hosts were eliminated in the first round. New Zealand with their three draws were the only undefeated team in the tournament, but were also eliminated in the first round.

Africa was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a short-lived policy, abandoned in 2007, to rotate the event among football confederations. Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup: Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and a joint bid from Libya and Tunisia.

Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements.

The winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zürich; in the first round of voting South Africa received 14 votes, Morocco received 10 votes and Egypt no votes. South Africa, which had narrowly failed to win the right to host the 2006 event, was thus awarded the right to host the tournament. Having successfully campaigned for South Africa to be granted host status, an emotional Nelson Mandela raised the FIFA World Cup Trophy.

During 2006 and 2007, rumours circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country. Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt and, reportedly, some FIFA executives, expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa's preparations. FIFA officials repeatedly expressed their confidence in South Africa as host, stating that a contingency plan existed only to cover natural catastrophes, as had been in place at previous FIFA World Cups.

Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and five of the existing venues were upgraded. Construction costs were expected to be R8.4 billion (just over US$1 billion or €950 million).

South Africa also improved its public transport infrastructure within the host cities, including Johannesburg's Gautrain and other metro systems, and major road networks were improved.In March 2009, Danny Jordaan, the president of the 2010 World Cup organising committee, reported that all stadiums for the tournament were on schedule to be completed within six months.

The country implemented special measures to ensure the safety and security of spectators in accordance with standard FIFA requirements, including a temporary restriction of flight operation in the airspace surrounding the stadiums.

At a ceremony to mark 100 days before the event, FIFA president Sepp Blatter praised the readiness of the country for the event.

On 8 July 2009, 70,000 construction workers who were working on the new stadiums walked off their jobs.The majority of the workers receive R2500 per month (about £192, €224 or US$313), but the unions alleged that some workers were grossly underpaid. A spokesperson for the National Union of Mineworkers said to the SABC that the "no work no pay" strike would go on until FIFA assessed penalties on the organisers. Other unions threatened to strike into 2011. The strike was swiftly resolved and workers were back at work within a week of it starting. There were no further strikes and all stadiums and construction projects were completed in time for the kick off.

Winner: Spain

2006 World Cup - Germany

Host country	Germany
Dates	9 June – 9 July (31 days)
Teams	32 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	12 (in 12 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Italy (4th title)
Runners-up	France
Third place	Germany
Fourth place	Portugal
Tournament statistics
Matches played	64
Goals scored	147 (2.3 per match)
Attendance	3,359,439 (52,491 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Miroslav Klose (5 goals)
Best player	Zinedine Zidane
Best young player	Lukas Podolski
Best goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000.Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualificationprocess which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation,Germany, for the finals tournament.

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Italy won the tournament, claiming their fourth World Cup title. They defeated France 5–3 in a penalty shootout in the final, after extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw. Germany defeated Portugal 3–1 to finish in third place. Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro, Trinidad & Tobago and Togo made their first appearances in the finals.

The 2006 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in television history, garnering an estimated 26.29 billion non-unique viewers, compiled over the course of the tournament. The final attracted an estimated audience of 715.1 million people. The 2006 World Cup ranks fourth in non-unique viewers, behind the World Cup in 1994, 2002, and 1990. As the winner, Italy represented the World in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The vote to choose the hosts of the 2006 tournament was held in July 2000 in Zürich, Switzerland. It involved four bidding nations after Brazil had withdrawn three days earlier: Germany, South Africa, England and Morocco. Three rounds of voting were required, each round eliminating the nation with the least votes. The first two rounds were held on 6 July 2000, and the final round was held on 7 July 2000, which Germany won over South Africa.

The success of Germany's bid was marred by a hoax bribery affair which even led to calls for a re-vote. On the night before the vote, German satirical magazineTitanic sent letters to FIFA representatives, offering joke gifts like cuckoo clocks and Black Forest ham in exchange for their vote for Germany. Oceania delegateCharlie Dempsey, who had initially backed England, had then been instructed to support South Africa following England's elimination. He abstained, citing "intolerable pressure" on the eve of the vote. Had Dempsey voted as originally instructed, the vote would have resulted with a 12–12 tie, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who favoured the South African bid, would have had to cast the deciding vote.

198 teams attempted to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Germany, the host nation, was granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 31 finals places divided among the continental confederations. Thirteen places were contested by UEFA teams (Europe), five by CAF teams (Africa), four by CONMEBOL teams (South America), four by AFC teams (Asia), and three by CONCACAF teams (North and Central America and Caribbean). The remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and CONCACAF and between CONMEBOL and OFC (Oceania).

