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The first World Cup
On 26 May 1928, at a meeting in Amsterdam, the Fifa
congress decided that a new tournament open to all its members
should be played. A year later in Barcelona it was agreed that Uruguay,
the Olympic champions and the era's
footballing superpower, should celebrate 100 years of independence
by hosting
the first World Cup the following year.
Only 13 nations took part in the inaugural
tournament, with a majority of nine coming from South America. All
games were played in three stadiums in Montevideo and, as expected,
the South American countries dominated,
although the European teams did
not disgrace themselves.
Some 100,000 fans packed
into the Centenario Stadium for the final on 30 July to
see Argentina throw away a 2-1 half-time lead as Uruguay ran out
4-2 winners.
Jules Rimet, the Fifa president and brains
behind the World Cup, presented the trophy to winning captain
Jose Nazassi and football's greatest tournament was born.
After a pre-match row
over which ball to use for the final, it is believed the Argentine
ball was used in one half and the Uruguayan ball in the other. Rumour
has it that this is how the phrase "a game of two halves"
evolved.
Comprehension questions
Vocabulary
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