Governing Bodies
VIDEO: ON THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD CUP 1ST GOAL, FIFA PAYS TRIBUTE TO LUCIEN LAURENT, THE SCORER
To mark the 90th anniversary of the first goal ever scored at the FIFA World Cup, FIFA.com recalls the career of the man who scored it: Lucien Laurent of France.
Firsts are never forgotten. In scoring the first ever goal in FIFA World Cup™ history, in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo on 13 July 1930, France’s Lucien Laurent set his side on the road to a 4-1 victory over Mexico and wrote his name in the football record books.
Modest to a fault, however, Laurent barely spoke about his legendary contribution to the game in the years that followed.
Capped ten times by his country, he ended his career as player-coach at Besancon before buying a bar, where he very rarely discussed his 19th-minute volley against the Mexicans.
“[Ernest] Liberati put the cross in,” was all he would say if the topic came up, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Memories of his goal first came flooding back at a gala dinner held by the organisers of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy™. “I knew he’d played for France and taken part in the World Cup but that was it,” said his son Marc, with whom Laurent spent his final years.
By the time France 1998 came around, the former Sochaux player was virtually a national treasure, speaking at length as he dug deep into his memories and recalled tales that are part of World Cup folklore, such as the team’s voyage to Uruguay on the Italian liner Conte Verde, which set sail from Villefranche-sur-Mer on 19 June 1930. “Fifteen days to get there and 15 days to come back,” recalled Laurent.
A Uruguayan odyssey
The France squad was joined on the ship by the Belgium and Romania players and a number of dignitaries, among them Laurent’s fellow Frenchman Jules Rimet, the then FIFA president and the founder of the World Cup.
“The French federation had a job getting a team together because several of the players they selected had to pull out,” explained Laurent.
“Their bosses wouldn’t let them take two months off. I worked for Peugeot at the time, as did three of my team-mates: my brother Jean, Andre Maschinot and Etienne Mattler.”
The voyage was free of incident, the peace and tranquillity of the crossing only being broken by the sound of the three teams jogging on the deck.
France played their opening match of the tournament at Pocitos, Penarol’s home ground. Built especially for the competition, the now-legendary Estadio Centenario was not quite ready in time to host the match.
“When I scored my goal, which was the first of the tournament and my first for France, we congratulated each other but without jumping all over one another like they do now,” added Laurent, who was a somewhat critical observer of modern-day football: “There’s too much bad behaviour, too much cheating and not enough respect for the opposition and the referee. And international players are looked after like babies these days. Everything gets done for them, whereas we had to sort things out for ourselves.”
In France’s second match, a 1-0 defeat to Argentina, Laurent suffered an ankle injury and had to stand out on the left wing, those being the days when no substitutes were allowed. That injury kept him out of France’s third and final match against Chile, which ended in another 1-0 loss.
There was also emotion in his voice when he recalled his second and last international goal, which came against England in a friendly played on 14 May 1931. “We were still amateurs, while the English were already professionals,” he said.
Laurent died on 11 April 2005 in Besancon, but he will always be remembered for the part he played in the history of the World Cup.
Lucien Laurent in brief
- Born: 10 December 1907, Saint-Maur-des-Fosses (France)
- Height: 1.62m
- Weight: 65kg
- Position: Midfielder
- Caps: 10
- Goals: 2
Laurent’s France career
- 1 August 1930: BRAZIL 3-2 FRANCE (unofficial)
- 23 February 1930: PORTUGAL 2-0 FRANCE
- 13 April 1930: FRANCE 1-6 BELGIUM
- 13 July 1930: MEXICO 1-4 FRANCE
- 15 July 1930: ARGENTINA 1-0 FRANCE
- 15 March 1931: FRANCE 1-0 GERMANY
- 14 May 1931: FRANCE 5-2 ENGLAND
- 29 November 1931: FRANCE 3-4 NETHERLANDS
- 20 March 1932: SWITZERLAND 3-3 FRANCE
- 10 April 1932: FRANCE 1-2 ITALY
- 19 May 1935: FRANCE 2-0 HUNGARY
Governing Bodies
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Congo officials over financial misconduct
FIFA’s ethics committee launched disciplinary proceedings against three senior Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) officials on Wednesday, including president Jean-Guy Mayolas, over allegations of financial misconduct.
Mayolas, his wife and his son were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after a criminal court in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, convicted them of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Media reports said their whereabouts were not known , and they were tried in absentia.
FECOFOOT general secretary Wantete Badji and treasurer Raoul Kanda are also subject to the disciplinary proceedings, FIFA said. Badji and Kanda were sentenced to five years each in prison by the court in Brazzaville for related charges.
“These proceedings follow the receipt of information and documents during an audit,” FIFA said in a statement.
-Reuters
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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.
The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.
The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.
The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
-AP
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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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