The Treasures of the World Cup

In the late 1920s, Frenchman Jules Rimet had a grand vision for a global football tournament: he named it the World Cup. Just 13 teams contested the inaugural tournament in 1930, and the hosts Uruguay emerged as winners. From these tentative beginnings, the World Cup has grown exponentially into a truly all-embracing international competition, involving more than 200 countries. It has provided the stage for such footballing legends as Bobby Charlton, Eusebio, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and the incomparable Pele, and has furnished many football fans with their most cherished sporting memories. It is the biggest prize in competitive team sport. The Treasures of the World Cup tells the story of the quadrennial festival of world football. It comprises an authoritative narrative account of all 19 tournaments played to date and a preview of Brazil 2014. The reportage is complemented by features on the superstars and the memorable moments for each of the finals, as well as maps of the venues and results boxes. It also contains more than 30 facsimile items of rare football memorabilia integrated into the pages of the book. The reader can relive the dramatic events that have entranced the watching millions by holding and examining football programmes, match tickets, posters, stickers, postcards and items of correspondence, filed or exhibited in the National Football Museum and other private collections around the world.