The big kick off!
The high tension, the fingertip-reaching dream, the sorrowful tears and extreme euphoria...
A jumble of these intense emotions will reach a climax this summer as footy loving fans will sit nervously perched on the edge of their seats as the drama starts to unfold when the FIFA World Cup kicks off on 11th June 2010 in South Africa. As the next few weeks tick by, seemingly at a snail’s pace to the beginning of this four-yearly sporting spectacle, the excitement builds, quite overwhelmingly, as football fever really takes a grip. Match-by-match wall planners adorn bedroom walls, FIFA 2010 stationery plumps out the pencil cases, the country’s 2010 kit becomes the latest fashion trend, whilst houses, shops and cars are draped with flags, and the roads ease to an eerie silence and become void of life as the whistle blows to signal the start of 90 minutes of triumph or tragedy. The carnival atmosphere starts early and as far as World Cup merchandise is concerned the ball is already rolling. And today this is big business, something that is widely acknowledged by FIFA.
Danny Jordaan, FIFA Executive Committee member said: “Merchandising has become a big part of the World Cup experience. Not only do football fans dress up in the colours of their teams at a World Cup, but also in the colours of
Picture: Gabriella Fabbri
www.i-pix.it
the tournament.” Official FIFA World Cup Stores have already enjoyed considerable success in the past. The very first official FIFA World Cup shop opened on the Champs-Elysees in Paris in 1998, followed four years later by another 18 shops that opened for the event in Korea and Japan. Whilst, in 2006, 300 stores were set up across Germany to appease the increasing hunger for football merchandise.
Official merchandise can be purchased from
selected outlets, and traditionally the most popular products have been known to sell out quickly. Football shirts, replicas of the official mascot, caps, flags, cups, scarves, badges, pens - you name it, it’ll have the World Cup stamp on it!
This June the hottest item in the wardrobe will be a fresh-off-the-shelf football kit - a child’s England away shirt is retailing at around £39.99, shorts are £19.99, socks are £7.99 and boots have a rrp of £34.99.
So, how well do you know your World Cup trivia?
Quiz your footy know-how by answering these World Cup questions... (psst: the answers are at the bottom of the page!)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
How many countries have won the FIFA World Cup?
What country has won the World Cup the most times?
Who was the youngest player to score and win a World Cup?
What country is the current champion?
What team scored 10 goals in a World Cup match?
Who is the overall top goal scorer?
What nation has scored the most goals?
When did the World Cup tournament start?
17 May - 4 July 2010
11
Answers: 1: Seven countries have won the World Cup. They are Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay, France and England! 2: Brazil has won the tournament the most with 5 wins. 3: Pelé of Brazil was the youngest player to score in and win a World Cup. 4: Italy is the current champion. 5: Hungary is the only team to score 10 or more goals in a World Cup match - they beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982. 6: The overall leading goalscorer is Brazil’s Ronaldo who has scored 15 goals in 3 tournaments. 7: Brazil. At the end of the 2006 tournament they had collectively scored 201 goals! 8: The first World Cup tournament took place in 1930.
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