The FIFA World CUP it is the second most watched sporting event after the Olympic Games. The World Cup attracts huge crowds of fans to watch this event on TVs or listen to it on the radios. And those true blue football funs crowd the football stadiums. In 2010 the number of such funs will rise slightly. There is no doubt that during the final football tournament in South Africa (the first time hosted by an African nation) more cans of beer, TVs and sedatives will be sold. Only a true dunce could be surprised why? The Slovak national football team has qualified for its first World Cup and it is among the world’s top football playing nations.
Football, in the form as we know it today, originated in England. Then it spread from England to Europe and later to South Africa and it successively swept the whole world. The first football association was founded in 1863, first official modern rules were adopted in 1882 and the first ever official international football match took place in 1872 (England vs. Scotland).
FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) was founded in 1904. On the initiative of its president, Jules Rimet, FIFA decided to stage the World Cup (Jules Rimet Cup), which had later led the way for the official world football championships.
Apart from the years 1942 and 1946, the celebration of the world's most popular game has been held every four years since 1930. In 1930 (Uruguay was the first host of a FIFA World Cup, Uruguay was the winner), 1934 (Italy; Italy), 1938 (France; Italy), 1950 (Brazil; Uruguay), 1954 (Switzerland; The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)), 1958 (Sweden; Brazil), 1962 (Chile; Brazil), 1966 (England; England), 1970 (Mexico; Brazil), 1974 (West Germany; West Germany), 1978 (Argentina; Argentina), 1982 (Spain; Italy), 1986 (Mexico; Argentina), 1990 (Italy; West Germany), 1994 (the USA; Brazil), 1998 (France; France), 2002 (South Korea a Japan; Brazil), 2006 (Germany; Italy).
Up to now, 56 Slovak football players, or more precisely, football players from the Slovak clubs wearing the football shirt of Czechoslovakia have experienced the atmosphere of the World Cup at eight championships, of which Š. Čambal and F. Daučík (1934) and J. Popluhár, V. Schrojf, J. Adamec, A. Kvašňák, J. Tichý, A. Scherer, J. Štibráni, J. Bomba, T. Buberník and P. Molnár (1962) succeeded in wining silver medals for the second place. In the year 2010 it will be purely the Slovak football team. Will it achieve greater success?

Vojtech Jankovič