Soccer Personalities to Remember: Jules Rimet
Who is Jules Rimet?
Jules Rimet was a French-born lawyer and football administrator.
He was born on October 4, 1873, in Theuley, Franche-Comté, France.
What Was His Contribution to the Game of Soccer?
Jules Rimet started making contribution to the game of soccer very early in his life.
He established the Red Star sports club in France in 1897, for the promotion of different sports, including soccer, when he was just 24-years-old.
He also founded the French football club Red Star Saint-Ouen, and was the president of the French Football Federation from 1919 to 1942.
The history and development of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, and World Cup would not be complete without mentioning his name.
He headed FIFA between 1921 and 1954, a total of 33 years, making him the longest-serving FIFA president till date.
It was during his reign that FIFA held the first-ever Soccer World Cup, which was inaugurated in Uruguay in 1930.
The most influential FIFA President was, in some football quarters, credited with being the inventor of the World Cup.
Before then, FIFA, under his presidency, had helped to organise the 1924 and 1928 Olympic soccer events which inspired it set up its own event, which is the World Cup, which has now grown to become the biggest single-sporting event in the world.
Because of the important role he played in the establishment of the FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup trophy was named in his hounour as the “Jules Rimet Trophy.”
He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1956 for the peace he brought into the game of football, especially after the Second World War, WWII.
The great French football administrator died in Suresnes, France, on October 16, 1956, two days after his 83rd birthday.
In 2004, he was posthumously made a member of the FIFA Order of Merit, an award that was received by his grandson, Yves Rimet.
He was also portrayed by Academy Award-nominated French actor Gérard Depardieu in the 2014 biographical drama United Passions.
Soccer Personalities to Remember: Jules Rimet. THE END.
By John Asamoah
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