WORLD CUP

formally FIFA World Cup in association football (soccer), trophy that symbolizes the world championship. The first competition for the cup was organized in 1930 by the Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and was won by Uruguay. Held every four years since that time, except during World War II, the competition consists of international sectional tournaments leading to a final elimination event made up of 16 national teams. Unlike Olympic association football, World Cup teams are not limited to amateur players, and so the competition serves more nearly as a contest between the world's best players. Referees are selected from lists that are submitted by all the national associations. The trophy cup awarded from 1930 to 1970 was the Jules Rimet Trophy, named for the Frenchman who proposed the tournament. This cup was permanently awarded in 1970 to three-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, and 1970), and a new trophy called the FIFA World Cup was put up for competition. formerly (until 1967) Canada Cup, in golf, trophy awarded to the winner of an annual competition for two-man professional teams representing nations. It was initiated in 1953 by the Canadian industrialist John Jay Hopkins. The event involves teams from more than 40 nations in a four-day, 72-hole stroke competition. The team with the lowest final total is the winner. An award is also made to the individual with the lowest score. in skiing, trophy awarded annually since 1967 to the top male and female alpine skiers. In World Cup competition, skiers accumulate points in the three alpine events (downhill, slalom, and giant slalom) at designated meets throughout the winter. The winners are the male and female skiers with the highest point totals. The World Cup competition is supervised by the Fdration Internationale de Ski.