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1930, the first story

Ironically, the first ever World Cup — the grandest sporting spectacle in the world — was held in the tiny country of Uruguay.

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Ironically, the first ever World Cup — the grandest sporting spectacle in the world — was held in the tiny country of Uruguay.

The staging of the tournament was awarded to them as they were the Olympic champions at the time and were celebrating the centenary of their independence. Uruguay topped their special year by winning the inaugural championship, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final.

The first World Cup was the only one without qualification; teams were invited. Due to the long and costly trip across the Atlantic, very few European teams chose to participate; two months before the tournament started, no team from that continent had officially entered.

FIFA’s president, Jules Rimet, intervened, along with the Uruguayan government, which promised to pay the travel expenses of any travelling European team. Eventually four European teams made the three-week sea trip: Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia.

The first ever World Cup games, took place simultaneously on July 13; France beat Mexico 4-1, while the USA defeated Belgium 3-0 at the same time in Estadio Gran Parque Central. The first ever World Cup Final was played at the Centenario Stadium, Montevideo, on July 30.

A seemingly innocuous controversy overshadowed the build-up to the match as the teams disagreed on who should provide the match ball, forcing FIFA to intervene and decree that the Argentine team would provide the ball for the first half and the Uruguayans would provide their own for the second.

The game ended 4-2 to Uruguay. Jules Rimet presented the World Cup Trophy, which was later to be named after the man himself.

Only one player from that final, Francisco Varallo (who played as a striker for Argentina), is still alive today.

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