The origins of FIFA World Cup
It’s one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas on the planet. Thirty-two teams from around the globe compete for national glory, defending their country’s pride with valour and skill shown on the field. In the eighteen tournaments held thus far, seven nations have taken home the world cup: Brazil leads the pack with an astounding five times, followed by current defending champions Italy, and Germany with three titles. Uruguay and Argentina boast of two wins, whereas France and England hold one title apiece.
The FIFA World Cup unites these nations under the banner of one sporting event, breaks all geographical and cultural barriers, and remains the most-watched experience the world over. Fact: an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. (FIFA.com) This year’s FIFA World Cup has one more ace up its sleeve: for the first time an African nation is hosting the tournament.
But how did the FIFA World Cup craze start? The passion of an infinite number of fans who await the next tournament as soon as the past one ends … It all started after the success of international football tournaments, even in the Olympics. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association or the ‘International Federation of Association Football’) was founded in Paris in 1904, as an organization that would govern the game that had achieved worldwide popularity.
In the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football was recognized as an official sporting event. FIFA in 1914 recognized the Olympic Tournament as a ‘world football championship for amateurs’ (Wikipedia.com) and took on the responsibility for the supervision of the championship. FlFA saw the accomplishment of the following Olympic Games as a success and wanted to device a championship of its own. All associated were asked, with FIFA President Jules Rimet heading, and with special assistance of Secretary of the French Football Federation, Henri Delaunay.
They examined the committee’s wishes and brainstormed for ideas. On the 28th of May 1928, a proposal to stage a world championship organized by FIFA was put forward by the Executive Committee of the FIFA congress in Amsterdam. Now the hosting country was to be chosen. Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden immediately showed their willingness but Uruguay was the favourite and not just because of its Olympic gold medal wins in 1924 and 1928, but also, the country was celebrating its 100th anniversary of independence in 1930 at great expense.
Furthermore the national association was willing to cover all the expenditure, including the travel and accommodation of the participating teams. While Uruguay would take on the deficit and other possible profits will be shared. Therefore in 1929 in Barcelona these offers made the FIFA Congress decide that Uruguay was to host the first FIFA World Cup™.
The proceedings of the first competition didn’t go as smoothly as planned. There were a couple of reasons for this; the first one, of course, being that this was the first World Cup ever. Apart from that, Europe was in an economic crisis and the clubs were unwilling to send their players to host nation Uruguay for two months, as this would be an expensive trip. Eventually a lot of associates withdrew from participation and Rimet had to pull some strings to ensure the participation of some European countries namely: France, Belgium, Romania and Yugoslavia. A total of thirteen nations took part in the championship.
The first FIFA World Cup opened at the brand-new Estadio Centenario in Montevideo on 18th July 1930. Lucien Laurent of France holds the honour of scoring the first goal in FIFA World Cup History. It was the beginning of a new era in world football and the inaugural event proved a remarkable success, both in a sporting and a financial sense. Of course, the organizers were disappointed that only four European sides had participated. The anger in Montevideo was so intense, that four years later the world champions Uruguay became the first and only team to refuse to defend their title.
When the Congress convened in Budapest in 1930, it thanked Uruguay for staging the world championship for the first time in difficult conditions. It also noted its regret at seeing only a minimum number of teams participating from Europe. This year the World Cup promises to be as thrilling and pulse-racing an event as ever. With the issues of exclusion of senior players due to injuries and not being toned enough, new blood is flowing in. The Cup being held for the first time in South Africa itself is another controversy. With low amounts of tickets sold in comparison to the football-crazy nation, it is still expected that Cup will be a major success. Teams have started announcing their final squads and they do seem attractive, promising to give to the world a show worth remembering.
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