Fifa World Cup History

7/3/2014 English Reading Comprehension - Comprensin de lectura en ingls
http://saberingles.com.ar/reading/world-cup3.html 1/2
saberingles.com.ar Name:
Date:
History of the FIFA World Cup
The History of the FIFA World Cup started in 1928, when FIFA president Jules Rimet decided to stage an international
football tournament. The first competition, in 1930, consisted of just the final tournament of 13 invited teams. The
competition has subsequently expanded to a 2 year qualifying process involving almost 200 teams from all over the
world.
The first international football match was played in 1872 between England and Scotland, although at this stage the sport
was rarely played outside Great Britain. An expansion in international football led to FIFA being formed in May 1904,
comprised of football associations from seven continental European countries. As football began to increase in
popularity, it was held as a demonstration sport (with no medals awarded) at the 1900, 1904 and 1906 Summer
Olympics before football became an official competition at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Organised by England's
Football Association, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a
competition. The England national amateur football team won the event in both 1908 and 1912.
With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between amateur teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir
Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The competition is often described as The First World Cup, and
featured the most prestigious professional club sides from Italy, Germany and Switzerland. The first tournament was
won by West Auckland, an amateur side from north-east England that was invited after the Football Association refused
to be associated with the competition. West Auckland returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, and were given
the trophy to keep forever, as per the rules of the competition.
In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a "world football championship for amateurs", and took
responsibility for organising the event. This led the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition, at the
1924 Summer Olympics. Uruguay won the tournament, before winning the gold medal again in 1928, with another South
American team, Argentina, taking silver. In 1928 FIFA made the decision to stage their own international tournament.
With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and due to celebrate their centenary of independence in
1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country.
The 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as part of the programme due to the
low popularity of football in the United States. FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and
so football was dropped from the Games. FIFA president Jules Rimet thus set about organising the inaugural World Cup
tournament to be held in Uruguay in 1930. The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team,
but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for
European sides. Indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the
competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip. In
total 13 nations took part seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America.
The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously, and were won by France and the USA, who beat Mexico 4-
1 and Belgium 3-0, respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. Four days
later, the first World Cup hat-trick was achieved by Bert Patenaude of the USA in the Americans' 3-0 win against
Paraguay. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and became
the first nation to win a World Cup.
Thi s arti cl e i s l i censed under the GNU Free Documentati on Li cense. It uses materi al from the Wi ki pedi a arti cl e "Hi story of the FIFA
Worl d Cup". You can expl ore more on the Wi ki pedi a websi te. The text and the i mages are used here onl y for educati onal
purposes.

Questions about the text
1. The first international football match was played in 1872.
True.
7/3/2014 English Reading Comprehension - Comprensin de lectura en ingls
http://saberingles.com.ar/reading/world-cup3.html 2/2
False.
We don't know.
2. FIFA was created in 1904.
True.
False.
We don't know.
3. The first FIFA World Cup was played in Uruguay.
True.
False.
We don't know.
4. Uruguay was the first nation to win the World Cup.
True.
False.
We don't know.

Fifa World Cup History

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fifa World Cup History

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fifa World Cup History

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

7/3/2014 English Reading Comprehension - Comprensin de lectura en ingls

You might also like