Copa del Mundo (Spanish for Small World Cup) was a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, with some other club tournaments held in Caracas from 1958 onwards also often referred to by the name of the original 1952–1957 tournament. It was usually played by four participants, half from Europe and half from South America. Obstacles to creation The Tournoi de Paris was a competition initially meant to bring together the top teams from Europe and South America; it was first played in 1957 when Vasco da Gama, the Rio de Janeiro champions, beat European champions Real Madrid 4–3 in the final at the Parc des Princes. The victory was hailed in France and Brazil as a "best of Europe X best of South American" club match as it was Real Madrid's first intercontinental competition as European champions (the Madrid team played the 1956 Pequeña Copa del Mundo, but confirmed their participation in the Venezuelan tournament before becoming European champions). In 1958, Real Madrid declined to participate in the Paris competition claiming that the final of the 1957/58 European Cup was just 5 days after the Paris Tournoi. On October 8, 1958, the Brazilian FA President João Havelange announced, at a UEFA meeting he attended as an invitee, the decision to create the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup, the latter being a UEFA/CONMEBOL-endorsed "best club of the world" contest between the champion clubs of both confederations. Real Madrid won the first Intercontinental Cup in 1960, and titled themselves world champions until FIFA stepped in and objected, citing that the competition did not include any other champions from the other confederations; FIFA stated that they can only claim to be intercontinental champions of a competition played between two continental organisations in which no other continents had the opportunity to participate. FIFA stated that they would prohibit the 1961 edition to be played out unless the organisers regarded the competition as a friendly or a private match between two organisations. The same year the Intercontinental Cup was first played, 1960, FIFA authorised the International Soccer League, created (along the lines of the 1950s Copa Rio) with a view to creating a Club World Cup, with ratification from Sir Stanley Rous, who then had become FIFA President. The Intercontinental Cup attracted the interest of other continents. The North and Central America confederation, CONCACAF, was created in 1961 in order to, among