The current format of the tournament involves 16 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about three weeks;– this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s). The FIFA Women’s World Cup is recognized as the most important International competition in women’s football and is played amongst women’s national football teams of the member states of FIFA, the sport’s global governing body.

The first Women’s World Cup tournament, named the Women’s World Championship, was held in 1991, sixty-one years after the men’s first FIFA World Cup tournament in 1930. The 6 World Cup tournaments have been won by three different national teams. The next World Cup will be hosted by Canada in 2015.

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The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not contested because of World War II.

The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s).

During the 18 tournaments that have been held, seven national teams have won the title. Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. Italy, 2006 champions, won four titles, and Germany are next with three titles. Other former champions include Uruguay, winners of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina, with two titles each, and England and France, with one title each.

Spain won the 2010 World Cup final, 1-0, vs the Netherlands. Iniesta put the ball in the back of the net in overtime to put Spain on top of the World. Germany came in 3rd with a 3-2 win over Uruguay.

Hamm was named the women’s FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002), and is listed as one of FIFA’s 125 best living players (as chosen by Pelé). Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon called Hamm, “Perhaps the most important athlete of the last 15 years.”

She retired from the sport in 2004, when she played her last game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour to commemorate the U.S. women’s national team’s victory in the 2004 Olympics.

In 2007, her first year of eligibility, she was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame by having 137 votes of the 141 ballots cast. Women’s Professional Soccer, a professional soccer league that launched in 2009, features Hamm’s silhouette in its logo.

Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell’s Old Boys’s youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke the La Liga record for the youngest footballer to play a league game, and also the youngest to score a league goal. Major honors soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi’s debut season, and won a double of the league and Champions League in 2006.

His breakthrough season was in 2006–07; he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Perhaps his most successful season was the 2008–09 season, in which Messi scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble-winning campaign.

Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals, including two in the final game. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina’s senior international team. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honor, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.

Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after being transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth €94m ($132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, makes him the highest paid football player in the world.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo’s precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honor, the FA Cup, and reached the Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.

In 2008, Ronaldo won the Champions League with United, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United’s first Ballon d’Or winner in 40 years. Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, “Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United.”

Prior to his move to Milan, he played for Paris Saint-Germain, and Barcelona, with whom he won his first Champions League in 2006 and he won the Ballon d’Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.

Fun Fact: Ronaldinho, Portuguese for “Little Ronaldo,” is known in Brazil by the nickname “Gaúcho,” in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo, who was already called “Ronaldinho” in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the “Gaúcho” and remain simply as Ronaldinho.