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
2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup while Oman defeated Japan in the final to win the tournament. The UEFA qualifiers took place in Jesolo, Italy on 5–14 September 2014. A total of 23 teams took part in the tournament (Georgia entered but withdrew). The top four teams qualified for the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Switzerland became the first team (other than host nation Portugal) to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup on 11 September 2014. On the next day, Russia, Spain and Italy also booked a place in the World Cup by advancing to the semi-finals, with Russia defeating Switzerland in