"The FIFA World Cup , occasionally called the Football World Cup , but usually referred to simply as the World Cup , is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA ), the sport's global governing body. 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 current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month – this phase is often called the World Cup Finals . A qualification phase , which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s). The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 final
Of the 18 tournaments held, seven nations have won the title. Brazil are the only team that have played in every tournament and have won the World Cup a record five times. Italy are the current champions and have won four titles, and Germany are next with three. The other former champions are Uruguay , winner of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina , with two titles each, and England and France , with one title each.
The most recent World Cup was held in Germany in 2006, and was won by Italy , who defeated France in the final. The next World Cup will be held in South Africa, between 11 June and 11 July 2010, and the 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil. " (wikipedia.org)
Soccer Accommodation
World cup accommodation
Three Kruger camps for 2010 tourists
Vinni Dlamini
14 May 2009
A third of the beds available in Kruger National Park's Skukuza, Berg-en-Dal and Pretoriuskop camps will be reserved for foreign tourists through the duration of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, South African National Parks (SANParks) announced at the Tourism Indaba in Durban this week.
SANParks tourism and marketing director Glenn Phillips told delegates that 30% of available accommodation in the national parks would be reserved for 2010 tourists, with the remainder for the general public.
"The exciting part of this decision is that approximately 15 000 people will get to see the national parks for the first time," Phillips said. "We want to use this event to optimise marketing opportunities while we continue to build our brand."
Other parks close to the World Cup matches that have been contracted are Addo Elephant National Park, Garden Route National Park, Tsitsikamma and the Knysna lake area, Marakele and Golden Gate Highlands National Park.
"For us this event is more than just about sport," he said. "The message we want to send to the world is that SANParks is on track to deliver next year."
Phillips believed the move would send a positive signal to critics who didn't believe South Africa would be ready to host the World Cup, adding that SANParks wanted to see optimal occupancy in all national parks during the event.
"Key to this is the retention of our regular client base, as the event falls during the extended school holidays," he explained.
Soccer accommodation
Soccer 2010 World cup
