The World Cup is the child of the Olympic football tournament. To be more specific, it is the child of the South American contribution to the Olympic football tournament.
In 1924, in Paris, Uruguay astonished allcomers with the brilliance of their football -- a new balletic style that thrilled the crowds as these unheralded players from a tiny country on the other side of the Atlantic cruised to the gold medal. It was the fruit of the rapid advancement of the South American game, fuelled by the birth of the Copa America in 1916 and held almost annually afterwards.