The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held 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 reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.
Union of European Football Associations is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.
Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A Forward and an Attacking midfielder, he scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary and played four international matches for Spain. He became an Olympic champion in 1952 and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup. He won three European Cups, ten national championships and eight top individual scoring honors. Known as the "Galloping Major", in 1995, he was recognized as the greatest top division scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS. With 806 goals in 793 official games scored during his career, he is the seventh top goalscorer of all time.
The France national football team represents France in men's international football matches. It is governed by the French Football Federation, the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colors and imagery reference two national symbols: the French red-white-blue tricolour and Gallic rooster. The team is colloquially known as Les Bleus. They play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and train at INF Clairefontaine in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF, is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 41 member associations represent countries and territories mainly in North America, including the Caribbean and Central America, and, for geopolitical reasons, three nations from the Guianas subregion of South America—Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The CONCACAF's primary functions are to organize competitions for national teams and clubs, and to conduct the World Cup and Women's World Cup qualifying tournaments.
Carlos Alberto "Capita" Torres, also known as "O Capitão do Tri", was a Brazilian football player and manager who played as an attacking right-sided full-back or wing-back. A technically gifted defender with good ball skills and defensive capabilities, he is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of all time. He also stood out for his leadership, and was an excellent penalty taker. Nicknamed O Capitão, he captained the Brazil national team to victory in the 1970 World Cup, scoring the fourth goal in the final, considered one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament.
Johannes Jacobus Neeskens is a Dutch football manager and former player. A midfielder, he was an important member of the Netherlands national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and is considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time. In 2004, he was named one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony, while in 2017 he has been included in the FourFourTwo list of the 100 all-time greatest players, at the 64th position.
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in men's international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made 9 appearances in the FIFA World Cup and 4 appearances in the European Championship, and plays its home matches at the Puskás Aréna, which opened in November 2019.
The India national football team represents India in international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA. It is governed in Asia by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and in South Asia by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) —both of which were co-founded by the Indian team's supervising body, the AIFF.
The Mexican Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Mexico. It administers the Mexico national team, the Liga MX and all affiliated amateur sectors, and controls promoting, organizing, directing, expanding, and supervising competitive football in Mexico.
The Jordan national football team represents Jordan in international football and is controlled by the Jordan Football Association. Jordan have never qualified for the World Cup finals but have appeared four times in the Asian Cup and reached its quarter-final stage in the 2004 and 2011 editions.
The Football Association of Indonesia is the governing body of football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930, fifteen years before Indonesian independence. PSSI joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954 and FIFA in 1952.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation.
The Costa Rican Football Federation, also known as FEDEFUTBOL or FEDEFUT, is the official association football governing body in Costa Rica and is in charge of the Costa Rica national football team and the Costa Rica women's national football team.
The Vietnam Football Federation, more formally the Football Federation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the governing body of football in Vietnam. It is responsible for the all Vietnam teams of association football, futsal and beach soccer as well as national competitions.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The founder of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud.
The East Timor Football Federation is the governing body of football in East Timor.
As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised international competitions and friendly matches. In the 20th century, FIFA allowed a player to represent any national team, as long as the player held citizenship of that country. In 2004, in reaction to the growing trend towards naturalisation of foreign players in some countries, FIFA implemented a significant new ruling that requires a player to demonstrate a "clear connection" to any country they wish to represent. FIFA has used its authority to overturn results of competitive international matches that feature ineligible players.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, officially known as the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, will be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football championship contested by women's national teams and organised by FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and is scheduled to take place from 20 July to 20 August 2023. It will be the first FIFA Women's World Cup to have more than one host nation, and also the first senior World Cup for either sex to be held across multiple confederations, as Australia is in the Asian Confederation, while New Zealand is in the Oceanian Confederation. In addition, this tournament will be the first to feature the expanded format of 32 teams from the previous 24, replicating the same format used for the men's World Cup from 1998 to 2022.
Mario Verdial Alsina was a Honduran businessman who since 2001 served as co-chairman of the football club Real C.D. España as well as Vice-President of the National Autonomous Federation of Football of Honduras.
