Why do they call the World Cup the World Cup?

Cos every country in the world plays in it.

Every country in the world, play in qualifiers for a year to play in the world cup finals. The world cup finals are played the year following the qualifying rounds, usually in one country, known as the host nation.

There is some ambiguity what constitutes an official country, hence the numbers can change, but of the 189 to 194 Official countries in the world, 204 played in the qualifying stages of the world cup 2006 (?).

Not quite sure how that happens, but is probably due to some small principalities that are not official countries having a football team, such as San Marino, Andorra, and maybe the Faroe Islands. Also the UK is not a member of FIFA, but Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland are.

No other sport in the world has so many countries playing in it.

Now what mgiht be a better question is why you have the World Series in America when so few countries play....

Having said that with the wealth of sports talent and the quality of training that the USA has no other country probably could win. (Thats a good thing about America - not an attack.

One of the advantages of football (soccer) is that almost anywhere you go in the owrld, the poorest of the poorest children play it.

However if America ever does take football seriously, Im sure you will do very well. (You have got a lot better in recent years) but unlike most countries where football is either the number one or two pastime, you have American football, basketball and baseball which all rank much higher to you.

Sorry I have assumed you are American....

Same thing applies in rugby union, all rugby playing nations (89 for this year's World Cup) try to qualify, only 20 qualify and then the winner is the holder of the World Cup trophy, known as the William Webb Ellis trophy (the person classified as the inventor of the game).

ill give you one guess

Because countries of the world compete in it and the winner is awarded a trophy shaped as a type of cup - see here for the original trophy;

http://www.soccerhall.org/history/World%20Cup%20History/Jules_Rimet_trophy.jpg

After Brazil won this trophy 3 times, they were allowed to keep it forever. FIFA then made a new one, the one we have today.

However, the competition is officially now known as the FIFA World Cup because there are so many other world cups in different sports nowadays.