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.
Design highlight: The first World Cup logo was more a promotional poster or illustrated emblem rather than a modern logo. The classic illustrative typography and imagery reflected the graphical styles of the early 20th‑century.
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.
Design highlight: As with the previous tournament, the design is poster rather than a logo and is influenced by Art Deco trends of the era, blending a symmetrical figure with bold, geometric forms.
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.
Design highlight: Again, a poster is used to promote the 1938 World Cup. This combined expressive graphics with national symbolism, which reflected early European design movements.
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.
Design highlight: An early example of the use of national flags as a unifying brand element.
The 1954 FIFA World Cup took place in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. The tournament winner was won by West Germany.
Design highlight: The first true logo design for the World Cup. A simple graphical football overlaid with the Swiss cross showcases minimalism and clear national identity, a design trend that would persist in later logos. The lines that represent the stitching on the leather ball could also be interpreted as the lines of a football pitch.
The 1958 FIFA World Cup took place in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. The tournament winner was won by Brazil.
Design highlight: Created by the legendary designer Saul Bass, this design focused on silhouettes and dynamic motion. Strong simplified shapes are a reflection of the era's modernist graphic trends.
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.
Design highlight: The logo creatively uses the host nation’s flag within a stylised stadium shape that doubles as a globe that combines local flavour with global meaning.
The 1996 FIFA World Cup took place in England 11 to 30 July 1966. The tournament winner was the host England.
Design highlight: Incorporates the Jules Rimet trophy and ball imagery with national colours.
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.
Design highlight: The design embraces bold graphic minimalism with, arguabley, the most iconic typography, setting a benchmark for modern sports branding.
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.
Design highlight: Stark, abstract motion elements communicate movement and energy, which was a hallmark of 1970s design.
The 1978 FIFA World Cup took place in Argentina from 1 and 25 June 1978. The tournament winner was the host Argentina.
Design highlight: Uses sweeping national colours in cupped form, suggesting hands or crowd enthusiasm around a football. The design also resembles the new World Cup Trophy which had been introduced at the previous tournament.
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.
Design highlight: A football integrated with the Spanish flag colours is simple yet powerful national branding. Similar design approaches would be start to appear in future tornament.
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.
Design highlight: Two globes and a ball convey the theme “The World United by Football,” using repeated circular forms to unify global and sporting motif. The iconic typeface from the 1970's tournament is modernised for the current decade.
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.
Design highlight: A minimalist negative‑space ball in Italian flag colours emphasizes simplicity and national identity. It also begins a run of designs, that span the next few tournaments, where the host flag is combined with a football graphic.
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.
Design highlight: A ball becomes part of the American flag. The design cleverly merging recognisable flag elements with a football, movement and goal netting. Although, the use of multiple type weights, styles and colouring lets down the design.
The 1998 FIFA World Cup took place in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The tournament winner was the host France.
Design highlight: A football rising above a globe horizon evokes a rising sun effect and uses national colours to express optimism and host pride.
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.
Design highlight: A stylized World Cup trophy combined with unity‑themed shapes reflects the co‑hosting concept and unity between cultures. The trophy will form a major part of all logo designs for tournaments moving forward.
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.
Design highlight: Cheerful figures and smiling motifs gave the branding a human, friendly feel.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The tournament winner was Spain.
Design highlight: A colourful figure performing an overhead kick formed from dynamic swooshes captures movement and cultural colour.
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.
Design highlight: Hands forming the shape of the World Cup trophy, while representing community and global connection around the sport.
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.
Design highlight: A highly detailed emblem blending the trophy design, football, and space iconography represents history and national character in ornate form.
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.
Design highlight: Inspired by desert dunes and traditional textiles (shawl shapes), the emblem also references the trophy and an infinity symbol in a fusion of culture and continuity.
The 2026 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.
