The World Cup: Soccer's Global Championship

The World Cup: Soccer's Global Championship — page 5
Scotland pushed the action in the first half while the English were on the attack for much of the second half Scotland recorded a pair of near misses But that's as close as either side came to scoring And so the first international soccer match ended in a scoreless tie It may not have seemed like much at the time but the 0 0 deadlock marked the beginning of a new era in soccer The sport had stepped onto the world stage and soccer would never be the same FIFA AND THE FIRST WORLD CUP By 1900 soccer was well on its way to world domination As the sport spread through Europe and into the Americas professional associations leagues popped up all around the globe The sport was included as part of the 1900 Olympic Games with Great Britain beating France in the final match However the Olympic teams were composed only of amateur players Professionals weren't allowed Since the Olympics didn't include some of the best players in the world these games didn't really address the question of soccer superiority Yet the event did raise public interest in a true international competition Two years later Argentina routed Uruguay 6 0 in the first international match ever held outside the British Isles Even though the game was spreading Europe remained the center of the soccer world By 1904 Europe's many associations needed a common governing body to oversee international competition That year several European nations formed the Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA FIFA's grip on the game grew quickly It oversaw the soccer competition at the 1908 Olympics It expanded to South Africa in 1909 and Argentina in 1912 FIFA was fast becoming the dominant governing force in the ever expanding international game The seeds of the World Cup were sown in 1908 when Turin Italy hosted the Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva Unlike the Olympic Games this tournament included top professionals from around the globe The event featured 8 THE WORLD CUP