The World Cup
A five-minute primer on an issue making headlines
Soccer's World Cup, which kicks off next month in Munich, is unrivalled as the planet's biggest sporting event.
It's called the 'world game' - but how many people around the globe will tune in to the finals in Germany?
The tournament takes place every four years and the numbers surrounding every aspect of this event are mind-boggling. At the last World Cup in Japan and Korea, more than a billion people watched the final between Brazil and Germany live on TV. The biggest national audience for the match was in Japan itself, where a massive 54 million viewers tuned in. Only 4 million Japanese had watched the previous final in France. The cumulative number of viewers in 2002 was 30 billion, a figure football's world governing body Fifa is expecting to surpass in Germany.
How many people watched the World Cup final on TV in Hong Kong?
The final between Brazil v Germany was watched by 2.78 million Hongkongers and 546,000 watched the semi-final between Turkey and South Korea.
So the World Cup tournament has come a long way since the first in Uruguay in 1930?
Public interest wasn't so high then. In one qualifying match, between Romania and Peru, only 300 spectators bothered to turn up. The four British nations also refused to compete in a World Cup until 1950, partly because of a 'foreign' influence in the game they regarded as their own. Today's contrast could hardly be starker. Over the past three years, almost 200 countries tried to secure one of the 32 coveted spots in Germany. Millions of fans from around the world are expected to flock there next month and July, including more than 100,000 from England alone.
Will many of them have tickets for the games?
Of more than 3 million available tickets, about a third were put on sale globally by internet ballot. Only 592,000 were sent to competing associations for sale to official supporters' clubs. Almost as many - 490,000 - have been given to the tournament's 21 corporate sponsors and suppliers. Most fans travelling to the finals will be forced to fork out exorbitant sums to touts, or watch the games live on TV at city sites or in pubs.
Presumably, bookmakers will be looking forward to the World Cup?
Billions of dollars will be waged throughout the tournament. This year's World Cup is predicted to be the first major competition at which online betting will become a widespread option for punters. Players must sign a statement that they, or any family members, will not bet on World Cup games.
