The long-awaited and anticipated sporting event of the year, the Soccer World Cup 2010 The tournament finally began on June 11, 2010 at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The FIFA world cup tournament is held once every 4 years and it is a long bidding and qualification process for the participating countries and respective teams. Italy won the last world cup that was held in Germany.
fifa (Federation Internationale de Football Association) is responsible for organizing and governing major international football tournaments, notably the FIFA World Cup, which has been held since 1930. FIFA has also recognized 6 other confederations for help oversee various regions of the world.
A total of 32 qualified teams to participate in the final tournament of the 2010 World Cup from various continents and regions as mentioned in the above section (About FIFA). The qualification process began in August 2007 with the participation of 204 national teams from around the world.
The 2010 World Cup qualification draw was held in Durban, South Africa, in November 2009. The qualified teams are placed in 8 groups As shown below:
– Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
– B Group: Republic of Korea, Argentina, Nigeria, Greece
– Group C: United States, England, Slovenia, Algeria
– Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
– Band: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
– Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
– Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Ivory Coast, Portugal
– Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
The teams within each group will play each other. Two teams from the reach group, with the highest points, will go to the group of 16 that will have to compete against each other to advance to the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
The soccer matches will take place in various cities in South Africa and 10 specific locations have been chosen. Below is a list of all stadiums and cities:
1. Green Point Stadium, Cape Town
2. Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
3. Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
4. Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg
5. Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
6. Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
7. Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
8. Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane
9. Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
10. Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
zakumi, is the official mascot of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, an anthropomorphized leopard with green fur. Its name comes from “ZA”, the international abbreviation for South Africa, and “kumi”, a word meaning “ten” in several African languages.
Jabulani is the name of the 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer ball, manufactured by Adidas, meaning “bringing joy to allon isiZulu. The 11 different colors of the ball represent the 11 official languages of South Africa, the 11 diverse South African communities that exist across the country, and the 11 players on the field.
