World Cup

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A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities - usually national teams or individuals representing their nation - compete for the title of world champion. A world cup is generally considered the premier competition in its sport, with the victor attaining the highest honour in that sport and able to lay claim to the title of their sport's best. However, in some sports the Olympic Games title carries at least as much prestige.

There are a number of notable world cups in popular sports, but it is the FIFA World Cup (a football (soccer) tournament, first held in 1930) that is widely known simply as 'the World Cup'. The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Some sport governing body prefer the title world championship or a related term; some even organise both a world cup and a world championship with different rules. Usually, such competitions take one of two forms, a short periodic competition or a year-long series of meetings.

Periodic format A periodic world cup or world championship usually takes the form of a knockout tournament (possibly with an initial group stage). This is held over a number of days or weeks, with the entrants eventually being whittled down to two, and the tournament culminating in a world cup final. The winner(s) take the title of World Champion(s) and hold it until the next time the event is held (usually one, two, or four years later). This format is most common in team sports, as with the FIFA (football) World Cup.

Season-long format A contrasting concept, popular in individual sports, is a year-long competition with several meetings over its course. In this format, victory at an individual meeting earns a number of points, and, usually, a number of positions below also score points inversely related to their position. Contestants accumulate a number of points over the course of the year (often "season") and their cumulative total after all meetings have been concluded determines the world champion.

See also

References

World Cup
Information on the history of the world cup.

ITV World Cup 2006 - Home
Feature stories, news, photographs, and venue information.

Cricket World Cup 2007
Australia win! In a match badly affected by rain, Australia made the most of their advantage in batting first. The Sri Lankans had to battle the conditions, interruptions and ...

Football World Cup 2006
A UK-centric information resource for the world cup including TV coverage info and full match schedule.

BBC SPORT | WORLD CUP | Front Page
Brazil crowned world champions: Ronaldo scores twice to give Brazil a 2-0 victory over Germany in the World Cup final.

BBC SPORT | Football | World Cup 2006
Visit BBC Sport for all the action as it happens - up-to-the-minute news, results, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. BBC Sport covers the major events and all the ...

Sporting Life | 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany, Breaking News ...
Includes breaking news, articles, fixtures, venues, and photographs.

Sky Sports - World Cup Glory
If you cannot see the content below, please click here.

rugbyworldcup.com – the official site for IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 ...
International Rugby Board's official Rugby World Cup site for 2007. Includes schedules, competition information, and official news.

Fort William Mountain Bike World Cup 2008
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Finals, 10-11 September 2005. Downhill, 4x, Cross Country. The 2007 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships, 3-9 September 2007.