paragraph_text: Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali (), is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over . The population of Mali is /1e6 round 1 million. 67% of its population was estimated to be under the age of 25 in 2017. Its capital is Bamako. The sovereign state of Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Senegal rivers. The country's economy centers on agriculture and mining. Some of Mali's prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt.

paragraph_text: The 2018 FIFA World Cup was an international football tournament held in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018. The 32 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 23 players, including three goalkeepers. Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.

paragraph_text: The FIVB World Grand Prix 2008 was a women's volleyball tournament in which 12 countries competed from 20 June to 12 July 2008. The finals were held in Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan. Cuba, Brazil, Dominican Republic and the United States qualified for the tournament at the 2007 Women's Pan-American Cup in Colima, Mexico. Germany, Turkey, Italy, and Poland qualified through the European Qualifying Tournament in Ankara, Turkey. China, Japan, Thailand, and Kazakhstan qualified as the best four Asian teams.

paragraph_text: In the final, Germany defeated Argentina 1 -- 0 to win the tournament and secure the country's fourth world title, the first after the German reunification in 1990, when as West Germany they also beat Argentina in the World Cup final. Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup staged in the Americas, and this result marked the first time that nations from the same continent won three consecutive tournaments (following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010).

paragraph_text: The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, U.S.A., was the 14th Olympic Championship. Twelve teams competed in the tournament, which was held from February 12 to 24. The United States won its second gold medal, including a win over the heavily favored Soviet Union that became known as the ``Miracle on Ice ''. Games were held at the Olympic Arena and the Olympic Fieldhouse.

paragraph_text: The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022. This will be the first World Cup held in Asia since the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. This will also be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Middle East, and in an Arab and a Muslim - majority country. This tournament will be the last to involve 32 teams, with an increase to 48 teams scheduled from the 2026 tournament.

paragraph_text: The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights on 2 December 2010. This will be the first World Cup held in Europe since the 2006 tournament in Germany; all but one of the stadium venues are in European Russia, west of the Ural Mountains to keep travel time manageable.

paragraph_text: In the early days of association football, known simply as football or soccer, friendly matches (or "friendlies") were the most common type of match. However, since the development of The Football League in England in 1888, league tournaments became established, in addition to lengthy derby and cup tournaments. By the year 2000, national leagues were established in almost every country throughout the world, as well as local or regional leagues for lower level teams, thus the significance of friendlies has seriously declined since the 19th century.

paragraph_text: Africa is the world's second largest and second most - populous continent (behind Asia in both categories). At about 30.3 million km (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

paragraph_text: The 2018 WGC - Bridgestone Invitational was a professional golf tournament held August 2 -- 5 on the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the 20th WGC - Bridgestone Invitational tournament, and the third of the World Golf Championships events in 2018.

paragraph_text: Ice hockey is a sport that is contested at the Winter Olympic Games. A men's ice hockey tournament has been held every Winter Olympics (starting in 1924); an ice hockey tournament was also held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympics also acted as the Ice Hockey World Championships, and the two events occurred concurrently. From 1920 until 1984, only amateur athletes were allowed to compete in the tournament, and players from the National Hockey League (NHL) were not allowed to compete. The countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state - sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs. In 1970, after a disagreement over the definition of amateur players, Canada withdrew from the tournament and did not send a team to the 1972 or 1976 Winter Olympics. In 1986, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to allow professional athletes to compete in the Olympics, and starting in 1998, the NHL allowed its players to participate. Women's ice hockey was added in 1992 and the first tournament was held at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Both events have been held at every Olympic Games since.

paragraph_text: Africa is the world's second - largest and second-most - populous continent (the first being Asia). At about 30.3 million km (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of its total land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition.

paragraph_text: Brazil is the largest country in South America, encompassing around half of the continent's land area and population. The remaining countries and territories are divided among three regions: The Andean States, the Guianas and the Southern Cone.

paragraph_text: Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil Portuguese pronunciation: (bɾaˈziw)), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help info)), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3.2 million square miles) and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth - largest country by area and the sixth most populous. The capital is Brasília, and the most populated city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, and the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

paragraph_text: The Copa América 1989 football tournament was hosted by Brazil, from 1 to 16 July. All ten CONMEBOL member nations participated.

paragraph_text: This is a list of island countries. An island is a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water. Many island countries are spread over an archipelago, as is the case with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Indonesia (which consists of thousands of islands). Others consist of a single island, such as Nauru, or part of an island, such as Haiti. Although Australia is designated as a continent, it is often referred to as an island, as it has no land borders. Some declared island countries are not universally recognized as politically independent, such as Northern Cyprus. Some states, such as Taiwan, officially claim to hold continental territories but are de facto limited to control over islands.

paragraph_text: The Spanish colonies won their independence in the first quarter of the 19th century, in the Spanish American wars of independence. Simón Bolívar (Greater Colombia, Peru, Bolivia), José de San Martín (United Provinces of the River Plate, Chile, and Peru), and Bernardo O'Higgins (Chile) led their independence struggle. Although Bolivar attempted to keep the Spanish - speaking parts of the continent politically unified, they rapidly became independent of one another.

paragraph_text: The state was founded in 1707 CE by Dost Mohammad Khan, an Pashtun soldier in the Mughal army, who became a mercenary after the Emperor Aurangzeb's death and annexed several territories to his fiefdom. It came under the suzerainty of the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1723 shortly after its foundation. In 1737, Marathas defeated the Mughals and the Nawab of Bhopal in the Battle of Bhopal, and started collecting tribute from the state. After the defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo - Maratha War, Bhopal became a British princely state in 1818. Bhopal State was the second largest state in pre-independence India, with a Muslim leadership, first being Hyderabad State. The state was merged into the Union of India in 1949 as Bhopal.

paragraph_text: After the Estonian War of Independence in 1919, the Estonian language became the state language of the newly independent country. In 1945, 97.3% of Estonia considered itself ethnic Estonian and spoke the language.

paragraph_text: The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty - one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation, Germany, for the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition (the first was in 1974 as West Germany), and the tenth time that it was held in Europe.

Question: When did the continent where the largest country within it held the football tournament become a collection of independent states?
Answer: the first quarter of the 19th century