Grand view: A full moon sets behind the Christ the Redeemer statue on top of Corcovado hill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 25, 2013.

The wait is over. Soccer fans around the world become one in a month-long celebration of exhilarating matches where countries are rivals, not enemies.

Agence France-Presse and Jakarta-based Antara news agency are holding a photo exhibition to mark the 2014 FIFA World Cup at Galeri Foto Jurnalistik Antara in Central Jakarta from June 9 to July 15.

The joint exhibition features 83 photographs taken from AFP archives about the quadrennial event from since the inaugural tournament in 1930 in Uruguay until the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Mervin Nambiar, AFP Asia-Pacific sales and marketing director, said the news agency held a similar historical exhibition for every World Cup competition.

'€œWe hold the photography exhibition, which basically depicts the history of the World Cup from the beginning until the latest tournament,'€ he said at the exhibition'€™s opening night.

This year, he said AFP chose to hold the exhibition in Jakarta because the news agency had a strong relationship with Antara.

Historic moment: Brazilian forward Pele (top) celebrates with his teammates (from left) Tostao, Carlos Alberto and Jairzinho during the World Cup final between Brazil and Italy on June 21, 1970 in Mexico City. Brazil won 4-1 to capture its third World title after winning in 1958 in Sweden and in 1962 in Chile.

'€œBasically our intention is to show soccer fans what the press is doing throughout the competition. We work to bring the news and coverage, delivering the thrills and spills of the games,'€ Nambiar said.

The photography exhibition also aims at reminding the public of other journalistic elements involved in covering the World Cup.

'€œVery often people think of the televised coverage of the event, but news agencies also deploy a lot of resources to bring news in terms of text, pictures, graphics and animation. The photography exhibition is to show an example of what we do.'€

Nambiar said he hoped many Indonesian soccer fans would come to the exhibition. '€œWe want to encourage them to come and see, and enjoy the pictures to get a very good idea of what the World Cup is all about,'€ he says.

Brazilian Ambassador to Indonesia Paulo Alberto da Silveira Soares, who was present at the exhibition'€™s opening, said he was really delighted with the Indonesian fascination with soccer.

'€œI see that Indonesians really enjoy soccer. I get a similar Brazilian vibe about Indonesian soccer fans. It'€™s similar to the way Brazilians play soccer,'€ he said.

All in the game: Argentinian forward Diego Armando Maradona (third left) runs past English defender Terry Butcher (left) on his way to dribbling past goalkeeper Peter Shilton (right) and scoring his second goal, or goal of the century, during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Argentina and England on June 22, 1986, in Mexico City. Argentina advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 victory.
He also said Brazilians did not consider soccer only a sport, but more of a dance, like ballet.

'€œSoccer is the essence of life. Indonesia is a little bit like Brazil in that sense,'€ Soares said. '€œSoccer transcends politics, economics and religions. Soccer is pure art.'€

The pictures exhibited were selected and curated from the AFP archives by Antara through its photography division director Oscar Motuloh.

In his curatorial notes, Oscar said soccer had stolen the hearts of people across the globe, who were willing to shed their identity to come together to share a collective happiness.

'€œIn the words of Indonesians, torang samua basodara. We are all brothers,'€ he said.

Oscar said soccer did not know any boundaries and people from all walks of life embraced it.

'€œFrom regular people to those ruling nations, from the protagonists to the antagonists. Soccer is in the hearts of all people who love peace and plurality,'€ Oscar said.

Through the AFP photography archive, members of the public are invited to look into the future.

'€œSoccer is only a game, but by appreciating its sporting values, we can learn about life. When we appreciate it and have peace in our heart, when soccer frees us from our individual identities, we become citizens of the soccer universe. If only for a month.'€

'€” Photos courtesy of AFP