FIFA World Cup future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the first tournament with multiple hosts. South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since Argentina 1978, and was the first occasion where consecutive World Cups were held outside Europe. The host country is
2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification (UEFA) 24 teams confirmed their participation in the competition. The 24 teams were drawn into 6 groups of 4 teams. http://theroonba.com/beach08.htm 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification (UEFA) The 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers for (UEFA) was the first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification championship for Europe, held in May 2008, in Benidorm, Spain. Hosts Spain won the championship, with Portugal finishing second and Russia winning the third place play of to finish third, beating Italy who finished fourth. The four nations moved on to play in the 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Marseille, France