In 1930, an ocean liner called the Conte Verde set sail from Genoa.

The final destination, Montevideo, Uruguay. Three soccer teams are aboard the ship,

one from Romania, another from Belgium, and the third from France, along with some referees.

For nearly two weeks, they journey across the sea. In close quarters, everyone sort of sizing each

other up, because when they make landfall in Uruguay, they'll be competing against each other

in the first ever World Cup. The French start training really early in the morning, so they

don't disturb the other passengers, running around the deck, running up and down stairs, you can sort of pull up some pipes.

And then the Romanian see them doing this thing, hang on, maybe we should be doing some of that as well.

But they also have a lot of free time.

And sometimes they just hang out.

They have dance contests.

It was like a holiday camp. We were young men having fun.

And there's one man on the ship, watching it all with deep satisfaction.

This very dapper man with silver hair, very careful mustache.

He's not a player, not a ref.

He's the guy who came up with this whole idea for a World Cup.

And in his suitcase is a statue 30 centimeters high weighing four kilograms, the new World Cup

trophy. His name, Jules Ramei. And for him, there's a lot more than just soccer writing on this inaugural tournament.

The main thing is peace. We need peace. Soccer can bring peace.

He had big dreams for the World Cup, believing it could bring together countries from around the world,

people who might otherwise have nothing in common, at least for a hundred years. Nearly a hundred years after that ship set sail to Uruguay.

Here we are getting ready for the 23rd World Cup. The U.S., Mexico,

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