A delightful picture book with a wonderful twist which encourages young children to think about the way animals & humans live side
...In the late 1920s, Frenchman Jules Rimet had a grand vision for a global football tournament: he named it the World Cup. Just 13 teams contested the inaugural tournament in 1930, & the hosts Uruguay emerged as winners. From these tentative beginnings, the World Cup has grown exponentially into a truly all-embracing international competition, involving more than 200 countries. It has provided the stage for such footballing legends as Bobby Charlton, Eusebio, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruff, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi & the incomparable Pele, & has furnished many football fans with their most cherished sporting memories. It is the biggest prize in competitive team sport. The Treasures of the World Cup tells the story of the quadrennial festival of world football. It comprises an authoritative narrative account of all 19 tournaments played to date & a preview of Brazil 2014. The reportage is complemented by features on the superstars & the memorable moments for each of the finals, as well as maps of the venues & results boxes. It also contains more than 30 facsimile items of rare football memorabilia integrated into the pages of the book. The reader can relive the dramatic events that have entranced the watching millions by holding & examining football programmes, match tickets, posters, stickers, postcards & items of correspondence, filed or exhibited in the National Football Museum & other private collections around the world.