FIFA World Cup 2010 opens today

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Johannesburg, South Africa. June 11: Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup-2010 considered to be the greatest show on earth that takes place every four years will begin today, Friday, 11th June 2010, in the afternoon with a grand opening ceremony at 2 pm (local time) at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg in South Africa.

 

 

Though the  FIFA World Cup 2010 officially begins today, Friday, 11th June 2010,  this year the opening celebrations are being spread over  two days, 10th and 11th June. On Thursday, 10th June the World Cup 2010 Kick-Off Celebration Concert  was held at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.

 

 

It was an extravaganza featuring artists from around the world, and appearances from football legends. Many internationally renowned musical artists including John Legend, the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys performed. The famous singer,  Shakira rendered the 2010 FIFA Official World Cup song, ‘Waka Waka’, during the three-hour extravaganza. Zakumi the Leopard, the official Mascot with attitude, also made an appearance during the concert.

 

 

 

The official opening ceremony of FIFA World Cup 2010 will begin on Friday afternoon from a different venue, the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, where the first match of the tournament will take place after the ceremony. That first game will be played between hosts South Africa and Mexico. Around  1,581 performers will sing and dance in what will be a 3-hour long spectacle.  R Kelly will perform the official 2010 FIFA World Cup Anthem, "Sign of a Victory", at the opening ceremony on Friday. It is hoped that the elder statesman and the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela will attend the inaugural ceremony.

 

 

The much-awaited FIFA World Cup 2010 tournament that will commence  today, 11th June will continue till 11th  July, 2010. South Africa - the first African nation that is hosting this prestigious international football event is all set with its swanky stadiums, where the action-packed matches of the tournament will be held.

 

 

The stadiums that have been chosen as venues for FIFA World Cup 2010 are: Green Point Stadium (Cape Town) with gross capacity of 64,100, Ellis Park Stadium (Johannesburg)-gross capacity-55,686, Durban Stadium (Durban)-gross capacity-62,760, Soccer City Stadium (Johannesburg)-gross capacity-88,460, Free State Stadium (Mangaung/Bloemfontein)-gross capacity-40.911, Port Elizabeth Stadium (Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth)-gross capacity-42,486, Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit)-gross capacity-40,929, Peter Mokaba Stadium (Polokwane)-gross capacity-41,733, Royal Bafokeng Stadium (Rustenburg)-gross capacity-38,464 and Loftus Versfeld Stadium (Tshwane/Pretoria)-gross capacity-42,858.

As the host nation, South Africa qualifies for the tournaments automaticall. Thirty two teams have qualified  for the final tournaments. These teams are:  Australia, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Honduras, Mexico, United States, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa (Hosts), Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and New Zeeland.

These 32 teams are divided into  8 groups in in which 4 teams will be playing from each group. Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France. Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece. Group C: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia. Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon. Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia.  Group G: Brazil North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal. Group H: Spain, Switzerland

Of the initial 32 teams only 16 will progress from the group stage. The tournament will then become knockout with first the round of 16, then the quarter finals, followed by the semi final and the culmination in the final. There will also be a 3rd and 4th place decider match.

Total prize money on offer for the tournament was confirmed by FIFA as $420 million which is 60% more than last World Cup 2006. Each participating team will receive $1 million, each team exiting at the group stage will receive $8 million; thereafter the prize money would be distributed as; $9 million for round of 16, $ 18 million for quarter-finals, $ 20 million for semi-finals, $ 24 million for runners up and $30 million for the winner.

Though India has never participated in the FIFA World Cup final matches, there is a lot of euphoria among the Indian fans of the soccer. While some of the more affluent and die-hard fanatics of soccer have made it a point to go to South Africa to witness the opening ceremony and the later excitement of watching their favourite teams, millions of other Indian fans  will keenly follow the outcome of the World Cup matches on televisions or reading form the news papers or using other electronic gadgets like computers and internet as well as mobile phones.