Vjeruje se da je zbog epizoda neslužbenog primirja za Božić 1914, kad su britanski i njemački vojnici po strani ostavili svoje neprijateljstvo i igrali fudbal "na ničijoj zemlji" na frontu u Flandriji, Rimet smatrao da ta igra može ujediniti ljude.
Episodes such as the unofficial truce at Christmas 1914, when British and German soldiers put aside their enmity briefly to play soccer in "no man's land" on the battlefields of Flanders are believed to have made Rimet see the game as capable of uniting people.