A Tournament With No Precedent
In the summer of 1930, football tried something it had never done before: a single tournament to crown a true world champion. There had been international football for decades, and there had been Olympic football, but never a stand-alone world championship just for the sport. The newly founded governing body, FIFA, decided to change that, and it chose South America for the launch. The host country was Uruguay.
Why Uruguay Hosted It
Picking Uruguay as host was not random. The Uruguayan team had won the football tournament at both of the previous two Olympic Games, in 1924 and 1928, beating European opposition each time. 1930 also happened to be the centenary of Uruguay's independence, and the country offered to build a brand-new national stadium for the occasion. With its football success and its willingness to invest, Uruguay was a fitting choice for a brand-new competition.
Thirteen Teams and No Qualifying
Just thirteen teams took part in the 1930 World Cup. There was no qualifying competition — FIFA simply invited national associations to send teams. The long sea voyage put many European countries off, and only four made the trip. The format was simpler than today's tournament too: a short group stage followed by knockout rounds, with no penalty shootouts or video review yet.
The First Final
The tournament ended with Uruguay facing their neighbours and rivals, Argentina, in the final, played at the freshly built Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. Argentina led 2–1 at half-time, but Uruguay scored three times in the second half to win 4–2 in front of a packed and noisy home crowd. With that match, Uruguay became the very first FIFA World Cup champions — a title that has never been taken away.
Source
This article was written using information from Wikipedia.