On October 10, 1912, it was late autumn in Western Europe. Although the temperature had dropped, the autumn air was crisp and the climate was cool and pleasant, which was very suitable for outdoor activities.
While war is raging in Southern Europe, Western Europe is immersed in a sports frenzy, especially in the Netherlands, because the third Football World Cup is being held in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Hague is located in the South Holland province of West Holland and is also the provincial capital. The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of nearly 300,000 and an area of about 100 square kilometers.
Although The Hague is not the capital of the Netherlands because the Dutch constitution stipulates that the capital is Amsterdam, it is the de facto seat of the central government of the Netherlands, and the King of the Netherlands lives and works in The Hague because the city has had a considerable political atmosphere since ancient times.
The Hague has been the political center of the Netherlands since the 13th century. Many government agencies, embassies, and international organizations are located in The Hague. The official residence of the King of the Netherlands and members of the royal family is also here, so The Hague is the "Royal City" of the Netherlands.
The third World Cup in The Hague is larger than the previous two, with more participating countries. The prize money of the World Cup is also as high as 200,000 pounds. In the first time, it was 50,000 pounds, and in the second time, it was 100,000 pounds. This time It expanded twice as much.
With the development of the World Cup, it has become more and more formal, and participation has become wider and wider.
The first World Cup was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because it was rushed, there was no so-called national team at that time. By the second World Cup in Luxembourg, it was much more formal. In many countries, the national football committees affiliated with the World Football Committee selected the strongest teams to participate.
Unlike other countries that have only one representative team, the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary have sent several teams as always. The Football Committees of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales in the United Kingdom have all sent their own football teams. In Austria-Hungary, Austria and Hungary have The two football committees each field a football team of their own. The original Portuguese Empire, like Austria-Hungary, sent two football teams, namely Brazil and Portugal. Now Portugal and Brazil have negotiated and merged the two football teams into one and decided not to send two football teams in the future.
The third World Cup, unlike the first and second World Cups, in addition to improvements in football rules, other event arrangements have also changed, such as 32 teams becoming 24.
This time, there are still no qualifiers on all continents to select teams. Now the national teams that want to participate arrive in The Hague and participate in the World Cup preliminaries locally to select 24 teams.
The world before World War I was not like the hundreds of countries in later generations. It was difficult to gather ten independent countries in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. In this case, what else can be done to arrange the World Cup preliminaries on each continent? The fairest thing now is to bring all the teams together for screening.
There are a total of 72 teams participating this time. In addition to the 53 teams from 49 independent countries, the remaining 19 teams are basically selected by the British Dominions and colonies, such as Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Belongs to India, British Burma, British Straits Settlements...
October 10th to October 15th is the World Cup qualifiers. The qualifier system stipulates that 72 teams are randomly divided into 24 groups, with three teams in each group. The winner with the best record enters the World Cup main game.
The main game of the World Cup, from October 17th to October 25th, the first round is also a group stage format. 24 teams are randomly divided into groups of 3 people and 8 people. 24 teams play into 8, then 8 into 4, 4 into 2, and 2 into 1.
Regarding the bonus distribution of the World Cup, the third World Cup has revised the previous two rules. In the past, only the top eight could share the bonus. Now as long as you enter the top 24, you will have a guaranteed bonus.
The first place will be awarded 80,000 pounds, the second place will be rewarded 40,000 pounds, the third place will be rewarded 20,000 pounds, the third place will be rewarded 10,000 pounds, the 5th to 8th place will be rewarded 3,500 pounds, and the 1st to 24th place will be rewarded with a basic reward of 1,500 pounds.
The holding of the World Cup in The Hague is a very beneficial event for the Netherlands. In order to watch the World Cup with their own eyes, thousands of tourists have come to The Hague, which has greatly stimulated a wave of local economic development.
As of October 10, before the start of the World Cup, the number of tourists arriving in The Hague has exceeded 350,000, which has exceeded the permanent population of The Hague. The arrival of tourists has directly boosted consumption in The Hague.
These tourists come from all over the world, but the largest numbers are from the United Kingdom, Germany and France. These three countries in Western Europe have the largest population, many rich people, and a very strong football atmosphere.
The Netherlands is very close to the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In order to watch the performance of their national teams on the field, the people of these three countries came to The Hague in person without hesitation, and many nobles came to watch the excitement.
Orange Football Stadium, VIP seats.
"Wilhelmina, don't you like football? You have always thought it is a rough and vulgar sport. How come you want to come and watch the game today?"
After the Portuguese mainland is on the right track and the cabinet is operating normally, Pedro has very little to do. He is so leisurely that he naturally wants to support the World Cup he founded.
After the victory, Pedro will accompany Mary and Charlotte back to Luxembourg to visit, and give Luxembourg a super double to increase his weight, so that they can seduce Germany's desire in the next battle.
In the first war in history, Germany captured Luxembourg at the beginning of the war. After all, although Luxembourg is a small country, it is really rich in resources. Its iron ore and steel are strategic materials for Germany.
But in this era, Luxembourg was part of the Portuguese Empire. If World War I really started, Germany would not necessarily take action. At this time, Luxembourg must be super doubled. Steel production must be doubled, and ammonia industrial facilities must be set up here.
Even if Germany is not fooled for a while, when the war heats up, Portugal will definitely send excessive amounts of coal and food materials to Luxembourg while driving up prices in Taiwan, to seduce Germany, which is short of supplies, to buy and sell by force, preferably by force. .
Pedro and Wilhelmina have been having an affair for a long time, and after arriving in the Netherlands, the two couldn't help but hook up.
"I really don't like football, but after all, it is the promotion match of our Dutch national team. As the queen of the country, of course I have to come to support and encourage them to play.
Didn't you say that? Doing more things to cater to public opinion and strengthen the loyalty of the people will consolidate the royal power and prevent the cabinet from being too arrogant. "
Wilhelmina said with a smile: "The Netherlands finished fourth in the last World Cup in Luxembourg. The people were very happy and hope there will be a bigger breakthrough this time."
Although Wilhelmina is not an experienced politician and her political skills were very immature in the past, she is still qualified as a queen now.
Wilhelmina has awakened since Pedro Cong prompted her. Now she appears outside the palace from time to time to show her kindness to the people. She also knows how to get the media to publicize her good deeds.
In the past, Wilhelmina was actually a bit withdrawn and reclusive due to various experiences. She had always been kind-hearted and had done a lot of good deeds. Unfortunately, she kept a low profile and did not publicize it.
