9781422278314

In 1928, Olympic organizers decided not to include soccer as an event at the following Olympic Games. The reason for this was that the 1932 Games were slated for Los Angeles and organizers feared that American audiences would not show up for the matches due to the low popularity of the sport in America. At this point, Rimet decided that this was the perfect opportunity for FIFA to stage its own championship every four years, one where professional players were welcome to play, unlike at the Olympics. Allowing professionals to play had long been a point of contention between FIFA and the International Olympic Committee. 1930World Cup Rimet chose Uruguay as the site of the very first FIFA World Cup, and scheduled the tournament for 1930. Uruguay had won the previous two Olympic soccer gold medals. European countries were not happy with the selection of a South American location, and all said they would skip the event. Eventually, Rimet was able to convince France, Belgium,

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