June 2010 is fast approaching, and with it comes the soccer craze that grips the globe. There’s something about the FIFA World Cup that turns even the most hardened anti-sports grumbler into a flag waving loon. The competition has been running for a little over a century now, and every year it gets hosted in a different country.

The Previous Tournament

Since the FIFA Soccer World Cup is held every four years, the last major event was held in 2006, in Germany. This was a hotly contested event, not the least of which because of the history rivalry between England and Germany.

England last defeated Germany in the 1966 World Cup, which has lead to a long and bitter sporting conflict between the two nations. England were hoping for the glory of being able to take Germany on German soil – but sadly it was not to be.

England was cruelly dismissed by Portugal in the second phase, and never faced their historic foes. It was small consolation that Germany was defeated by Italy, who went on to take the Trophy.

FIFA 2010: Host Country and Qualifying Rounds

This year the FIFA Soccer World Cup is being hosted in South Africa. South Africa managed to win their bid to host the 2010 World Cup against Egypt and Morocco. An alliance between Libya and Tunisia was earlier disqualified because FIFA does not allow co-hosting.

As the hosting country, South Africa therefore automatically qualifies to be in the tournament – but still chose to play the in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) qualifying rounds. In CAF, African nations compete for five available slots in the World Cup.

The reason South Africa made this unorthodox decision despite already qualifying for automatic entry is that South Africa was looking beyond the World Cup. After the excitement of the FIFA World Cup has faded, South Africa’s plan was to be part of the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

As it transpired, South Africa played abysmally in the CAF, losing 3 of their matches and drawing 1. It’s fortunate, therefore, that they are the host country, because this performance would have seen them eliminated from both tournaments. The side is currently ranked 86th in the world.

The Teams

The 32 International sides that ultimately made it into the 2010 FIFA World Cup are as follows. From the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Australia, Japan, Korea DPR and Korea Republic. From the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), Honduras, Mexico and the United States of America.

From the CAF, Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. From the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CSF), Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. From the tiny Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), only New Zealand.

And finally, from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the largest group in the tournament, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland.

The Prize Money

This year sets a new record, with around $420 million dollars up for grabs, with the first place finisher pulling down an impressive $30 million. Making it into the semi finals triggers a $20 million payday, and a quarter final finish a health $18 million.

Seeds

All 32 countries were divided into 4 pots based on national boundaries, and an attempt to ensure that no two teams from the same confederation would wind up in the same grouping. Obviously for UEFA this is impossible, and the pot groupings limit their members to a maximum of two teams per group.

The Pot A seeds were as follows: South Africa (automatic seed as Host Nation), Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England. This splits to 8 groups, with each taking one team from each of the remaining pots.

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