By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (February 1^st 2021)

Undermined

The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) realised that the Olympic Games Football Tournament could not serve the interests of world football any longer. The football associations of the four home countries that made up Great Britain and also Denmark’s had created a schism that required reorganisation. Football had to decide whether it would stay a sport true to its working class roots on a world level or be one for those who could afford to play as the Home Nations wanted.

Uruguay earned the right to host the first FIFA World Cup. It did so by winning the previous Olympic Games Football Tournaments. The 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games Football Tournaments are unofficial World Cups – they are the reason that Uruguay has 4 stars on its national shirt. But they posed a rapid test for FIFA. Uruguay offered to pay both transport and accommodation costs. However, there were notable absentees including Italy. Even though the European bidders for the inaugural World Cup had all withdrawn, leaving Uruguay the only bidder, Italy and other European nations chose not to attend – their choice. But there were no sanctions. This was a boycott and an extremely cynical one at that. Not only did Italy face no sanction but worse followed. FIFA allowed them to host the next World Cup – a gross insult to its World Champions – one that Uruguay did not forgive. They not only boycotted 1934’s World Cup but 1938 as well even though France, the 1938 host had played in Uruguay. Although France’s captain in 1930, Alexandre Villaplane, would be a man les Bleus would want to forget about. On Boxing Day 1944 Villaplane would be executed by firing squad after being expose as a despicable war criminal.

The Oriundo

But while Italian footballers were conspicuous by their absence from Uruguay in 1930, some Italians attended it and they did so with a plan to recruit Argentinian players to switch allegiance and play for Italy instead. Players could change national allegiances fairly easily then.

Italy took full advantage. There were several Oriundo in Italian sport[1] – it preceded the World Cup. Italy were tracking them, planning on recruiting some if they were good enough and Argentina lost the inaugural FIFA World Cup. Both happened. 

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[1]Oriundi (the plural) were people of Italian descent. They were citizens of both Italy and the land of their birth. This was used in sport by Italy during the fascist rule of the country to build stronger Italian national teams. The most successful Italian national team manager, Vittorio Pozzo, used and defended the policy.

FIFA rules at the time allowed players to easily switch nationality – a policy which permitted the late great Alfredo di Stéfano to play for Argentina, Colombia and Spain. However, by far the most controversial use of the policy was Oriundi. It was used to target and recruit and gutted the first Argentinian team to play in a World Cup Final.