FIFA estimates that 240 million people play soccer regularly in more than 200 countries and billions of people around the world watch soccer on TV. The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, where an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup held in Germany.
The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930 held in Uruguay, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not contested because of World War II.
The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title over a period of about a month. During the 18 tournaments that have been held, seven nations have won the title. Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. Italy, the current champions, have won four World Cups, and Germany are next with three. The other former champions are Uruguay, winners of the first tournament, and Argentina, with two titles each, and England and France, with one each.
However, the FIFA World Cup Trophy isn't the only award of this tournament. The players can receive The Golden Ball for the best player, determined by a vote of media members and The Golden Shoe (sometimes called The Golden Boot) for the top goalscorer.
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