Football is definitely a hard game for men. As this year's biggest event FIFA ended, a lot of athletes around the world gathered in the main host country - Africa. I've not able to witness such game but I'm very proud of those who won... It's like gaining a "gold" forever by having such World Title in the field of football... Just like in the official theme song of the event:
You're a good soldier
Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up
And dust yourself off
And back in the saddle
You're on the front line
Everyone's watching
You know it's serious
We're getting closer
This isn't over
In order to achieve what you wanted... You must withstand them through a strong and firm called "team"...
So, what is FIFA?
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations; in 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.
The matches were played in ten stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the final played at the Soccer City stadium in South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These sixteen teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final match.
In the final match, Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta's goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title, the first time that a European nation has won the tournament outside its home continent. Host nation South Africa, along with 2006 world champions Italy and 2006 runners-up France were eliminated in the first round of the tournament.
Who are responsible for broadcasting this big event?
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was expected to be the most-watched television event in history. Hundreds of broadcasters, representing about 70 countries, transmitted the Cup to a TV audience that FIFA officials expect to exceed a cumulative 26 billion people, an average of approximately 400 million viewers per match. FIFA estimated that around 700 million viewers would watch the World Cup final.
New forms of digital media have also allowed viewers to watch coverage through alternative means. "With games airing live on cell phones and computers, the World Cup will get more online coverage than any major sporting event yet," said Jake Coyle of the Associated Press.
In the United States, average ratings for the ESPN English-language broadcasts are up 58% from 2006. The ratings for matches not involving the United States team represent a 28% increase. Spanish-language broadcasts on Univision have increased 9% in viewership, and for the first time full radio coverage of the majority of matches was carried by ESPN Radio nationwide. An executive of the Nielsen Company, a leading audience research firm in the US, described the aggregate numbers for both networks' coverage of the USA-Ghana match as "phenomenal."
Great Prizes!
The total prize money on offer for the tournament was confirmed by FIFA as $420 million Before the tournament, each of the 32 entrants receive $1 million for preparation costs. Once at the tournament, the prize money would be distributed as follows: (including payments of $40m to domestic clubs), a 60 percent increase on the 2006 tournament.
What's out for the next FIFA!...
Sources:
http://www.fifa.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup
http://www.elyricsworld.com/waka_waka_lyrics_shakira.html
23 July 2010 (USA).
