The FiFA World Cup has been hosted every four since since 1930, save for a break during World War II. The logos showcased here not only serve as a snapshot of branding, graphic design and typography styles from 1930 to present day, but they are also a perfect example of how a design brief can be creatively interpreted to reveal a wide variety of finished designs.
At its core, the logo for a World Cup tournament needs to relay the values and aspirations of the sport, showcase the country hosting the tournament, through dynamic and eye-catching typography, colour and style, and all while being aesthetically pleasing to an international sporting audience.
The World Cup logo design and branding doesn't really begin to take shape until the 1950s, prior to that, designs tended to be more of a promotional poster or paintings - although, the flags sock for Brazil 1950is ingenious. It's with the 1970 World Cup in Mexico where design and identity (and an iconic typeface) begin to showcase what a tournament logo design can really do. Footballs and globes are used as interchangeable or overlapped elements extensively and then in the late 1990s renditions of the FIFA World Cup trophy begin to appear within designs.
The first FIFA World Cup took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. The tournament winner was the host Uruguay.
The 1934 FIFA World Cup took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. As with the previous event, the tournament winner was the host Italy.
The 1938 FIFA World Cup took place in France from 13 to 30 July 1930. The tournament was won by Italy, winning for the second time.
The 1950 FIFA World Cup took place in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The tournament was won by Uruguay, winning for the second time.
The 1954 FIFA World Cup took place in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. The tournament winner was won by West Germany.
The 1958 FIFA World Cup took place in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. The tournament winner was won by Brazil.
The 1962 FIFA World Cup took place in Chile from 30 May to 17 June 1962. The tournament winner was won by Brazil, winning for the second time.
The 1996 FIFA World Cup took place in England 11 to 30 July 1966. The tournament winner was the host England.
The 1970 FIFA World Cup took place in Mexico from 31 May to 21 June 1970. The tournament winner was won by Brazil, winning for the third time.
The 1974 FIFA World Cup took place in West Germany from 13 June and 7 July 1974. The tournament winner was the host West Germany, winning for the second time.
The 1978 FIFA World Cup took place in Argentina from 1 and 25 June 1978. The tournament winner was the host Argentina.
The 1982 FIFA World Cup took place in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, winning for the third time.
The 1986 FIFA World Cup took place in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament winner was Argentina, winning for the second time.
The 1990 FIFA World Cup took place in Italy from 8 June to 8 July 1990. The tournament winner was West Germany, winning for the third time.
The 1994 FIFA World Cup took place in United States from June 17 to July 17 1994. The tournament winner was Brazil, winning for the fourth time.
The 1998 FIFA World Cup took place in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The tournament winner was the host France.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup took place in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June 2002. The tournament winner was Brazil, winning for the fifth time.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup took place in Germany from 9 June to 9 July 2006. The tournament winner was Italy, winning for the fourth time.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The tournament winner was Spain.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. The tournament winner was Germany, winning for the fourth time.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018. The tournament winner was France, winning for the second time.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022. The winner was Argentina, winning for the third time.
The next World Cup will be held in Canada, Mexico and United States from June 11 to 19 July 2026. The logo design for this event was released in May 2023 and is the first to use photography within the design. It has been reported that this design will be used for all tournaments moving forward, with only the date changing. The trophy and FIFA logo would remain on all future designs, and the hosts nation will then use the letterforms of the date to add their national flag or colouring. The examples below demonstrates how one of the host cities for 2026 has been showcased.
