History of the FIFA World Cup to host the 1942 FIFA World Cup at the 23rd FIFA Congress on 13 August 1936 in Berlin. In June 1939, Brazil also applied to host the tournament. The beginning of European hostilities in September 1939 prompted further plans for the 1942 World Cup to be cancelled, before a host country was selected. The FIFA tournament did not take place. During World War II, FIFA struggled to keep itself afloat, and it had no financial or personnel resources with which to plan a peacetime tournament for when hostilities ended. When the war ended in 1945, it was clear that FIFA
1950 FIFA World Cup in qualifying, to fill the gaps left by Scotland and Turkey. Portugal and Ireland refused, but France initially accepted, and was entered into the draw. The draw, held in Rio on 22 May 1950, allocated the fifteen remaining teams into four groups: After the draw, the Indian football association AIFF decided against going to the World Cup, citing travel costs (although FIFA had agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses), lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing the Olympics over the FIFA World Cup. Although FIFA had imposed a rule banning barefoot play following the