in 1924 football was part of the Olympic Games. but, because football was so popular, a new competition had to be held. the very first World cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. there were just thirteen teams and sixteen matches. An average of 24000 fans watched each match. the world cup has grown a lot since then. in 1998 an average of 43000 people watched each match in France. when the world cup was held in Germany in 2006, 715 million people around the world watched the final match on television.