1. The Jules Rimet Trophy for the World Cup is named after the Frenchman who was President of FIFA from 1921-1954.
2. Jules Rimet served as an officer in the French Army during the First World War and was awarded a Croix de Guerre.
3. The trophy was stolen in London in the run-up to the 1966 World Cup but rediscovered under a bush by a dog named Pickles.
4. When England won the trophy, Pickles was invited to the celebration banquet as a reward.
5. Pickles died aged four or five in 1967 when he was strangled by his choke chain lead that caught on a tree while he was chasing a cat.
6. Shirt swapping was officially banned in the 1986 World Cup because Fifa did not want players to bare their chests on the field.
7. Brazil is the only country to have appeared in all 21 World Cup tournaments.
8. Nine months after Germany held the 2006 World Cup, their birthrate rose by over 10 per cent.
9. Research also found a much higher risk of heart attacks in Munich when Germany were playing.
10. Almost half the world’s population watched at least one minute of the 2014 World Cup.
