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Soccer World Cup – Then and Now

June 10th, 2010 Posted in worth knowing Tags: soccer, south afrika, WM 2010

It’s kick-off time for the 19^th FIFA World Cup in South Africa. A lot has happened in the past 80 years of World Cup history: there were winners and losers, enthusiastic and disappointed fans, festivals of goals and goalless draws.

Do you remember the pictures of the 2006 World Cup in Germany? Waving flags in black-red-gold throughout the whole country. Millions of spectators watching the games on public viewing screens or in front of the TV at home cheer for the teams and celebrate the winners on the “Fan Miles” – for example in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Over three million people watched the matches of the participating 32 nations live in the stadiums. But if you turn to the beginnings of FIFA World Cup, you’ll get a rather different picture: Only 13 nations entered the first tournament in Uruguay in 1930. Many European teams didn’t participate, due to the duration and cost of travel – South America wasn’t accessible by plane yet. Only Belgium, France, Yugoslavia and Romania made the long journey, crossing the Atlantic Ocean by ship within two or three weeks – of course, they also had training on deck.

In Uruguay, the teams were not welcomed by millions of fans: Only 300 followed the match between Romania and Peru, the lowest attendance in a World Cup game. Although there were 70,000 spectators at the Uruguay versus Argentina final, the popularity of the first competitions cannot be compared with today’s tournaments. An important milestone was the 1950 World Cup held in Brazil: The world’s biggest arena, the “Maracanã Stadium” with a capacity of 200,000 was built. For the first time, the million mark had been cracked – around 1.34 million fans watched the games live in the stadiums. With 170.000 spectators the match Uruguay versus Brazil holds the record for the highest attendance in World Cup history. Until then, the football experience had been reserved for the fans in the stadiums, because there was no television coverage yet. This changed in 1954 at the World Cup in Switzerland: for the first time the matches were broadcasted on television. Around 90 million people watched the tournament. They often watched together in bars, because only few households had their own TV – “Public Viewing” was born and has been growing ever since.

The latest World Cup has shown how football can move and enthuse the masses.

It will be interesting to see what the upcoming competition in South Africa will bring. This tournament will be the first FIFA World Cup to take place on the African continent. The preparation involved great efforts and costly investments in the infrastructure during the last years: with six new stadiums, the expansion of the international airports in Cape Town and Johannesburg as well as a new airport in Durban and numerous hotels, South Africa is prepared. Nevertheless, the country will have to face some challenges in the area of security, owing to the high crime rate. Fans, football teams as well as journalists are urged to consider special precautions. Yet one thing is certain: in June 2010, the football world will again turn its full attention to the World Cup, to South Africa.

Did you know…

…the first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France.

…in the 1934 World Cup, both the Italian and German teams played in uniforms consisting of white jerseys and black shorts. As Italian fans protested, the German team had to change their dress.

…Hakan Sükür from Turkey holds the record for scoring the fastest ever World Cup goal in 11 seconds at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

…in the 1974 World Cup in Germany, for the first time, the final did not take place in the host-country’s capital for the first time but at the Munich Olympic Stadium.

…in 1958 Pelé from Brazil became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years.

…Roger Milla from Cameroon is the oldest player to have scored a goal in the World Cup at the age of 42 (1994).

…the 1994 World Cup in the United States holds the record for the highest attendance in World Cup history with over 3.5 million spectators.

…with 15 goals, Brazilian Ronaldo is the most successful World Cup scorer, followed by Gerd Müller from Germany with 14 goals and Just Fontaine from France with 13 goals.

The stadiums of the World Cup 2010

Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban
Capacity: 69.957
Built: 2009

Street View