1966 World Cup Tournament Programme A
Jules Rimet Cup World Championship England 1966
Price £20.00
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from July 11 to July 30. England was chosen as hosts by FIFA in August 1960 to celebrate the centenary of the codification of football in England. England won the final, beating West Germany 4-2, giving them their first (and only to this date) World Cup triumph, and becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy won it in 1934.
1966 World Cup Tournament Programme A
Jules Rimet Cup World Championship England 1966The 1966 World Cup caused some bitter disagreements before a ball had been kicked competitively. Sixteen African nations boycotted the tournament in protest against a 1964 FIFA ruling that required the champion team from the African zone to play off against the winners of either the Asian or the Oceania zone in order to win a place at the finals. The Africans felt that winning their zone should have been enough in itself to merit qualification for the finals.
Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record number of entries for the qualifying tournament, with 70 nations taking part. After all the arguments, FIFA finally ruled that ten teams from Europe would qualify, along with four from South America, one from Asia and one from North and Central America.