FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. The FIFA World Cup is held once in four years and it’s a major international football tournament contested by the men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It has been described as the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games; however, it has also been criticised for its lack of attendance compared to other large-scale sporting events.

Hosting rights for 2022 are up for grabs now that Qatar has been stripped of its hosting rights due to corruption allegations against them.

How Many Countries Play for the Football World Cup? In total, there are 32 teams that compete for glory at each FIFA World Cup. Of these 32 teams, 31 play in a qualification stage before making it to their respective continental championships where they are joined by another team from their continent who qualified directly for the tournament due to being one of the host countries .

The 32nd team is decided through a playoff between teams from different continents who have both finished fourth place or better in their respective regional championships but did not qualify directly through their regional championships (i.e., they did not finish third or higher).

Last modified: July 31, 2022