FIFA as football's international governing body selected Brazil as the host nation on 8 June 1999 as the bid was found to be the strongest among four candidates.

Later the same day, Corinthians goalkeeper Dida kept the first clean sheet in the tournament as his team beat Moroccan side Raja Casablanca 2–0.

[5] Initially, there were nine candidates to host the competition: China, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Tahiti, Turkey, the United States and Uruguay; of the nine, only Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay confirmed their interest to FIFA.

[6] On 7 June 1999, the FIFA Emergency Committee appointed Brazil as hosts of the competition during their meeting in Cairo, Egypt.

[11] Additionally, FIFA named an all-star team consisting of eleven starters and seven substitutes.

[20] From the 2005 edition onwards, the competition has been held continuously but under a new format, featuring single-elimination tournament instead of a group stage plus final, and with a shorter duration, addressing scheduling concerns for national federations and continental confederations.