A History of World Cup Posters 1930-2014

Abstract

The historical development of official World Cup posters provides a fascinating means of considering the growth of the world’s most popular sport. There are important continuities with the history of the modern Olympic Games, which were inaugurated in 1896 in Athens. From 1908 the Olympic Games staged a small but influential football tournament, out of which the World Cup eventually developed. At the London 1908 Olympic Games, the Football Association (FA) organised the competition, though it remained contested whether representative players were entirely amateur. Formed in 1863, the FA had agreed to tolerate professionalism since 1885, and the entirely professional Football League was formed in 1888. Friendly international football rivalries against other national teams has begun in 1872, and were instantly popular with spectators and the media alike.