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the beginning of a new
era in world football
and the inaugural
event proved
a
re-
markable success, both
in a sporting and a finan-
cial sense. Of course,
the organisers
were disap-
pointed
t h a t
o n l y
four Euro-
pean sides had
participated. The anger in Montevi-
deo was so intense in fact that four
years later, world champions Uru-
guay became the first and only team
to refuse to defend their title.
When the Congress convened in Bu-
dapest in 1930, it thanked Uruguay
for staging the world championship
for the first time in difficult condi-
tions. It also noted its regret at seeing
only a minimum number of teams
participating from Europe.
The significance of the new tourna-
ment only increased following the
setback FIFA suffered in the lead-up
to the 1932 Olympic Games in Los
Angeles. After failing to settle dif-
ferences of opinion over the amateur
status of footballers with the Interna-
tional Olympic Committee regarding
the amateur status of football players,
plans to organise the Olympic Foot-
ball Tournament were abandoned.