Countries around the world are gearing up for this year’s World Cup, which is set to be held from June 11th to July 11th in South Africa.
A little background: the first World Cup
was held in 1930 by the Fédération Internationale de Football (that’s soccer in the U.S.) Association (FIFA), and was won by Uruguay. Since then, it has been held consistently every four years except for 1942 and 1946, when it was not contested due to international involvement in World War Two. Currently, Brazil leads all other countries in number of titles won (5 cups), followed by Italy with 4, and Germany with 3.
The last cup, in 2006, was held in Germany and saw Italy as its champion. The final match between Italy and France drew an estimated 715.1 million viewers. Compare that to the 106 million viewers who tuned in for the Superbowl, or even the entire population of the U.S., for that matter, which comes in at around 310 million people, and you can see just how popular this event really is.
What country are you rooting for in this year’s World Cup?
