• The 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as part of the programme due to the low popularity of football in the United States. FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was dropped from the Games. FIFA president Jules Rimet thus set about organising the inaugural World Cup tournament to be held in Uruguay in 1930.

• The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides. Indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip. In total 13 nations took part — seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America.

• The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously, and were won by France and the USA, who beat Mexico 4-1 and Belgium 3-0, respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and became the first nation to win a World Cup.

• From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the Cup winner. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde but was renamed in 1946 in honour of the FIFA president who organised the first tournament. In 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983, and has never been recovered.

• After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. This is not awarded to the winning nation permanently, irrespective of how many World Cups they win. Argentina, Germany (as West Germany) and Brazil have all won the second trophy twice. It will not be retired until the name plaque has been entirely filled with the names of winning nations in 2038.

• The new trophy is 36 cm high, made of solid 18-carat gold and weighs 6175 grammes. The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the Trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974.

• The World Cup winners retain it until the next tournament and are awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold original.

• Main article: FIFA World Cup records
• Largest margin of victory: Hungary 9-0 South Korea, 1954; Yugoslavia 9-0 Zaire, 1974; Hungary 10-1 El Salvador, 1982
• Most goals scored in a World Cup qualifier: 31, Australia 31-0 American Samoa, 2002 qualification.
• Most World Cup tournaments, player: Antonio Carbajal (Mexico, 1950-1966) and Lothar Matthäus (West Germany and Germany, 1982-1998), 5
• Most World Cup match appearances, player: Lothar Matthäus (Germany), 25
• Most goals scored, player, career: Ronaldo (Brazil 1994-2006), 15
• Most goals scored, player, tournament: Just Fontaine (France), 13, 1958
• Most goals scored, player, match: Oleg Salenko, 5, Russia vs Cameroon, 1994.
• Fastest goal from kickoff: Hakan Sükür, 11 seconds, Turkey vs South Korea, 2002
• Fastest goal during qualification: Davide Gualtieri, 8 seconds, San Marino vs England, 1994 qualification on 17th November 1993.
• Most consecutive wins by a coach in World Cup finals: 11 Scolari with Brazil 2002 (7) and Portugal 2006 (4)
• Most consecutive wins by a team in World Cup finals: 11 Brazil - 2002(7)-2006(4)
• Youngest player to appear at a FIFA World Cup: Norman Whiteside: 17 years and 41 days Northern Ireland vs Yugoslavia, 1982.
• Youngest player to score a goal: Pelé, 17 years and 239 days, Brazil vs Wales, 1958
• Oldest player to appear at a FIFA World Cup: Roger Milla, 42 years and 39 days, Cameroon vs Russia, 1994
• Oldest player to score a goal: Roger Milla, 42 years and 39 days, Cameroon vs Russia, 1994
• Most cards shown in a match (yellow and red): 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards, Portugal vs Netherlands, 2006 (referee: Valentin Ivanov). Also this was the most red cards given out in a game which was 4.