Uruguay have four stars on their jersey despite winning two World Cup titles in their history. While every team has its own history in this competition, some have been more successful than others. Among that privileged group is Uruguay, who have won two World Cup titles. The question many fans ask is why they display four stars on their jersey.
The explanation is that Uruguay also won Olympic gold medals in 1924 and 1928. Those tournaments took place before the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, which Uruguay won on home soil before claiming their second title in 1950.
Nowadays, the Olympic football tournament is viewed as an under-23 competition. However, FIFA allows Uruguay to display those two Olympic triumphs as stars because they were recognized as senior world championships at the time.
The rule
This position has been heavily debated because the official FIFA Equipment Regulations state that national teams can only display one championship star for each FIFA World Cup they have won.
Uruguay were fourth in 2010 (Stanley Chou/Getty Images)
However, Uruguay were granted a unique historical exception because FIFA organized and officially recognized the 1924 and 1928 Olympic football tournaments as senior world championships before the FIFA World Cup existed.
FIFA’s marketing department questioned the four stars in 2021 before the Uruguayan Football Association presented historical documentation proving FIFA’s involvement in those Olympic tournaments, leading the governing body to permanently validate and accept all four stars.
The history behind Uruguay’s first two stars
Uruguay earned worldwide recognition by winning the Olympic football tournaments in 1924 in Paris and 1928 in Amsterdam. Those victories established the country as one of the strongest football nations in the world and paved the way for its World Cup triumphs in 1930 and 1950.