Russia Hosts the World

Will you be watching the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ this month? This international sporting event, which takes place every four years, kicks off on June

14 in 11 different cities in

Russia. Let’s find out more about the tournament!

What is FIFA?

FIFA (FEE-fah) is a

French acronym for the International Federation of Association Football. images © FIFA TM

(In the U.S., we call this game soccer.) It is the organization in charge of the World Cup and other international soccer tournaments.

Getting organized

FIFA organizes members into six

confederations, or groups. Each confederation hosts a tournament to determine which teams qualify for the FIFA World Cup™.

This year, for the first time since 1986, the United States team did not qualify for the World Cup. The country hosting the matches qualifies automatically.

The FIFA World Cup has two stages, or parts: group play and knockout play. In group play, each team plays the other three teams in its assigned group. If a team wins, it receives three points; a draw, or a tie, is awarded one point. The two teams with the most points in each group then advance to the knockout stage, where a loss means elimination.