From the time it was formed in 1904, FIFA claimed rights to organising the football World Cup but it took 26 years to hold the first mega tournament.⁠ .⁠ Economic depression, lack of interest in a professional global tournament and the long travel times to South America meant most top European footballing nations refused to take part in the inaugural World Cup.⁠ .⁠ In the only world cup where all member nations were invited to participate without any qualification criteria, seven of the 13 teams were from the Americas. ⁠ .⁠ Belgium, France, Romania and Yugoslavia were roped in less than two months before the tournament. All four teams arrived in the host city of Montevideo on the same vessel and missed out on a crucial training period due to their cross-Atlantic journey.⁠ .⁠ Coming into the tournament on the back of two consecutive Olympic gold medals, and being the host nation, Uruguay were clear favourites and lived up to expectations by remaining unbeaten.⁠ .⁠ The hosts opened the scoring but went into halftime trailing 2-1. Uruguay kept the pressure and eventually sealed a 4-2 win to become the first world champions.⁠ .⁠ 🔗Tap the link in our bio for more. ⁠ .⁠ #Qatar2022 #FIFA #WorldCup #Football #Sport #Economy #Europe #Champions ⁠#FIFAWorldCup2022⁠ .⁠ 📸 Hulton Picture Library, @allsportin