FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 IN SOUTH AFRICA

FIFA decided that the FIFA World Cup 2010 was going to be carried out on the African continent. 4 countries were fighting to arrange the World Cup, but on 15 May 2004 it was decided that South Africa was the winning country. It was going to be the first FIFA World Cup in Africa.

The official mascot

During the preparations, it was a week-long strike because many workers were underpaid. For 31 days it was played 64 matches at 10 different stadiums in 9 cities. The biggest stadium is Soccer City with a capacity of 84,490 persons.

The statium Soccer City

The host nation South Africa was eliminated in the first round. 145 goals were scored during the tournament, and the best player was the Uruguayan player Diego Forlán who also was one of 4 top scorers. Spain became champions when they beat the Netherlands in the final. Third place went to Germany who beat Uruguay in the bronze final.

The National Team of Spain are celebrating

The vuvuzelas are plastic horns wich porocuce a loud tone. They are most used at football matches in South Africa. Many spectators were blowing on vuvuzelas every match and a lot of foreigners were annoyed.

Spectators with vuvuzelas at a match

"Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" was written by Shakira and was the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was released 31 May 2010. The music video became a great hit, and became the third most viewed movie at YouTube ever.

Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)

Football is a very popular sport in South Africa. The country's top league is the "Premier Soccer League". Football was first played by British soldiers as a result of te colonization. Aron Mokoena is a South African football player who plays for the English football team Portsmouth in Premier League.