Eight nations qualified for the finals for the first time: Angola, Czech Republic, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and Serbia and Montenegro. Czech Republic and Ukraine were making their first appearance as independent nations, but had previously been represented as part of Czechoslovakia and theSoviet Union respectively; Serbia and Montenegro had competed as Yugoslavia in 1998, as well as making up part of Yugoslav teams from 1930 to 1990. As of 2014, this was the last time Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Togo, Angola, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Trinidad and Tobago qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals.

Australia qualified for the first time since 1974. Among the teams who failed to qualify were 2002 third-placed team Turkey and Euro 2004 winners Greece. Additionally, Belgium failed to qualify for the first time since 1978, and Cameroon failed to qualify for the first time since 1986.

For the first time since the 1982 World Cup, all six confederations were represented at the finals tournament.

Winner: Italy

2002 Word Cup - South Korea & Japan

Host countries	South Korea Japan
Dates	31 May – 30 June (31 days)
Teams	32 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)	20 (in 20 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Brazil (5th title)
Runners-up	Germany
Third place	Turkey
Fourth place	South Korea
Tournament statistics
Matches played	64
Goals scored	161 (2.52 per match)
Attendance	2,705,197 (42,269 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Ronaldo (8 goals)
Best player	Oliver Kahn
Best young player	Landon Donovan
Best goalkeeper	Oliver Kahn

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament for men's national teams. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 in South Korea and Japan, making it the first World Cup held in Asia. It was also the last World Cup in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0 in the final.The victory meant Brazil qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup for the fifth time, representing the World. Turkey beat South Korea 3–2 in the third place play-off match.

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France were the defending champions but were eliminated in the group stage after earning a single point. China PR,Ecuador, Senegal and Slovenia made their first appearances at the finals, with Turkey making its first appearance since 1954.

.South Korea and Japan were selected as hosts by FIFA on 31 May 1996. Initially, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico presented three rival bids. However, the two Asian countries agreed to unite their bids shortly before the decision was made, and they were chosen unanimously in preference to Mexico. This was the first (and so far the only) World Cup to be hosted by two countries.

At the time the decision was made, Japan had never qualified for a World Cup finals (although the Japanese did subsequently qualify for the 1998 competition). The only other countries to have been awarded a World Cup without previously having competed in a final tournament are Italy in 1934 and Qatar in 2022. (Uruguay hosted the first World Cup in 1930 so there was no prior tournament. They were defending Olympic champions from 1928).

A total of 199 teams attempted to qualify for the 2002 World Cup which qualification process began with the preliminary draw held in Tokyo on 7 December 1999. Defending champions France and co-hosts South Korea and Japan qualified automatically and did not have to play any qualification matches. This was the final World Cup in which the defending champions qualified automatically.

14 places were contested by UEFA teams (Europe), five by CAF teams (Africa), four by CONMEBOL teams (South America), four by AFC teams (Asia), and three byCONCACAF teams (North and Central America and Caribbean). The remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and UEFA and between CONMEBOL and OFC (Oceania). Four nations qualified for the finals for the first time: China, Ecuador, Senegal, and Slovenia. As of 2014, this was the last timeTurkey, China, Republic of Ireland and Senegal qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals.

Turkey qualified for the first time since 1954, and both Poland and Portugal for the first time since 1986. 1998 semi-finalists the Netherlands failed to qualify, while South Korea set a record by appearing in a fifth successive finals tournament, the first nation from outside Europe or the Americas to achieve this feat.

All seven previous World Cup-winning nations (Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy and Uruguay) qualified, the first time so many previous champions had been present at a finals tournament (all these nations had also appeared at the 1986 tournament, but France had not yet won the competition).

The original domestic ticket allocation had fully sold out and the organising committee completed sales of tickets returned from the international allocation by the end of April. However, it was obvious at the opening matches that there were a significant number of empty seats. It was gradually revealed that the World Cup Ticketing Bureau (WCTB) still had unsold tickets in its possession. After FIFA agreed to sell this inventory, JAWOC undertook sales over telephone and WCTB handled the internet sales. For the second round Japan vs. Turkey match in Miyagi in particular, although it was reported by both parties that all tickets had been sold, some 700 seats remained empty.

Winner: Brazil