5 reasons to watch the World Cup...
Parents and Friends,
The 2018 Men’s World Cup will start this week so get ready for a crazy month of soccer!
32 nations, will contest 64 games in twelve venues across Russia to become world champions.
2014 hosts Brazil and current champions Germany are favorites while powerhouses Spain, France, Portugal, England and Argentina are also in the running.
The World Cup is an event of epic proportions and it’s absolutely guaranteed that there will be drama, excitement and fantastic goals and games.
So if you invest some time and get the kids in front of the television too they’ll surely love it!
But if you’re still not convinced, here are my top 5 reasons to watch the tournament…
The USA is hosting 2026!
The top reason to watch this year’s tournament is we’ll be hosts in eight years.
FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, have announced today that the United (Canada–Mexico–USA) bid to host the 2026 Men’s World Cup was successful.
2026 will have 48 teams with 60 of the 80 games being played in U.S. stadiums.
It will be amazing and the sport is sure to surge in popularity.
Very exciting times for soccer in this country in the future!
The best players will be there…
The Guardian newspaper publishes an annual survey to find the top 100 soccer players in the world with 169 experts on the panel.
21 of the top 25 from their 2017 poll will be in Russia including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
That trio is generally considered the top three in world soccer.
Who would bet against one of them lifting the trophy?
The CRAZY athleticism
There are no timeouts, the players are constantly moving and with one pass the ball may travel the length of the field in a matter of seconds.
There are only 3 substitutions and the matches last 90 minutes on a very large field, typically 110 x 80 yards.
It’s intense and SportVU technology has tracked soccer players running on average 7 miles per game and as much as 9.5 miles.
Compare that with some of our other sports.
In the 2012 NBA season, Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls ran the farthest averaging 2.72 miles per game.
NFL players run about 1.25 miles per game.
Not only is stamina required but soccer players cover the ground extremely quickly.
The average full back in an English Premier League match completes 31 sprints per game and those are all at 25 km/hr+.
Earlier this year, Luis Advíncula clocked in an incredible 35.7 km/hr in a Mexican league game
3 billion people can’t be wrong
FIFA has 211 affiliated national associations and the World Cup celebrates that soccer is truly an international sport played in every country.
It’s the biggest stage and the numbers prove it.
3.2 billion watched the 2014 World Cup and a billion watched the final between Germany and Argentina.
While 3.4 million fans attended the matches in Brazil.
The fans
Soccer fans are among the most passionate in the world, especially when they are supporting their national team.
They’re colorful, wave flags, dress up in outrageous costumes, wear face paint and sing songs that have been passed down generations.
The fans intensity and passion for the game is what creates the magical atmosphere in the stadiums.
Iceland – the smallest country ever to qualify – and their fans are famous for their Viking clap which has to be seen.
Look out for it!
Brazil’s fans are some of the most dedicated and an estimated 60,000 will travel to Russia.
Chat soon,
Patrick
