On this day in history, 1930, the first World Cup matches took place in Montevideo, Uruguay. Interestingly, many of the best teams didn’t even compete in the tournament – Europe was in a depression, and many European players opted not to take time off work to play, for fear that their jobs would no longer be theirs upon return. The final match was played on July 30, and Uruguay won, beating Argentina 4-2.

The Global Game, edited by John Turnbull, Thom Satterlee, and Alon Raab, is a collection of writers’ reflections on the game of soccer, which, unlike that first World Cup, is truly a game played throughout the world. Read more about the book here.  And read more about the first World Cup here.