From its humble beginnings in 1930, the Soccer World Cup has grown to be one of the most spectacular sporting events in the world. The 2010 World Cup South Africa promises to be the planet's biggest sporting event ever.
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. The World Cup Final Draw for the 32 two teams to take part in the 2010 World Cup will take place in Cape Town on 4 December 2009. South Africa, as host country, automatically qualifies.
Well over a billion people are expected to follow the month-long tournament played between teams from the world's top 32 soccer-playing nations. The first match kicks off on 11 June 2010 at Soccer City in Johannesburg.
South Africa is gearing up for the World Cup. Although the new stadiums have almost been completed, in some way the 2010 preparations are only just beginning.
Ten Quick World Cup Facts
It is hard to choose only ten quick World Cup Facts because there are so many highlights, but these are the most popular:
- Most appearances: Brazil – all 18
- Most wins: Brazil – 5
- Most winners-up: Germany – 4
- Most final appearances: Brazil and Germany - 7 each
- Most winners' medals: Pelé Brazil – 3
- Most goals scored: Ronaldo (Brazil 1998 – 2006) 15
- Most goals in a tournament: Just Fontaine 13 (France, 1958)
- Most goals in a match: Oleg Slanko (Russia vs Cameroon, 1994) - 5
- Most wins as a coach: Vittorio Pozzo (Italy 1934 and 1938) – 2
- Highest attended match 199 854 Uruguay vs Brazil, 16 July 1950 Maracana Stadium.
Most and Least Prolific World Cups
When it comes to prolific tournaments, the World Cup offers quite an extreme variation –the least amount of goals scored in a World Cup tallied only 70 in both 1930 and 1934 (of course the tournament had a very different format and not nearly as many games in those days). However, 1998 is counted as the most prolific tournament with a total of 171 goals being scored.
World Cup Hospitality
The 2010 World Cup is an African World Cup. All across South Africa towns and villages are preparing to offer the best World Cup hospitality ever to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will be coming from all over the world.
2010 Stadiums Almost Complete
The new 2010 Football Stadiums are almost complete – The World Cup Final Draw will take place in the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town on 4 December 2009. In Durban, finishing touches are being put on the Moses Mabhida Stadium. The first match in the stadium will be played on 28 November between two local teams.
Looking back on World Cups of the past, one wonders what is going to happen at the 2010 FIFA Word Cup that will go into the record books?
Karen Lotter - Karen Lotter is a journalist and writer based in Durban, South Africa. She has written profiles, features, advertising copy, ...
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