A GO2CUP Series

The World Cup Through History

A daily series on how the world's greatest game came to be — one tournament at a time.

It began with one man's idea: Jules Rimet, a devout French Catholic who believed football could unite people across class and nation. This is the story of what he started — told chapter by chapter, year by year.

1930 Uruguay The very first World Cup Read chapter → 1934 Italy Football meets propaganda Read chapter → 1938 France A title defended under storm clouds Read chapter → 1942 & 1946 The Lost World Cups Why the World Cup vanished Read chapter → 1950 Brazil The game returns Read chapter → 1954–1970 Pelé & the Rise of Brazil Era 2 — five tournaments, one golden age Read era → 1974–1990 Cold War World Cups Era 3 — Cruyff to Maradona Read era → 1994–2006 The Globalization Era Era 4 — Zidane & Ronaldo Read era → 2010–2022 Modern Mega-Tournaments Era 5 — tiki-taka to Messi Read era →

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