World Cup kicks off
Now that the really important cup — Lord Stanley's — has been awarded to the Chicago Blackhawks, it's time for the sports world to shift its focus to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Teams from across the globe play for the cup every four years. (By the way, the trophy isn't even a cup). The 2010 tournament is being played in South Africa.
I admit to not being a regular soccer, er fútbol, (or is it football?) fan. But I am a sports fan, and do enjoy paying extra attention to the sport loved by so many across the globe, although it's still struggling to grow an audience in the United States. Seems we like our football with points on the end of the ball and running with and throwing the ball between kicks.
I've compiled some sites with 2010 FIFA World Cup information. I'm sure I've missed some and I encourage you to add your favorites in the comments section below.
A bit about the event and World Cup trophy: The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, because of World War II. The tournament is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 final, when Italy defeated France, 5-3, in a penalty shootout after full time and extra time expired with a 1-1 score.
The current design of the FIFA World Cup trophy has been awarded to the World Cup champions since 1974. FIFA stands for Federation Internationale de Football Association.
Now, it's time for me to find my red, white and blue body paint and cheer for the USA! OK, no body paint, and probably not much cheering, as our team isn't projected to go too deep into the tournament. I'm pretty sure I'll be tuning in to see the final match, and several others along the way.
FIFA World Cup sites:
— 2010 FIFA World Cup
http://www.fifa.com/
— U.S. Soccer
http://www.ussoccer.com/
— World Cup History
http://www.worldcup-history.com
— World Cup 2010 South Africa
http://www.worldcup2010southafrica.com/
— World Cup 2010 - Guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/worldcup2010
— ESPN Soccernet
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/
— World Cup Blog
http://www.worldcupblog.org/
— National Public Radio's “Show Me Your Cleats” World Cup blog
http://www.npr.org/blogs/showmeyourcleats/
— Sports Illustrated/CNN 2010 World Cup
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world-cup-2010/
— BBC - World Cup 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/default.stm
FIFA 2010 World Cup Twitter feeds
— @FIFAcom: Covering interviews, site developments, fantasy team progress and updates on key news from tournament matches
— @FIFAcomLive: Providing continuous and real-time updates from all 64 games
