When was the first World Cup?

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Vermont Public

Science, Language, Nature, Kids & Family

4.3 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Right now, the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup is happening across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico and it’s time to learn a little bit about soccer…or should we say football? That’s one conundrum we’ll be tackling: why is it called soccer in some countries and football in others? We’ll also look at World Cup questions like where the first tournament was played and what makes the trophy so special. Plus: what are the basic rules of the game? Why are soccer balls often black and white? How come goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands? And what does offside actually mean? In this episode, we meet up with Meg Linehan, women’s sports lead for The Athletic at a Vermont Green FC training session and ask her all your soccer-related questions.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Katie Miller and I work with the team at But Why here in Vermont. It's summertime,
0:06.4	and I'm forever trying to think of ways to keep my curious kids entertained while they're out of
0:10.4	school. But Why is a big part of our routine, and I'm really excited because this summer,
0:16.0	But Why has a cool new way to keep my kids occupied. If you join the ButWy fan club at $10 per month,
0:22.1	we'll send you a summer adventure kit. It has a bucket list filled with activities, and it comes
0:27.1	along with a backpack full of adventure goodies, like a notebook and pencils and a magnifying
0:32.1	glass to see all those tiny creatures on your adventures. Check it all out at butwykids.org
0:37.3	slash donate. This is But Why, a podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont Public.
1:02.7	I'm Jane Lindholm.
1:04.0	On this show, we take questions from curious kids all over the world just like you, and we find answers.
1:10.0	As I'm recording this episode in mid-June of
1:13.2	26, there's something really big happening here in the United States and our neighbors, Canada and
1:19.3	Mexico. And that is the FIFA World Cup. The men's World Cup happens every four years, and there's a
1:26.8	women's World Cup that also happens at four-year intervals,
1:30.5	where athletes representing different countries compete against each other in a tournament of soccer.
1:35.9	Or should we be calling it football?
1:39.0	This year, the men's tournament is happening across 16 North American cities, bringing athletes and fans from all over the world, like this young soccer fan and But Why listener who came to the U.S. all the way from Scotland to catch a game.
1:53.5	Hi, everyone. My name is Alex. I'm seven years old, and I live in Glasgow, Scotland.
2:01.8	I'm visiting Boston right now to support Scotland at their First World Cup Games in 28 years.
2:10.1	Our supporters are called the Tartan Army, and we've made lots of friends in Boston so far.
2:17.3	Because of this, Glasgow and Boston are now
2:21.6	twin cities. It's true, the mayor of the city of Boston, Massachusetts and the Lord Provost of Glasgow,
	...

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