First World Cup Kicks Off: Football Goes Global

FIFA's grand experiment in international football nearly collapsed before the first whistle blew, as most European nations refused to make the two-week steamship voyage to South America. Only thirteen teams competed in the inaugural World Cup, which kicked off in Montevideo, Uruguay, on July 13, 1930, with just four European sides willing to cross the Atlantic. Romania's King Carol II reportedly selected the squad himself, and the French team's ship picked up the Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro on the way south. Uruguay had lobbied hard to host the tournament, offering to pay all travel expenses and build a new 90,000-seat stadium, the Estadio Centenario, to celebrate the centennial of its constitution. Construction fell behind schedule, and the stadium was not ready until the fifth day of competition. Early matches were played at two smaller Montevideo grounds, Estadio Pocitos and Estadio Parque Central, before crowds that sometimes numbered only a few hundred. The tournament had no qualifying rounds. Teams were divided into four groups, with group winners advancing to the semifinals. Argentina and Uruguay dominated their groups and met in the final on July 30 before a crowd of 93,000. Fans crossed the River Plate from Buenos Aires by the boatload, and police searched spectators for weapons at the gates. Argentina led 2-1 at halftime, but Uruguay scored three times in the second half to win 4-2 and claim the first Jules Rimet Trophy. The aftermath was dramatic. Jubilant crowds in Montevideo fired guns into the air and declared a national holiday. In Buenos Aires, angry fans stoned the Uruguayan embassy. The two football federations broke off relations for years. Despite the chaos, the tournament proved that a world championship could captivate entire nations and generate intense emotional investment. FIFA had found its formula, and the World Cup would grow into the most-watched sporting event on the planet.