Labour Olympiads 1925-1937


Held on three occasions, for worker-based national football associations. A fourth olympiad was planned for Helsinki 1943 but was cancelled for obvious reasons.

Palmares

1925 Germany
1931 Austria
1937 Soviet Union

1925

Held in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Round 1 [Jul 24]
Germany        6-0 Switzerland
France         1-6 Czechoslovakia
Finland        4-2 Belgium

Consolation Tournament
[Jul 25]
Belgium        2-1 Switzerland
[Jul 26]
Switzerland    3-0 France

Semifinals [Jul 25]
Germany        6-1 Czechoslovakia
Finland        bye

Final [Jul 28; att: 40,000]
Germany        2-0 Finland

1931

Held in Wien, Austria.

1/8 Finals [Jul 23]
Switzerland    3-0 Latvia
Austria        5-1 Finland
Hungary        3-1 Palestine
Germany        8-1 Denmark 
Poland         1-0 Estonia
Norway         4-4 Czechoslovakia [Czechoslovakia qualified on lots]  
Belgium        bye
France         bye

Friendlies [Jul 23]
Belgium        0-3 SC Technische Union Wien 
France        2-10 SK Gaswerk 8 St. Veit Wien 
Palestine      1-0 Columbia 1920 Favoriten

Quarterfinals [Jul 24]
Belgium        5-0 France
Austria        8-1 Switzerland  
Germany        9-0 Hungary  
Poland         3-2 Czechoslovakia

Semifinals [Jul 25]
Austria        6-2 Belgium
Germany        4-1 Poland         [abandoned at 4-1 in 67']  

Final [Jul 26]
Austria        3-2 Germany     

Consolation Tournament  

Quarterfinals [Jul 24]
Palestine      3-2 Denmark
Finland        6-2 Latvia
Norway         5-0 Estonia 
France         bye

Semifinals [Jul 24]
Palestine      1-0 France
Norway         6-3 Finland

Final [Jul 25]
Norway         4-0 Palestine


1937

NB: originally planned for Barcelona 1936, but abandoned shortly after the
    opening due to Spanish civil war; then moved to Antwerpen, Belgium for
    1937; Germany did not enter.

Palestine were a Jewish selection (players from Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Hapoel Haifa);
Soviet Union were represented by Spartak Moskva;
Spain was under civil war and were represented by the republican side which had
  its stronghold in Catalonia (players came from Espanyol, Terrassa, Júpiter,
  Horta, Sabadell, Valencia, Pontevedra, Oviedo and Vigo).

Round 1 [Jul 29]
Group A
Netherlands    w/o Hungary               [field Racing Borgerhout, Rivierenhof]
Switzerland    3-2 Finland        [aet]  [field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]
Norway         7-1 Palestine             [field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]  
Czechoslovakia bye
Group B
Spain          w/o Poland                [field Racing Borgerhout, Rivierenhof]
France         3-0 England               [field Tubantia, Rivierenhof] 
Soviet Union   8-0 Denmark               [Antwerp Stadion, Boschuil, Deurne]
Belgium        bye

NB: Hungary and Poland were denied permission to travel by their governments,
      the Netherlands and Spain officially obtained 5-0 forfeit wins;
    extra time in match Switzerland-Finland lasted 2x7½ minutes

Quarterfinals [Jul 30]
Group A
Netherlands    2-5 Czechoslovakia        [field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]
Norway         4-0 Switzerland           [Antwerp Stadion, Boschuil, Deurne]
Group B
Belgium        0-2 Spain                 [field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]
Soviet Union   7-1 France                [field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]

Semifinals [Jul 31, both at Antwerp Stadion, Boschuil, Deurne]
Norway         3-1 Czechoslovakia
Soviet Union   2-1 Spain          

Third Place Match [Aug 1, field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]
Spain          1-0 Czechoslovakia

Final [Aug 1, Antwerp Stadion, Boschuil, Deurne; att: 25,000]
Soviet Union   2-0 Norway

Consolation Tournament  

NB: only between losers round 1; quarterfinal losers did not enter

Round 1 [Jul 30, both at field Racing Borgerhout, Rivierenhof]
Finland        awd Palestine      [awarded 5-0; abandoned at 1-1 when players
Denmark        1-2 England        [aet]            Palestine attacked referee]

Semifinals [Jul 31]
Finland        w/o Hungary               [field Racing Borgerhout, Rivierenhof]
England        w/o Poland                [field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]

Final [Aug 1, field Tubantia, Rivierenhof]
England        2-0 Finland

NB: in the week following this event, an international tournament was held in Paris
    in which four of the entrants (England, Soviet Union, Spain and Switzerland)
    entered.


Labour International Matches Index

International Labour Tournaments in Paris 1928-1938


About this document

Thanks to Eduard Nisenboim for additional data 1937

Sources: [Mar 94], wikipedia, Arbeiter-Fussball, various contemporary Belgian newspapers (for 1937; in particular "De Volksgazet" and "Vooruit"; available through Belgica Press)

Prepared and maintained by Hans Schöggl and Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Authors: Hans Schöggl and Karel Stokkermans
Last updated: 22 Feb 2024

(C) Copyright Hans Schöggl, Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 2010/24
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.