FIFA World Cup for People Who Call Football "Soccer"

The FIFA World Cup, first held in 1930, has grown to be the most popular sporting event in the world, according to viewership. While only an average of one hundred million people watch the Superbowl, over three billion tune into the World Cup final.

There are over two hundred members of FIFA who could potentially go on to the World Cup, all else being equal. The Cup is played every four years. Getting to it is a multi-year slog with hundreds of games played and thousands of goals scored collectively.

The FIFA World Cup has thirty two teams participating. Thirty one of those teams are determined by the intra-continental qualification process, with tournaments happening simultaneously through FIFA's six confederations. The host country gets an automatic entry.

The thirty two teams are then sorted into groups--eight groups of four teams each. The groups then play round-robin style. The top two teams in each group then advance.

After the top from each group are determined, the sixteen remaining teams begin playing in a single elimination bracket format. The winners move on, the losers go home. The exception is the semi-final losers get to play for third place just before the final matchup.

The game is high stakes, not just for bragging rights but for the nearly half a billion dollars in prize money that's doled out. 10 % is given to the 1st place team. Every team participating gets about $10 million, just for being there.

The World Cup brings together all the countries of the world into an egalitarian competition where the best team wins. While money does help organize and train teams, the World Cup is all about who has the best players, not who can afford the best players like in club soccer.