MORE THAN JUST FOOTBALL. REFLEXIONS ON THE CASE OF THE 1954 WORLD CUP IN SWITZERLAND

Abstract

From 16 June to 4 July 1954, Switzerland hosted the fifth Football World Cup. Interestingly,
between the qualifying round (group phase) and the final round of the event (elimination
phase), the organisers instigated a break of one week, with the idea that these few days
would allow foreign tourists present to visit the country. This article examines the concern for
tourism among World Cup organisers, in particular those on the Swiss organizing committee.
This preoccupation cannot be taken for granted. The question of tourism was not simply an
economic one, however, and it proved to be decisive in attempts to generate support for
the tournament from some local political authorities or even fringes of the population. While
historians have already studied the links between sport and tourism, the consideration of the
tourism component by members of an organizing committee for an international sporting event
has not received much attention.