Jules Rimet, FIFA president at the time, came up with the idea of the World Cup in the previous decade, and the first one was held in, and won by, Uruguay at the dawn of the 1930's. Two more global tournaments were held in the 30's, until the tournament was put on hold due to WW2. The sport was largely intertwined with politics in this era, for example the fortunes of the Italian national team were largely steered by Benito Mussolini, and with German football on the cusp of turning professional, Hitler took over and all German sides were forced to remain amateur until after the war. Teams were told to appease whoever was in charge of the government at the time, with fear that the slightest misstep could be the spark to cause the world to descend into chaos. Clubs and national teams found themselves used as pawns for propaganda purposes, and in some ways, football began to take a back seat as the world geared up, once again, for war.