The recent Real Salt Lake championship and the team’s growing presence and popularity among soccer fans in Utah and beyond enhances Utah’s global stature. Salt Lake City, known as the 2002 Olympic games capital, is now home to one of the active members of the world’s soccer community. Soccer (Football) is played at a professional and amateur level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favorite teams, while billions more watch the game on television. The most prestigious international football competition, the World Cup, is the most widely viewed event in the world and boasts an audience twice that of the Summer Olympic Games. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football.
More about 2010 World Cup.
The 2010 FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international football tournament. It is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010 in South Africa. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. As such, it matches the 2008 Summer Olympics as the sports event with the most competing nations. This will be the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation, after South Africa beat Morocco and Egypt in an all-African bidding process. Italy are the defending champions. The draw for the finals will take place on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town.
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