<P> The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football governing body, decided to stage an international men's football tournament under the era of FIFA president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place . The inaugural edition, held in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization . Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format remodeling, with its current 32 - team final tournament preceded by a two - year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world . </P> <P> The first official international football match was played in 1872 in Glasgow between Scotland and England, although at this stage the sport was rarely played outside Great Britain . </P> <P> By the twentieth century football had gained ground all around the world and national football associations were being founded . The first official international match outside the British Isles was played between Uruguay and Argentina in Montevideo in July 1902 . The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris on 22 May 1904--comprising football associations from France, Belgium (the preceding two teams having played their first national against each other earlier in the month), Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, with Germany pledging to join . </P>

Countries competing for the very first time in a world cup