The History of the World Cup: Football, Fame and the Gentlemen in the Stands

The History of the World Cup: Football, Fame and the Gentlemen in the Stands

Every four years, the FIFA World Cup transforms football from a sport into a global ceremony. Nations pause, cities fill with colour, and even men who ordinarily show little interest in the offside rule suddenly develop firm opinions about defensive formations. Over nearly a century, the tournament has also attracted kings, presidents, actors, musicians and sporting legends—gentlemen drawn to the greatest stage in international sport.

The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Just 13 teams participated, with several European squads making the long Atlantic crossing aboard the ocean liner Conte Verde. Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in the final at Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario, becoming football’s first world champion.

The early tournament was a relatively modest affair compared with today’s commercial spectacle. Italy won in 1934 and again in 1938 before the Second World War interrupted the competition. When the World Cup returned in Brazil in 1950, Uruguay stunned the host nation at the Maracanã in one of football’s most famous upsets.

By 1966, the tournament had become essential television. England hosted the competition and defeated West Germany 4–2 after extra time at Wembley. Queen Elizabeth II presented the Jules Rimet Trophy to England captain Bobby Moore, creating one of British sport’s defining images. Moore, immaculately composed even in victory, remains perhaps the perfect model of the footballing gentleman.

The World Cup’s modern mythology expanded during the following decades. Pelé and Brazil dazzled in Mexico in 1970. Argentina won on home soil in 1978, while Diego Maradona dominated the 1986 tournament with equal measures of genius, controversy and swagger. France’s multicultural side lifted the trophy in Paris in 1998, helping turn the competition into an even broader celebration of national identity.

As television audiences grew, so did the number of celebrated gentlemen in the stands. Former US president Bill Clinton attended matches during the 2010 tournament in South Africa, at one point watching alongside Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. Jagger has become one of the World Cup’s most recognizable celebrity supporters, although his habit of backing teams shortly before their elimination has inspired joking references to a “Mick Jagger curse.”

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil elevated celebrity attendance to another level. David Beckham watched the final with his sons, while actors Daniel Craig, Gerard Butler, Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo DiCaprio were among the famous faces seen during the tournament. Jagger was there too, naturally. The final at the Maracanã became as much a gathering of international culture as a football match, with musicians, actors, athletes and fashion figures sharing the stands.

At Russia 2018, Will Smith performed during the closing ceremony, while Jagger and sprinting legend Usain Bolt attended the final between France and Croatia. Their presence demonstrated the World Cup’s singular appeal: few events can place a rock star, a Hollywood leading man, an Olympic champion and several heads of state beneath the same stadium roof.

The 2022 final in Qatar produced perhaps the tournament’s most glittering guest list yet. David Beckham returned, joined by tennis champion Novak Djokovic, actor Shah Rukh Khan, footballers Zlatan Ibrahimović and Paul Pogba, technology entrepreneur Elon Musk and French president Emmanuel Macron. They watched Argentina defeat France in a breathtaking final that confirmed Lionel Messi’s place among the immortals.

That is the particular magic of the World Cup. The famous may arrive through private entrances and sit in immaculate hospitality suites, but once the whistle blows, they become supporters like everyone else—anxious, animated and completely at the mercy of the beautiful game.