As we begin the second full week of the World Cup, the most prestigious tournament in the world’s most popular sport, here’s a brief primer:
- In the US, it’s soccer. The rest of the world? Football. Cause it’s played almost exclusively with feet, unlike American football, which is played almost exclusively with hands. Wait. What?
- Team uniforms are called kits. Games are matches. The grass playing surface is the pitch.
- The World Cup takes place every four years, with this year’s hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
- The International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA, governs world football and runs the World Cup. The organization shares with the International Olympic Committee the title of World’s Most Corrupt Sporting Organization. But I digress.
- This World Cup has 48 teams that qualified, up from 32, because, well, FIFA. And money.
- 104 90-minute matches are played over five weeks, with the US hosting 78 in 11 cities.
- The World Cup now includes a three-minute “hydration break” at the 25th and 65th minutes. Hydration? No, it’s to sell ads and doesn’t happen in other leagues or tournaments. Again, FIFA. And money.
- Cape Verde. Senegal. Qatar. Uzbekistan. These are among countries qualified for this year’s tournament, providing a lesson for Americans who aren’t always so good with the, ummmm, world geography.
- Has the US ever won the World Cup? No. But we have clinched our group already with wins in our first two matches.
- The World Cup Final on July 19 in New Jersey will draw an estimated 1.5 BILLION viewers. Take that, Super Bowl, which only draws about 125 million.
I’m Wester Wuori, I’ve got my scarf up for the US Men’s National Team, and that’s my Perspective.
