Now the 21st football World Cup Championship is well under way let’s take a look at some stamps from the past celebrating the event. The winner of the first competition, held in 1930, was Uruguay.
In 2005, 75 years after that victory, Uruguay produced the above stamp set. Three of the stamps feature scenes connected with the Final which Uruguay won, defeating Argentina 4-2. The other stamp looks forward to the 2006 World Cup which was held in Germany.
Uruguay had already won football Olympic Gold Medals in 1924 and 1928.
The stamps above celebrate those Olympic Games victories.
And that great footballing nation was once more a World Cup winner in 1950, when they defeated hosts Brazil at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro by two goals to one in front of what is still the record attendance of 171,772 fans.
Uruguay stamps from 1951 issued after the win.
The 1950 host country, to date five-times winner of the competition, had their first success in 1958, defeating Sweden 5-2 in the final. That incredible footballer Pele, then 17 years old, scored two of Brazil’s goals.
Brazil 1958.
More on this subject when the outcome of the current competition is known.
