International Football
IT’S 90 YEARS SINCE THE FIRST WORLD CUP FINAL
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
How time flies! It is 90 years today since the first FIFA World Cup final was played. What looked like a mere laboratory experiment has grown today to be the biggest single sporting event as the FIFA World Cup has become the most coveted and the biggest sports’ prize in the world.
The first final match, which took place on this date, 30 July 1930, was a contest between hosts, Uruguay and Argentina at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. The hosts won 4-2.
The World Cup final match was a replay of the gold medal match of the preceding Olympic Games at Amsterdam 1928. The Olympic Games final match was won, 2-1 by Uruguay after a replay after a 1-1 draw in the initial final match.
It was the last time for many years that a South American team won the Olympic gold as subsequent 13 tournaments spanning 68 years were won by European nations until that of 1996 when Nigeria sensationally broke the trend.
The 1930 World Cup was contested the only one contested without a qualifying tournament. It was by general invitation and only 13 teams from three confederations attended.
In the final match, the two teams had to provide the balls for the game. The first half was played with the ball supplied by Argentina who also led 2-1 at halftime.
The ball supplied by Uruguay was used in the second half and they won the game 4-2, to double as both Olympic and World Cup winners.
Their coach at the time, Alberto Suppici, aged 31, remains the youngest coach ever to win the World Cup.
Seventy years down the line, all the major characters of the World Cup are dead. The last living player was Francisco Varallo of Argentina. He died aged 100 on 30 August 2010.
The last surviving player of the first World Cup winners was Ernestp Mascheroni who died, aged 76 on 3 July 1984. The last surviving journalist of the first World Cup was
Luis Alfredo Sciutto, a Uruguayan journalist who wrote under the pen name – Diego Lucero.
He covered a record 15 editions of the World Cup from 1930 to USA ’94.
He passed away on 3 June 1995, aged 94. The 1930 World Cup final match was played on a Wednesday, which along with that of 1966, the only final not played on a Sunday. The 1966 final was on a Saturday.
Conjointly with the 1930 final match, the 1966 edition is also having its anniversary today, as it is 54 years since it was played. The 1930 remains the only one not played on a weekend.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Mexican goalkeeper joins camp for 6th World Cup appearance
Mexico keeps school calendar unchanged after backlash over World Cup plan
Relatives of Mexico’s disappeared hold Mother’s Day protest ahead of World Cup
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SANUSI CHARGES NIGERIAN COACHES TO BE UPRIGHT, DILIGENT
- Boxing1 week ago
Usyk backs Joshua to beat Fury ahead of heavyweight showdown
- World Cup4 days ago
FIFA Plans Three Opening Ceremonies in All Host Nations for 2026 World Cup
- World Cup3 days ago
United States Unveils Hollywood-Style FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony
- World Cup3 days ago
Mexico president wavers on plan to cut school year by 40 days for the World Cup
- World Cup4 days ago
Burna Boy Joins Shakira for Official 2026 World Cup Song ‘Dai Dai’
- World Cup7 days ago
Despite 2026 Absence, Nigeria Still Leads Africa’s World Cup Winners’ Chart
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Sporting Lagos Crowned 2026 NNL Champions After Dramatic Super Four Finale
- Premier League3 days ago
Man United’s Fernandes and City’s Shaw win FWA Footballer of the Year awards