One of the world’s biggest sporting extravaganzas, the FIFA Football World Cup, begins in Russia on Thursday with the hosts taking on Saudi Arabia in the opening match.

A total of 32 teams from around the world are competing in the 21st edition of the quadrennial event that would conclude on July 15 with the summit clash between the top two teams.

To celebrate the commencement of the World Cup, Google on Thursday displayed a doodle showcasing the spirit of diversity and inclusiveness that has been the hallmark of the football fiesta since its inception 88 years ago in 1930.

This is the first of a series of doodles Google are going to publish throughout the event. A new doodle drawn by artists from each country will appear every day for a month showing what soccer looks like in that country.

The opening day doodle featured elements from artists of each of the participating countries showing how players from various races, cultures and regions come together to showcase their skills at one common platform.

Google has been creating doodles for many years on the occasion of a famous person’s birthday, a festival, an anniversary and any other significant event.

The first Google Doodle was created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin on August 20, 1998, to remember the Burning Man Festival that the duo had attended in the same year. They created the logo to remind the search engine users that they were absent.

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