Héctor Rivadavia Gomez (
Dolores, Uruguay, 1880 –
Montevideo, 1931) was a journalist, politician, and football director of the
Uruguayan Football Association
The Uruguayan Football Association ( es, Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol — ) is the governing body of football in Uruguay. It was founded in 1900, as The Uruguayan Association Football League, and affiliated to FIFA in 1923. It is a founding m ...
. He was the creator and first president of the
CONMEBOL (and then honorary president). Rivadavia Gómez also encouraged the creation of the South American championships, currently known as "
Copa América".
Biography
As a journalist, Rivadavia Gómez made a career as chief of section in ''
El Día'' newspaper. He also directed ''El Telégrafo'' and founded other daily newspapers, ''
La Mañana'' and ''
El Diario''.
His political career started as deputy of
Colorado Party representing
Canelones Department
The Departamento de Canelones ( es, Departamento de Canelones; ) is one of the 19 uruguayan departments. With an area of and 518,154 inhabitants, it is located in the south of Uruguay. Its capital is Canelones.
Geography and climate
Neighbour ...
from 1908 to 1914. He also represented
Montevideo from 1923 to 1926. Rivadavia Gómez also worked in the Uruguayan Government, being in charge of the National Post Office of Uruguay.
He represented
Uruguayan Football Association
The Uruguayan Football Association ( es, Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol — ) is the governing body of football in Uruguay. It was founded in 1900, as The Uruguayan Association Football League, and affiliated to FIFA in 1923. It is a founding m ...
(AUF), achieving Uruguay was elected as host of the first
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
in
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
. He presided the AUF (1907–12) and club
Montevideo Wanderers
Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...
(1915–19, 1923).
Rivadavia Gómez was responsible for first proposing the idea of a
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
n football confederation, the origins of
CONMEBOL. An old personal project of him, it became a distinct possibility during
the first South American championship held in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
between July 2 and July 17, 1916, as part of the commemorations of
Argentina's Independence centenary.
On July 9, 1916, (the exact day of the 100th anniversary of Argentine Declaration of Independence), the football leaders of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
met in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to study his idea, which was approved ad-referendum by each of the national associations.
References
External links
Conmebol Official Website
Presidents of CONMEBOL
Association football executives
1880 births
1931 deaths
People from Dolores, Uruguay
Colorado Party (Uruguay) politicians
{{Uruguay-footy-bio-stub