| The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th time the | | | | interest in the sport, the need for a professional |
| best soccer teams from around the globe compete | | | | worldwide soccer tournament seemed to become |
| head to head in a bid to be crowned kings of the | | | | even more pressing. |
| soccer world. But do you know how it all got started | | | | Jules Rimet, then president of FIFA set about the |
| in the first place? | | | | task of organizing what would become the inaugural |
| The first recorded instance of an official soccer | | | | FIFA World Cup. Nations were invited rather than |
| match between nations was a game played between | | | | having to qualify and Uruguay was chosen as the |
| England and Scotland in 1872. At that time the sport | | | | competition venue, in part to celebrate the centennial |
| was rarely played outside the United Kingdom so the | | | | off the country's independence. |
| opportunities for "international play" were limited. | | | | The European nations were very poorly represented |
| By the time the twentieth century began, all that had | | | | during the first World Cup - only Belgium, France, |
| changed. Nations all over the globe were taking up | | | | Romania, and Yugoslavia made the trip. Strange as it |
| soccer and forming leagues. In an effort to bring | | | | may seem, for a nation that was apparently not |
| these nations together on the soccer pitch FIFA | | | | interested in soccer, it was a team from the USA |
| (Federation Internationale de Football Association) | | | | that won the inaugural World Cup match - beating |
| was born in Paris on May 22, 1904. | | | | Mexico 4-1 - and one of their players, Bert |
| In 1904 soccer was featured as a trial sport at the | | | | Patenaude, who scored the tournaments very first |
| Olympics, and became an officially recognized one at | | | | hat trick in a 3-0 win against Paraguay. |
| the 1908 games. However only amateur teams were | | | | For the all South American finals showdown between |
| allowed to participate, so FIFA began looking for | | | | Uruguay and Argentina, 93,000 people turned out to |
| ways to organize a competition between the world's | | | | watch the spectacle, which Uruguay won 4-2, |
| soccer professionals. When it was announced that | | | | becoming the first team to be crowned champions |
| soccer was to be dropped from the 1932 Olympic | | | | of the soccer world. |
| Games in Los Angeles because of the US lack of | | | | |