11th June: FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World cup starts tomorrow, so here are 10 facts about the World Cup:

1. There have been 19 World Cup tournaments so far. Five were won by Brazil, four by Italy, three by West Germany. Argentina and Uruguay have won twice, and England, France, and Spain have each won it once.
2. There have been two official World Cup trophies and a number of replicas. The first trophy was called the Jules Rimet Trophy - it had an interesting life - During World War II, Ottorino Barassi, the Italian vice-president of FIFA, hid it in a shoe box under his bed to stop the Nazis getting their hands on it. In 1966 it was stolen from an exhibition in London, but was found a week later, in the London suburb of South Norwood, wrapped in newspaper under a hedge, by a dog called Pickles. After Brazil won the title for the third time, the trophy was given to them to keep forever, but a peaceful retirement in a Brazilian museum was not to be. It was stolen again in 1983 and this time was never seen again.
3. In 1974, a new trophy was commissioned. The cup used today was made by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga. The trophy is 36.5 centimetres (14.4 inches) tall and is made of 5 kg (11 lb) of 18 carat (75%) gold with a base (13 cm [5.1 inches] in diameter) containing two layers of malachite. It weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb) and although it is said to be solid, It has been claimed, that, if it were solid, it would weigh 70–80 kg and be too heavy to lift. It depicts two human figures holding up the Earth, with "FIFA World Cup" in outpouring letters engraved at the base. The name of the winning countries are engraved in the bottom, usually in the national language of the country - except in 2010 when "Spain" was engraved in English. The rules have changed now, so no country gets to keep it forever no matter how many times they win - but there is only room for about four more engravings, so what happens when that space is full is not yet known.
4. The first replica was made in England after the first theft, so the real World Cup could be safely hidden away while the replica took its place at exhibitions. It was actually forbidden to make a replica, so when England had to give the real cup back, they had to hide the replica somewhere. It spent many years hidden under someone's bed, until eventually it was auctioned off in 1997. FIFA bought it for £254,500.
5. The FIFA World Cup was first televised in 1954, and now is the most viewed sporting event in the world, even beating the Olympic Games.
6. Every World Cup tournament since 1966 has a mascot. The first one was a Lion called World Cup Willie. This year's mascot is a three-banded armadillo called Fuleco. The three-banded armadillo is a threatened species found only in Brazil, the host nation, The name is a portmanteau of the words "Futebol" ("Football") and "Ecologia" ("Ecology").
7. There are other accolades to be had besides winning the actual cup. Other awards handed out at the end of the tournament are: The Golden Ball for the best player; The Golden Boot for the top goalscorer; The Golden Glove Award for the best goalkeeper; The Best Young Player Award for the best player aged 21 or younger at the start of the calendar year; The FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team with the best record of fair play; and The Most Entertaining Team for the team that has entertained the public the most.
8. If every country wanted to take part there could be as many as 200 teams, so to whittle it down to a more manageable 32, qualifying matches take place around the world up to two years before the tournament starts. Only the host nation gets an automatic place in the main tournament.
9. Ronaldo of Brazil holds the record for scoring the most goals in the World Cup (15). Mexico's Antonio Carbajal and Germany's Lothar Matthäus jointly hold the record for playing in the most world cups (five tournaments each). In terms of countries, the record holders are Germany, having played the most World Cup matches (99), while Brazil have scored the most World Cup goals (210).
10. The next football World Cup takes place in Canada in 2015. This is the FIFA Women's World Cup. The men play again in 2018, in Russia, and in 2022 in Qatar.