The entire world has been counting down to the FIFA World Cup 2010 and today it all finally kicks off in South Africa. After 64 football matches, the winners will be crowned. Who will it be; will the 2006 World Cup winners Italy win it for the fifth time? Maybe Brazil, the 2002 World Cup victors will lift the trophy for a record sixth time? Or will France repeat their 1998 World Cup win?
Whatever the outcome, settle down with some snacks and grab your must-have match accessory; the vuvuzela horn! And don’t forget to follow the PureTravel blog with post-match reports coming in from the PureTravel team who are in South Africa!
World Cup 2010 Facts
- The 2010 World Cup winning bid was announced on 15 May 2004
- This is the first ever World Cup to be hosted on African soil
- 200 teams originally entered the race for a 2010 place
- There are 32 teams in the 2010 World Cup, with South Africa guaranteed a place
- The World Cup final will be played on 11 July 2010-06-11
- There are 10 venues being used across 9 cities in South Africa: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, and Pretoria
- The city of Johannesburg is home to two of the World Cup stadiums; Soccer City and Ellis Park
- The host nation’s team is known as Bafana Bafana – the boys
England World Cup Facts
- The trophy went missing for 7 days just before the 1966 World Cup kicked off in England; fortunately Pickles the dog found it under a bush whilst out on walkies
- The only hat trick scored in a World Cup final was by England's Geoff Hurst in 1966
- In the 1986 World Cup final in Mexico, the Argentinean player, Maradona, infamously scored his "Hand of God" goal against England during the quarter-finals
- The oldest referee ever was George Reader from England, aged 53 and who presided over the 1950 final
- During the semi finals against Germany, England’s Paul Gascoigne gave a very teary reaction to his yellow card
