http://www.teamworkersusa.com/cup-winners/
South Africa 2010 And the Magic of the World Cup
The 19th edition of the greatest tournament on earth – the World Cup – began on June 11, 2010 in the 90,000 capacity Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa with the opening match at 1400hrs GMT between host, South Africa and Mexico. This edition of the FIFA World Cup is historic as it marks the first time ever in the 81 years of the competition that the competition is being staged in Africa, South Africa – the home country of another world ‘spectacle’ called Nelson Mandela, the Madiba. Nelson Rolilahla Mandela himself is the greatest lover of football in South Africa and it can be recalled that it was during his reign as the first black president of South Africa that Bafana Bafana (meaning ‘’the boys, the boys”), the South African National team, hosted and won the 20th Africa Nations Cup in 1996. In this sense, will history repeat itself? Can South Africa host to win the World Cup?
Magic of the World Cup
The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world. In the 2006 World Cup finals held in Germany, an estimated cumulative audience of 26.29 billion watched the tournaments on television. This figure surpassed the 2008 Beijing Olympics held two years later, which had a combined viewership of 24.47 billion. The 2006 world cup was covered by 376 channels with a total of 43,600 programmes broadcast to 214 countries.
For the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, FIFA will be earning $2.5billion (US dollars) from the sales of television rights alone, an increase of 50% over the 2006 World Cup. The rights are earned from the 200 countries affiliated to the world soccer governing body.
The competition also attracts the highest prize money in any human event. The sum of $420 million (US dollars) has been voted by FIFA for the 2010 finalists, with the cup winners expected to go home with more than $32 million (US dollars) and the second placed team $20 million (US dollars). The secret behind the huge viewership and financial successes of football and the World Cup lies in the passion for the game. With super improvement in Information and Communications technology, football has correspondingly grown over the years to become the king of sports with mega marketing and sponsorship deals as a result of its huge worldwide followership. It is only in Football that fans dancing naked in celebration of their team’s victory and fans suffering heart attacks or even committing suicides whenever their favorite teams lose! The passion for the game is incomparable with any other sports or event. South Africa 2010 Opening Ceremony The opening ceremony in South Africa will definitely be another spectacle of its own with International Super stars like Alicia Keys, Shakira and Black Eyed Peas scheduled to perform to the world alongside South African stars like Progressive Rock Band BLK JKS, the Parlotones and singer-songwriter, Vusi Mahlasela.
Only Zakumi knows the Winner
Of the competing 32 countries, which one will lift the trophy on July 11, 2010 at the Soccer City Stadium? Will it be an African country – South Africa, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Ghana or Nigeria – for the first time ever, and justifiably so, on home soil?
Will Italy defy all odds and retain their title to match Brazil’s 5 times World Cup wins? Or, will it be Brazil again yet again for a record breaking 6th World Cup win? Or, is it going to be Lionel Messi’s Argentina to win it for the 3rd time? Diego Maradona, Argentina’s football legend and team coach, has promised to run naked in the Soccer City Stadium if Argentina wins the World Cup on July 11, 2010! That will indeed be the day!Or, will it be Wayne Rooney’s England to win it for the 2nd time since winning the trophy 44 years ago on home soil? Or, is it going to be the vastly improved U.S.A to win it for the first time ever?
In football parlance, football is like biscuit; nobody knows where it will break (nobody, except Zakumi).
Yes, only Zakumi, the 15 year old anthropomorphised leopard with green hair and official mascot of the South Africa 2010
World Cup,
unveiled to the world on September 22, 2008 already knows the winners of the World Cup. Ask him and he will tell you with a grin. Zakumi’s answer is the same for everyone: ‘’Welcome to South Africa 2010!”
About the Author
Tim Long is a 40 yr old Briton, medical laboratory technologist and has been living in the West African tropics
for the past 7 years. He has a deep passion for writing on all topics of human endeavor and general interest and also loves
traveling, fishing, dog walking and new technologies. He is married with two lovely daughters, Aurora and Jasmine who live in England with their mum.Tim Long can be reached on 2348034543585.
I have no objection to this article being reproduced or published elsewhere as long as due reference is given to me as the Author.
For further information on this topic, please visit http://www.worldcupfootballplaza.info
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