
Unknown author · Public domain · Source
Jules Rimet
French football administrator who, as president of FIFA (1921–1954), created the World Cup; the first trophy was named after him
Born in a small village in eastern France, he practised law in Paris and in 1897 founded the football club Red Star. He became president of the French football federation in 1919 and of FIFA in 1921. Unlike Olympic football, open only to amateurs, he championed a world tournament for professionals too, and after the 1928 congress approved it, the first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. In 33 years as president, until 1954, he made FIFA a worldwide body, and the first trophy bore his name.