Jules Rimet

Jules Rimet represented in a stamp issued by Hungary

Known as the Catholic visionary who founded the World Cup, I thought it would be fitting to give tribute today to Jules Rimet, as we follow the 2018 World Cup in Russia with may surprises, as past winners keep tumbling out, one after the other. Italy, winner of 4 finals did not even make it to Russia, then Germany, also winners of 4 finals, got knocked out, as did Argentina, winner of 2 finals. Then it was Spain’s turn to return home, and now only Uruguay, France, Brazil and England are the only past winners still left in the round of 16, trimming it to 8 by tomorrow. And with Brazil and England playing over the next 2 days, who knows what may happen to them? But back to Rimet, Jules was born on October 14 1873 and grew up mostly in Paris, where he became a lawyer and was involved in many social humanitarian projects. As a young boy he was an altar-boy and a choir member at his church. As an adult he worked hard to harmonize the reltionship between church and state. Realizing how sport can bring people together, he tried to involve many young people from the working class into sports, especially football or soccer. He founded the Red Star Saint Ouen, one of the best teams in France, and continued to climb the ladder of success as an adminstrative spearhead in international sport. In 1921, he became the President of the Federation Internationale de Football (FIFA), a role he cherished for 33 years. After World War I, which brought a lot of division among nations, he introduced the World Cup in 1930, and he himself went to Uruguay to host the first competition. 

The Jules Rimet Cup on the left and the new trophy on the right.

The cup was named the Jules Rimet trophy. He also insisted that the players taking part would be people who would be able to earn a living by practising their sport. It is unfortunate however that nowadays the players are multi-millionaires, which led Jules’ grandson Yves to say:’”My grandfather would be very disappointed today to see the sport he loved being dominated by the business of money.” The Jules Rimet trophy was awarded permanently to Brazil in 1970, for winning the World Cup three times, and a new cup was created for subsequent competitions.