Editing FIFA World Cup (section)

{{about|the men's association football tournament|the women's tournament|FIFA Women's World Cup|the video games|FIFA World Cup video games|the most recent World Cup|2022 FIFA World Cup}}
{{featured article}}
{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{infobox football tournament
| name                 = FIFA World Cup
| image                = [[File:FIFA World Cup wordmark.svg|frameless|upright=1.15|class=skin-invert]]
| caption              = 
| organiser            = [[FIFA]]
| founded              = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1930}}
| region               = International
| number of teams      = {{nowrap|32 <br /> (48 from [[2026 FIFA World Cup|2026]] onwards)}}
| current champions    = {{nowrap|{{fb|ARG}} (3rd title)}}
| most successful team = {{nowrap|{{fb|BRA}} (5 titles)}}
| broadcasters         = 
| website              = {{url|https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup|fifa.com/worldcup}}
| current              = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
| related comps        = [[FIFA Women's World Cup]]<br />[[FIFA U-20 World Cup]]<br />[[FIFA U-17 World Cup]]}}
{{Season sidebar
| image = [[File:ARG Line-up - ARG vs MEX for 2022 FIFA WC.jpg|250px]]
| caption = [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], the current champions
| title = Tournaments
| list  = 
* [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]]
* [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]]
* [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]]
* [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]
* [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]]
* [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]]
* [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]]
* [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]]
* [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]]
* [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]]
* [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]]
* [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]]
* [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]]
* [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]
* [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]
* [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]
* [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]]
* [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]
* [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]]
* [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]]
* [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]]
* [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022]]
* ''[[2026 FIFA World Cup|2026]]''
* ''[[2030 FIFA World Cup|2030]]''
* ''[[2034 FIFA World Cup|2034]]''
}}

The '''FIFA World Cup''', often called the '''World Cup''', is an international [[association football]] competition among the senior [[List of men's national association football teams|men's national teams]] of the members of the [[FIFA|Fédération Internationale de Football Association]] (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the [[1930 FIFA World Cup|inaugural tournament in 1930]], with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the [[Second World War]]. The reigning champions are [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], who won their third title at the [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022 World Cup]] by defeating [[France national football team|France]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 March 2023 |title=Argentina Campeón Mundial: A 100 días de levantar la tercera – CONMEBOL |url=https://www.conmebol.com/noticias/argentina-campeon-mundial-a-100-dias-de-levantar-la-tercera/ |access-date=25 April 2024 |website=www.conmebol.com |language=es-ES}}</ref>

The contest starts with the [[FIFA World Cup qualification|qualification phase]], which takes place over the preceding three years to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 32 teams compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over the course of about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify for the group stage of the tournament. The competition is scheduled to expand to 48 teams, starting with the [[2026 FIFA World Cup|2026 World Cup]].

As of the 2022 World Cup, 22 final tournaments have been held since the event's inception in 1930, and a total of 80 national teams have competed. The [[FIFA World Cup Trophy|trophy]] has been won by eight national teams. With five wins, [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]]<!--For consistency, British English is used throughout the article, which treats teams as plural nouns, e.g., "Brazil are" instead of "Brazil is".-->  is the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are [[Germany national football team|Germany]] and [[Italy national football team|Italy]], with four titles each; Argentina, with three titles; France and inaugural winner [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]], each with two titles; and [[England national football team|England]] and [[Spain men's national football team|Spain]], with one title each.

The World Cup is globally regarded as the most prestigious association football competition, as well as the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world.<ref name="DobsonGoddard2006">Stephen Dobson and John Goddard, [{{GBurl|id=GxyG0XXdvR4C|p=407}} The Economics of Football], page 407, quote "The World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world: the estimated cumulative television audience for the 2006 World Cup in Germany was 26.2&nbsp;billion, an average of 409&nbsp;million viewers per match."</ref><ref>Glenn M. Wong, [{{GBurl|id=qEELS7T_Tm0C|p=144}} The Comprehensive Guide to Careers in Sports], page 144, quote "The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in the world. In 2006, more than 30&nbsp;billion viewers in 214 countries watched the World Cup on television, and more than 3.3&nbsp;million spectators attended the 64 matches of the tournament."</ref> The viewership of the [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018 World Cup]] was estimated to be 3.57&nbsp;billion, close to half of the global population,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/2589b77c20849beb/original/njqsntrvdvqv8ho1dag5-pdf.pdf |title=2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Global broadcast and audience summary |publisher=FIFA |access-date=20 December 2022 |archive-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711030019/https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/2589b77c20849beb/original/njqsntrvdvqv8ho1dag5-pdf.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Tom Dunmore, [{{GBurl|id=9j1wbp2t1usC|p=235}} Historical Dictionary of Soccer], page 235, quote "The World Cup is now the most-watched sporting event in the world on television, above even the Olympic Games."</ref> while the engagement with the 2022 World Cup was estimated to be 5&nbsp;billion, with about 1.5&nbsp;billion people watching [[2022 FIFA World Cup final|the final match]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/one-month-on-5-billion-engaged-with-the-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-tm |title=One Month On: 5 billion engaged with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 |publisher=FIFA |access-date=18 January 2023 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118183433/https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/news/one-month-on-5-billion-engaged-with-the-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-tm |url-status=live}}</ref>

Eighteen countries have hosted the World Cup, most recently [[Qatar]], who hosted the 2022 event. The 2026 tournament will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first country to host games in three World Cups.