The Great Stadiums of the FIFA World Cup host cities
The Great Stadiums of the FIFA World Cup host cities
Every four summers there is a sports fever shaking the world. It’s the FIFA World Cup, the world championship for the men’s national association football teams, and one of the most watched sports event over the globe.
The first tournament took place in Uruguay in 1930, and the host nation was also the winner of this first historic competition. Uruguay was selected to host the games as the country was celebrating the centenary of its first constitution, and also due to their national team triumphing at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All matches were played in the capital of Montevideo, where Estadio Centenario served as the main venue.
From then on, the games took on the tradition to take place every fourth year.
Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, in 1930. This was the major venue of the 1st FIFA World Cup tournament. At the time it had a capacity to take in 90,000 spectators.
An old photo of Montevideo, the first city which hosted the FIFA World Cup
The games moved to Italy in 1934, and now several cities hosted the matches. This tradition lingers to date.
Similarly to the 1936 Olympic Games which took place in Berlin, the second FIFA World Cup was also used for political gains. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini largely used the international 1934 event to promote fascism.
The 1934 cup took place in Italy. This is the caption of Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa, one of the several Italian cities that hosted the tournament.
For the third edition of the tournament in 1938, France acted as the hosted country. After this cup, the tournament was canceled two times amid the outbreak of World War Two.
Following the pause in 1942 and 1946, the World cup resumed in Brazil in 1950. There, Uruguay won its second title beating the host country by 2-1.
Stade Municipal at La Havre, France, one of the venues used for the 1938 World Cup
Over the years, several stadiums used for the world championship gained an iconic status, such as Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro that supported the 1950 championship.
The opening game of the Maracanã Stadium, shortly before the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
The Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro back in the day
From Brazil, the cup moved to Switzerland in 1954 where St. Jakob Stadium in Basel was used as one of the July event venues. Photo: ETH-BIB-Basel, CC BY-SA 4.0
In Bern, the games were played at the Wankdorf Stadium. The stadium was later demolished as shown here on the photograph.
After several unsuccessful bids, Sweden won the bid as host in 1958. This is a caption of the Råsunda Stadium, one of the several venues utilized for the games. It was also demolished in 2013. Photo: Arild Vågen – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
In 1962 the World Cup was hosted by Chile. These were the golden days of Brazil when the country cemented its image as the world’s No.1 football power. On the photo, the national team of Brazil pictured in Santiago. They defended the title against Czechoslovakia in the finals scoring 3 against 1.
A caption of the Old Wembley Stadium, one of the venues for the 1966 FIFA World Cup. England won against West Germany in the finals with 4-2. Photo: Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II presents the Jules Rimet Trophy to England’s team captain Bobby Moore in 1966.
After England, the cup traveled to Mexico in 1970, and from Mexico, it moved to West Germany in 1974.
The Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. The cup in Germany was also played in Munich, West Berlin, Stuttgart, Gelsenkirchen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hanover and Dortmund, Fotograf/Zeichner: Marco Kahlund, (Benutzer:mk-sl), CC BY-SA 3.0 de
The East German line-up before a match with Australia at the 1974 World Cup in Germany, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-N0615-0011 / Mittelstädt, Rainer / CC-BY-SA 3.0
A moment from Brazil against Zaire at the Parkstadion in Gelsenkirchen, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-N0622-0031 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
The last World Cup of the 1970s took place in Argentina where the host won against the Netherlands by 3-1 after playing an extra time. This was the last cup which allowed only 16 nations to compete in the games. As of the next competition in 1982 which took place in Spain, 24 countries were allowed to qualify.
Photograph of the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Argentina 1978.
Estadio Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario, Argentina
Estadio Malvinas in Mendoza, Argentina, all ready for the 1978 Mundial.
In 1986 the cup returned again in Mexico. One of the venues was Azteca Stadium, Carlos Valenzuela – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
Memorabilia from Italy, 1990: “Ciao”, the stick figure in the colors of the Italy Tricolore, was used as a mascot for the Mundial. Photo: – Own work, CC BY 3.0
Lothar Matthäus scoring on PK for Germany against Bulgaria in the 1994 World Cup quarterfinal. This is at the Giants Stadion in New York City. The cup took place in the United States. Photo Wasted Time R, CC BY-SA 3.0
Italy and Norway getting ready to play at Giants Stadium in 1994, Photographer: Jill Chavanne Uploader: Migrant – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
In 1998, it was France that hosted the FIFA World Cup. That year France also claimed its first title in an exciting clash against Brazil in the final.
For the first time in 2002, it was two countries to host the world championships, South Korea and Japan. Some of the venues grabbed attention for their hi-tech features, never before seen on the world cups. It was the beginning of the new age. The stadium in Sapporo, Japan was perhaps the most memorable of all.
View of the Sapporo Dome, Photo by Yumemi.K, CC BY 3.0
Sapporo Dome: retractable grass field as shown outside the stadium, Photo: Ezorisu – Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Baseball configuration at the Sapporo Dome, Photo: Hfordsa on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
In the making: the Cape Town venue ahead of the Mundial in 2010, Photo: South African Tourism, CC BY 2.0
It looks perfect: an aerial view of Brasilia National Stadium ahead of the World Cup in 2014, Photo: Brazilian Government, CC BY 3.0 br
The last four editions of the FIFA World Cup were hosted by Germany in 2006, by South Africa in 2010, and Brazil in 2014. This year, the fever is spreading from Russia with several hosting cities including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Sochi.
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