By: Laura Rivera
The 1930 FIFA World Cup Uruguay was the first edition of the World Football Championship organized by FIFA. It took place in Uruguay between July 13 and 30, 1930. FIFA decided to hand over the organization of the tournament to Uruguay in commemoration of the centenary of the Jura de la Constitución, which the nation celebrated during July of that same year, among other reasons.
13 national teams participated in the tournament (12 invited plus the organizer), divided into 4 groups: 3 groups of 3 teams and a group of 4 teams. The first two meetings in World Cup history took place simultaneously on July 13, when the United States defeated Belgium 3:0, while France defeated Mexico 4:1. The first goal of the competition was scored by the French player Lucien Laurent.
The teams from Argentina, the United States, Uruguay and Yugoslavia reached the semifinals after winning their respective groups. In the final, host Uruguay beat Argentina 4:2, before more than 68,000 spectators, winning their first FIFA-organized world title.
Since the founding of FIFA in 1904, the possibility of holding a tournament worldwide was raised. However, the newly formed organization did not have the necessary resources and infrastructure for such an event. Thus, they asked for support from the International Olympic Committee, which in 1906 accepted the inclusion of football in its sporting events. In 1914, FIFA officially recognized the tournament played in the Olympic Games as a “world football championship for amateurs”,[1] taking responsibility for organizing it during the next three Olympic events: from 1920 to 1928. Until that date, the Olympic football was organized by national associations, such as the English Football Association in 1908 and the Swedish Football Association in 1912.
The preliminary list of sports in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games did not include soccer, so FIFA and the International Olympic Committee disagreed to the point that it was finally not included. On May 26, 1928, a FIFA Congress was held in Amsterdam, where the creation of a specialized tournament, independent of the Olympic Games, open to FIFA members and in which professionalism was allowed, was voted on.[2] ] The proposal went ahead with 25 votes in favor and 5 against, so it was necessary to choose the venue.[3] This was also the only World Cup in which there was no qualifying process for participation.
Quickly, several European countries presented their candidacy (Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden), together with that of Uruguay, in South America.[1][4] Jules Rimet, After the tournament was awarded to Uruguay, the Organizing Committee distributed the invitations for the 16 places for the tournament. It has been the only edition of the World Cup without a qualifying phase. All the countries affiliated with FIFA were invited to compete, with the deadline for their response being February 28, 1930. Eager to show their interest in the competition, the American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, the United States , Mexico, Paraguay and Peru accepted the invitation.
In total there were 7 South American countries, more than in any other edition. However, there was notable rejection among European countries. They argued their absence due to the high costs involved in traveling by boat across the Atlantic Ocean and the serious economic crisis that had affected the world in the last year.[1][10] The Uruguayans offered to pay all the expenses involved and compensate the professional soccer teams for the absence of their players. Despite this, the majority continued to reject the invitation and attended the Nations Cup between clubs in Switzerland in the same month.[11] The Uruguayan Football Association sent a letter of invitation to the English Football Association, but its committee rejected the proposal on November 18, 1929.[12] Two months before the start of the tournament, no European team confirmed their presence. Due to the refusal of European countries to travel, the competition reduced the number of participants from 16 to 13.
The original idea was a tournament by direct elimination, but with 13 participants the organizers decided that the teams would be divided into four groups, through a league system, of which the champion of each group would qualify for the next phase.[ 18] Curiously, the draw to define them was made when all the participants disembarked on Uruguayan land. The reason was to be completely sure that all the teams drawn would participate in the World Cup. In addition, they wanted to guarantee that none of them gave up competing at the last moment if the draw was not favorable for them. In each match, the winning team would be awarded two points, the loser none, and in the event of a tie both would receive one point.
If at the end of the phase two teams were tied on points for first place, a tie-breaker would be played. The four group winners went on to a final phase with direct elimination in a single match, in which extra time was scheduled in the event of a tie. Two criteria were taken into account for the formation of the groups: maintaining the greatest interest in the championship and granting the other teams the possibility of having good matches.The championship groups were as follows: Group 1: Argentina, Chile, France and Mexico Group 2: Bolivia, Brazil, YugoslaviaGroup 3: Peru, Romania and Uruguay Group 4: Belgium, United States and Paraguay Uruguay being the total winner, defeating the Argentine team 4 to 2
