到了1982年西班牙世界杯，国际足联第一次对世界杯进行了扩军，参赛球队变成了24支。同时它也延续了之前的两阶段小组赛赛制，但第二阶段小组赛首次出现了3支球队组成的小组，每组头名进入半决赛。意大利“金童”保罗·罗西戴帽，帮助蓝衣军团将济科和苏格拉底领衔的巴西队淘汰出局的名局，正是诞生于这一年代。 再到1986年世界杯，“双小组赛”退出历史舞台，与现在24队参赛的欧洲杯相同的赛制正式推行，也在接下来三届世界杯上施行。1998年法国世界杯是经历第二次扩军后的第一届世界杯，32支球队分为8组决出16强后捉对厮杀，也一直延续到了刚刚过去的卡塔尔世界杯。

除1930年首届世界杯部分球队放弃参赛资格而导致只有13队参赛之外，1982年之前的每一届世界杯参赛球队均为16支，赛制也经历了诸多变迁，从1950年世界杯的“决赛圈”赛制，到最为经典的4个小组前两名出线并进行单场淘汰赛的赛制，再到后期的两阶段小组赛赛制。1950年世界杯是唯一一届使用了“决赛圈”赛制的世界杯，16支球队分为4个小组，4个小组头名组成“决赛圈”，单循环决出第一夺冠。前两场均取得大胜的东道主巴西队，在最后一轮只需平局就能主场捧杯的情况下，于马拉卡纳球场被乌拉圭队击败并丢掉冠军，也缔造了世纪名场面“马拉卡纳惨案”。

Most of the tourist and sporting infrastructure had to be built at enormous expense — estimates range anywhere from$200 billion to $300 billion. Yet the return on investment for huge events like this is rarely positive. The Olympics are infamously pricey  to put on, and the economic benefits for residents of the host city are questionable.  So, with the big price tag and not much to show in return, why do countries like Qatar, Russia and Brazil offer up billions of dollars to host global sporting events? According to Victor Matheson, a professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross and a former Major League Soccer referee, they may be seeking to burnish their reputations through international media coverage.   “If you’re putting any sort of significant money into infrastructure like Qatar obviously is doing, there’s just no way you can make that back on ticket sales, on media rights, [or] on the amount of money you make from tourists coming to visit your country,” Matheson said in an interview with Marketplace’s David Brancaccio. “So obviously, you’re hoping for some sort of long-run benefits, some sort of legacy, and often that is an improvement in your reputation, either as a tourist destination or as a world player in some ways.” 

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They are not alone in that view. Some of the world's biggest soccer clubs, such as Manchester City, Santos, Schalke 04, Ajax and Paris St Germain, have signed up soccer players to represent them in esports in recent years.

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