Difference between FIFA World Cup 2006 and FIFA World Cup 2010
For football fans the world over, the World Cup is the premier event to look out for and it draws in viewers in the millions every time it is staged every four years. The World Cup 2010 is of course one of the hottest events in the football world nowadays, although comparisons between this and the previous event are inevitable. This comparison article takes a look at the more distinctive points of each.
In Brief
The World Cup 2006 was the 18th FIFA World Cup event, and it took place in Germany from June 9 to July 9, 2006. The World Cup 2010 event is the 19th World Cup event, scheduled from June 11 to July 11, 2010 in South Africa. The 2010 World Cup is actually the first time the event was scheduled to be hosted by an African country.
Participation
FIFA World Cup 2006 was comprised of thirty-one teams, with Italy coming out victorious for its fourth World Cup win. Italy bested France in the final game of the tournament, winning over the French team 5 to 3. Germany placed third after beating Portugal 3 to 1. 204 out of 208 FIFA national teams were selected to participate in the World Cup 2010 event and it actually matches the 2008 Summer Olympics in the number of competing nations. At the time of this writing, it has yet to be determined whether defending champions Italy will take the top slot again.
Venues
The venues for the FIFA World Cup 2006 event were shortlisted to 12 out of several German venues that were considered acceptable by FIFA standards. Many of the stadiums were actually temporarily renamed for the event, in accordance with a FIFA rule that dictated that the stadiums used in the games should be official FIFA sponsors as well. in fact, the original names of certain stadiums were even physically covered up for the duration of the games. The World Cup 2010 matches were all scheduled to be played in ten pre-approved stadiums as well, after the list was cut down from the original twelve stadiums that were otherwise deemed acceptable to FIFA standards. In an interesting side note, some people claimed that the altitude of some of the proposed venues would adversely affect the motion of the ball, although the FIFA medical chief later debunked this “theory”.
Summary
World Cup 2006
- Was the 18th FIFA World Cup event
- Held from June 9 to July 9, 2006 in Germany
- Comprised of 31 teams
- Was own by Italy
- Held in twelve stadiums
World Cup 2010
- The 19th FIFA World Cup event
- Held in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, 2010
- First World Cup event to be hosted by an African country
- Comprised of 204 national teams
- Matched the 2008 Summer Olympics in number of competing nations
- Held in ten out of twelve possible stadiums
