Despite the first recognised World Cup being won by Uruguay in 1930, the small town of West Auckland in County Durham lays claim to be the first winners of the World Cup in 1909 and then again in 1911. Daniel Wales reports on their story.
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00:00 In its current format, the FIFA World Cup is the most watched and celebrated footballing event on the planet.
00:10 The best football nations in the world coming together to compete for the World Cup trophy over a month of football.
00:18 Tens of thousands of supporters flocked to the host nation to catch glimpses of the action and to see the world's very best perform on the biggest stage of all.
00:30 And yet, for the small town of West Auckland in County Durham, the World Cup has quite a different meaning.
00:38 In 1904, British millionaire Sir Thomas Lipton was asked by the Italian government to organise an international football tournament.
00:47 This took place in April of 1909 with teams from Italy, Germany and Switzerland representing their countries.
00:54 But the Football Association in England did not put forward a team.
00:59 For a reason that has evaded the passage of time, West Auckland were invited by Sir Thomas Lipton to represent this country.
01:07 And so a team of coal miners from County Durham went to Turin, beating Stuttgart of Germany in the semi-final before defeating FC Winterthur of Switzerland in the final.
01:19 Having won in 1909, West Auckland were then invited back in 1911 to retain their trophy.
01:26 Only two of the original team who had won in 1909 played in 1911 however, with the rest of the team not being able to afford the trip back to Italy.
01:36 West Auckland though still went back to take part in the tournament and once again they reached the final.
01:44 This time they came up against Juventus of Italy and despite all the odds being against them, they won 6-1 in the final to retain the trophy and once again win the World Cup.
01:56 Having won the trophy for a second time in 1911, West Auckland were invited to keep the Sir Thomas Lipton trophy displayed here behind me.
02:05 However, their trips to Italy had incurred them several debts and so the landlady of the wheat chief kept a hold of the trophy.
02:13 It was then bought back in 1960 for £100 but then stolen in 1994.
02:19 The original trophy has never been found with a new replica having been made in its replacement.
02:25 That trophy is now proudly displayed inside the West Auckland Working Men's Club in the town where anyone can go and see it.
02:35 These days, West Auckland Town FC play in Division 1 of the Northern League which is the second oldest football league in the world.
02:45 They currently sit 10th with 18 points after 12 games played this season and yet over a century ago they were on top of the world.
02:55 Quite the piece of footballing history tucked away here in the North East of England but one very much worth remembering.
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