World Cup
Centenary World Cup will be utterly unrecognisable from 1930
The inaugural soccer World Cup in Uruguay in 1930 featured 13 teams, after a desperate late push to persuade any Europeans to attend and after Egypt missed their ship connection, and created only a ripple of news beyond South America.
On Wednesday FIFA announced that in recognition of the centenary, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay would each host a game in the 2030 edition that will be co-hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal.
In contrast to the little-noticed 1930 event, in 2030 billions of eyes, via technology unimaginable almost 100 years ago, will be focused on every minute of action. Instead of 13 teams, almost a quarter of the world’s countries will be in action after the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams for 2026.
And while most of the players of 1930 were amateurs, those taking to the field in 2030 will include some of the highest-paid and most recognisable sportsmen in the world.
For the modern fan it is almost impossible to visualise the 1930 World Cup. Even though international football had been in existence for almost 60 years, its reach was limited and cross-continent contests were relatively rare beyond the Olympic Games.
There was no qualification process for the 1930 tournament, instead the entire world was invited. Two months before kickoff no European team had accepted, while England, outside FIFA at the time, considered such a contest below them and did not deign to enter until 1950.
Eventually four were persuaded to make the long sea journey – Belgium, France, Yugoslavia and Romania. Siam, now Thailand, entered then withdrew and have never qualified since, as did Japan, who had to wait until 1998 to belatedly join the party.
Egypt were due to fly the flag for Africa but missed their connecting ship leaving an unwieldy 13 teams in the competition.
After an unexpectedly competitive group stage, both semi-finals were 6-1 thrashings as Argentina despatched the United States and Uruguay hammered Yugoslavia.
The U.S., one of three hosts of the 2026 tournament alongside Mexico and Canada, played much of their semi with nine men in days when substitutes were a distant dream.
After one violent assault on an American player, coach Jack Coll ran on to the pitch to remonstrate with the referee, famously tripped and smashed a bottle of chloroform. Knocked out by the fumes, he was stretchered off alongside his injured player.
In the final Uruguay, who had claimed the previous two Olympic football titles which made them unofficial world champions at the time, beat their fierce Argentine rivals 4-2 in Estadio Centenario, which will host one of the three games in 2030.
They won it again in 1950 and have been punching above their weight football-wise ever since. Argentina eventually claimed their first victory in 1978 and added two more in 1986 and 2022 as an established footballing superpower.
Quite why Paraguay, who played in the first tournament but have reached the quarter-finals only once, have been given a match, and automatic qualification according to their federation president, FIFA has yet to explain.
-Reuters
Veteran Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has hinted that the upcoming FIFA World Cup could mark the final chapter of his illustrious international career after announcing that he has joined what he described as his “last training camp” with the national team.
The 40-year-old shot stopper is widely expected to be named in coach Javier Aguirre’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Mexico will co-host alongside the United States and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
In an emotional message posted on social media on Monday, Ochoa reflected on his long journey with the Mexican national team.
“Putting this shirt on again was never routine … it was a privilege,” he wrote. “Today begins my last training camp. But this time I see it differently. With a fuller heart, more scars, more memories, and the same excitement as the child who once dreamed of defending this badge.”
If selected, Ochoa will join an exclusive group of players to feature in six FIFA World Cups, alongside football icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The experienced goalkeeper previously represented Mexico at the Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups.
Ochoa, who currently plays for AEL Limassol in Cyprus, also recently suggested that the tournament could signal the end of his professional career.
Speaking to Mexican broadcaster TUDN last month, he admitted that the World Cup “could be the end for me after the World Cup” as he prepares for what is expected to be his final season in football.
“I’ve experienced unforgettable nights, endless matches, anthems that still give me goosebumps, and moments that changed my life forever,” Ochoa added in his social media post.
“And still, every time Mexico calls, something inside me begins again.”
Widely regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest goalkeepers, Ochoa has earned more than 150 international caps and produced several memorable World Cup performances during his career.
Among his standout moments were a remarkable display against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup and his penalty save from Poland captain Robert Lewandowski during the Qatar 2022 tournament.
Mexico will continue their preparations for the World Cup with friendly matches against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4 before opening their Group A campaign against South Africa on June 11.
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Mexico’s education authorities agreed on Monday to keep the 2025-2026 school calendar unchanged, reversing a proposed early end to the academic year that had drawn criticism from parents and raised questions about disruptions linked to the World Cup.
Related Story: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/05/09/mexico-president-wavers-on-plan-to-cut-school-year-by-40-days-for-the-world-cup/
The federal education ministry and state authorities unanimously agreed to preserve the existing 185-day school calendar, Education Minister Mario Delgado said, meaning the school year will still end on July 15 as originally scheduled.
Delgado said the agreement came in response to a call from President Claudia Sheinbaum, while also giving certainty to millions of Mexican families that organise their daily routines around the school calendar.
Authorities said states could still make local adjustments in extraordinary circumstances, including extreme heat or logistical challenges related to the World Cup.
Delgado had previously floated ending the school year on June 5 instead of July 15, citing high temperatures and the need to ease pressure in host cities during the tournament, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada.
-Reuters
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Thousands of people, led by mothers of those who have disappeared during decades of drug violence, marched in Mexico’s capital on Sunday, protesting the violence and impunity plaguing the country as it prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup.
Collectives of mothers of the missing, who march every Mother’s Day, called on soccer fans to join them, saying in a statement that “there is nothing to celebrate, because the mothers of Mexico are playing the most difficult match: the one for justice.”
“Mexico, champion in disappearances,” protesters chanted as they marched down Paseo de la Reforma, the signature boulevard in Mexico City, holding banners and signs emblazoned with pictures of missing people. They passed a roundabout surrounded by metal barriers that are permanently covered with pictures of the disappeared.
“We had to start fighting, because no one wanted to take charge of the disappearance (case),” said Graciela Perez Rodriguez, whose daughter and four other relatives disappeared in 2012 in the northern state of Tamaulipas as they travelled on a highway after a trip to the U.S.
Mexico has more than 130,000 missing people, with disappearances surging after 2006, when the country launched its war on drug cartels.
Police and other government officials are often implicated in the crimes. Mothers who search for their missing children themselves when authorities fail to act are sometimes also targeted by criminal groups and killed.
In March, Mexican authorities said they had potentially identified more than 40,000 people listed as disappeared who may be alive, after a review of the national registry of missing persons showed some activity across other government records.
But the public policy group Mexico Evalua found there has been a 200% increase in disappearances over the last decade, due to the growing power of organised crime groups.
Rodriguez said she worries that the case of her missing family members is no longer a priority since almost 14 years have passed.
-Reuters
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