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THE FIRST WORLD CUP,
THE FIRST FOOTBALL LEGENDS
The genesis of
the "World Cup" idea.
Although football was officially born in 1904 with the
founding of FIFA, it wasn't until 1924 and the Olympic
tournament in Paris that the game really came into its own. In
Paris, for the first time, teams from other continents arrived
to take on the Europeans. The tournament was an unmitigated
success: 50,000 spectators watched Uruguay beat Switzerland in
the Final. In 1928 however, when many nations abstained from
the Olympic tournament in Amsterdam, the time was obviously
ripe for a new independent football tournament to be
established, free from the constraints of Olympic amateurism.
On 26 May 1928 in Amsterdam, the FIFA congress presided over
by Jules Rimet, voted that a new tournament be organised in
1930 and be open to all member nations. On 18 May 1929, the
Barcelona congress voted that Uruguay be the first nation to
host a World Cup.
Seafaring
footballers
The choice was a logical one for FIFA. Uruguay at this time
was the foremost footballing nation and 1930 marked its 100
years of independence. Although the news was greeted
enthusiastically in all football-playing countries, many
European nations harboured reservations about the prospect of
crossing the Atlantic, a journey which promised to be long,
tiring and costly. On 21 June 1930, the liner "Conte
Verde" set sail from Villefranche-Sur-Mer with only three
delegations aboard, the Belgian, French and Romanian.
A tremendous
sporting success
The first World Cup had only attracted thirteen nations,
including nine from South America. On the field of play
however, the quality of football produced was of the highest
standard. And whilst the public had expected to see a South
American domination, the 4 teams from Europe did more than
hold their own. As typified by the French team, beating Mexico
4 - 1 and going down narrowly to Argentina 1 - 0 in an epic
struggle. The referee, who had blown the final whistle 6
minutes early, finally - after fierce protestation - recalled
the players to the field, some of whom were already in the
shower!
First Final,
first legend
A few days later in the colossal Centenario stadium (100,000
capacity), the atmosphere was electric for all South American
Final between Uruguay and Argentina. In the crowd at
half-time, with Uruguay down 2 -1, the women wept and the men
prayed. Uruguay fought back bravely however and put three
second half goals passed the stunned Argentineans. Jules Rimet
presented the « Victoire aux ailes d'or » trophy, a
statuette 30cm high, made of gold and weighing 4 kg (sculpted
by the Frenchman Abel Lafleur), to the Uruguayan captain José
Nazassi. Celebrations in Montevideo went on for several days
and nights and the day after the famous victory, the 31 July,
was proclaimed a national holiday. The ball had begun to roll
for football's most prestigious prize and the universal nature
of the game had been officially proclaimed!
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