How often is the World Cup held? What to know about FIFA tournament cycle, exceptions, schedule and more

JUMP TO:

• How often is the World Cup held?
• Why is the World Cup held every four years?
• Exceptions to the four-year cycle
• World Cup winners list
• How the World Cup schedule works
• How often are other FIFA World Cups held?

The FIFA World Cup is considered the ultimate achievement for every football player across the globe.

Since it was first contested in 1930, FIFA has positioned the World Cup trophy as the pinnacle of the entire sport.

One way of accomplishing that is by spacing out the tournaments across a large cycle, rendering the competition as one of the most difficult mountains to summit in not just soccer but all of sports.

AllSportsPeople explains why the World Cup is held when it is, what impact that has on the sport as a whole and how the time between World Cup competitions is filled in every region around the world.

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How often is the World Cup held?

The FIFA World Cup is traditionally held every four years.

This schedule, or "cycle" as it is often referred to, has been kept to since the tournament's inception in 1930, with only one interruption.

FIFA has, in recent years, floated the idea of holding the World Cup every two years, but this potential break from tradition has largely been met with near-universal backlash.

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Why is the World Cup held every four years?

FIFA has generated a four-year World Cup cycle to create importance behind the tournament and make it a unique and special competition.

Like the Olympics, holding the event every four years creates excitement and anticipation for the event, seeing it elevated to the pinnacle achievement of the sport. Should it be held more often, strong performances at the World Cup would not come with such admiration and reverence as the current schedule creates.

Additionally, holding the World Cup every four years allows other football events round the world to be fit in around the schedule. Regional competitions such as the Copa America or European Championships can also be held on a four-year cycle in off-years, while the lengthy World Cup qualifying process can also play out effectively.

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Exceptions to the four-year cycle

Heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the only time the four-year cycle has been broken was back in the 1940's when the competition was abandoned for World War II.

With the first three editions of the World Cup being held in 1930, 1934 and 1938, the 1942 and 1946 editions did not take place with global hostilities occupying much of the world.

The competition resumed in 1950, and it has been held every four years since, without interruption.

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World Cup winners list

*The 1950 World Cup format did not include a one-off final, but because the tournament played out such that the final match of the final group stage was a de facto title decider, it is considered the final in retrospect.

How the World Cup schedule works

The World Cup is held every four years, almost always in the summer of the northern hemisphere.

During the time in between tournaments, each region holds one or more continental championships, its World Cup qualifying competition.

To fill out the schedule wherever there are no competitive fixtures to be played, international friendlies are contested, often between nations from different continents to gain experience playing styles of opponent which a particular team doesn't normally match up against competitively.

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2026 four-year World Cup cycle timeline

Below is a traditional schedule for every four-year World Cup cycle notating all major international competitions within every single continental confederation.

On occasion, extenuating circumstances such as global challenges or host difficulties necessitate changes to this calendar, but the following is a general breakdown of the traditional schedule in a perfect world.

"Year 0" is considered to be the back half of the year the previous World Cup was held, as it is usually contested in June and July. "Year 1" is considered to be the year following a World Cup, while "Year 4" is the front half of the year a World Cup is held, ending the cycle and beginning a new one.

For example, for the 2026 World Cup cycle, 2023 would be considered "Year 1" while 2026 would be considered "Year 4."

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Timeline by confederation and event

* AFCON qualifying varies greatly in its schedule, depending on AFCON and World Cup timing.

** The Africa Cup of Nations has traditionally been scheduled December-January, but has been changed moving forward to June-July to reduce conflict with the European club schedule. This change will take effect starting in 2027.

*** The CONCACAF Nations League was held on a yearly basis in the 2026 World Cup cycle, skipping the final year. However, that could potentially change as the confederation works out its full World Cup qualifying format following the USA, Canada, and Mexico returning to qualification in the 2030 cycle.

Timeline by year

• Year 0:
  • CAF:
    • AFCON qualifying concludes
  • CONCACAF:
    • Nations League begins
  • UEFA
    • Nations League begins
• Year 1:
  • AFC:
    • Asian Cup held
    • World Cup qualifying begins
  • CAF:
    • Africa Cup of Nations held
    • World Cup qualifying begins
  • CONCACAF:
    • Nations League concludes
    • Gold Cup contested
    • Nations League begins
  • CONMEBOL:
    • World Cup qualifying begins
  • UEFA:
    • Nations League concludes
    • Euro qualifying begins
• Year 2:
  • AFC:
    • World Cup qualifying continues
  • CAF:
    • World Cup qualifying continues
    • AFCON qualifying contested
  • CONCACAF:
    • Nations League concludes
    • World Cup qualifying begins
    • Nations League begins
  • CONMEBOL:
    • Copa America contested
    • World Cup qualifying continues
  • OFC:
    • World Cup qualifying begins
    • Nations Cup contested
  • UEFA:
    • Euro qualifying ends
    • European Championship contested
    • World Cup qualifying begins
    • Nations League begins
• Year 3:
  • AFC:
    • World Cup qualifying continues
  • CAF:
    • Africa Cup of Nations contested
    • World Cup qualifying continues
  • CONCACAF:
    • Nations League concludes
    • Gold Cup contested
    • World Cup qualifying concludes
  • CONMEBOL:
    • World Cup qualifying concludes
  • OFC:
    • World Cup qualifying concludes
  • UEFA:
    • World Cup qualifying begins
    • Nations League concludes
• Year 4:
  • CAF:
    • AFCON qualifying begins
  • UEFA:
    • World Cup qualifying concludes
  • FIFA:
    • Intercontinental playoffs
    • Finalissima

How often are other FIFA World Cups held?

Aside from the main FIFA World Cup, there are also other youth competitions that are held with varying regularity.

Those are the U-20 FIFA World Cup and the U-17 FIFA World Cup.

Both of these competitions are held every two years instead of every four years. This is because youth development takes place quickly, and if they were held every four years, most players would not be able to compete in both events as they grow up, and some might not even get a chance to compete in either depending on their development timeline and the positioning of their birthday in the cycle.

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