World Cup 2010 is here!!

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international association football tournament. it's being held in South Africa, beginning on 11 June and scheduled to conclude on 11 July 2010. the tournament is the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. off the field, the 2010 finals have been notable for introducing the sound of the vuvuzela, a long horn blown by fans throughout matches, into international public consciousness.

the official mascot for the 2010 World Cup is Zakumi, an anthropomorphised leopard with green hair, presented on 22 September 2008. His name comes from "ZA" (the international abbreviation for South Africa) and the term kumi, which means "ten" in various African languages. the mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's playing strip – yellow and green. Zakumi's birthdate coincides with a day known and celebrated as Youth Day in South Africa and their second group match. the first non-racial nationwide elections in South Africa were in 1994. Zakumi will turn 16 in 2010. Andries Odendaal, from Cape Town, created the original character design. Zakumi's official motto is: "Zakumi's game is Fair Play". the motto was seen in the digital advertisement boards during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and it will also appear at the 2010 World Cup.

the official song of the 2010 World Cup "Waka Waka" is performed by the Colombian singer Shakira and the band Freshlyground from South Africa, and is sung in both English and Spanish. the song is based upon a traditional African soldiers' song named Zangalewa.

the opening ceremony took place on 11 June at Soccer City in Johannesburg, two hours before the opening match of the tournament. it lasted 40 minutes, and included 1500 performers, including Thandiswa Mazwai, Timothy Moloi, Hugh Masekela, Khaled, Femi Kuti, Osibisa, R. Kelly, Hip Hop Pantsula and the Soweto Gospel Choir.

event effects

• security

tournament organiser dismissed concerns that the attack on the Togo national team which took place in Angola in January 2010, had any relevance to the security arrangements for the World Cup. there have been claims that the police have implemented a de facto state of emergency by banning protests during the event.

• evictions

as with many 'hallmark events' throughout the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been connected to evictions, which many claim are meant to 'beautify the city', impress visiting tourists, and hide shackdwellers.

• blikkiesdorp

blikkiesdorp has become well-known for its high crime rate, its substandard living conditions, and its extremely hot or cold, windy and sandy living environment. NGOs, international human rights organisations, and the Anti-Eviction Campaign have publicly criticised the conditions in Blikkiesdorp and how they say it is used to reinforce the eviction of poor families especially to make way for the 2010 World Cup. residents also threatened to burn down Blikkiesdorp before the World Cup begins because of the bad conditions in the settlement.

• HIV/AIDS

South Africans and others have expressed concern that the World Cup will stimulate the illicit sex trade. football fans are being warned that South Africa has one of the worst HIV infection rates in the world with up to half the country's sex workers HIV positive and the British government has given £1 million to buy 42 million condoms. however, AIDS campaigners have accused FIFA of blocking the distribution of condoms at football grounds.

match effects

• vuvuzelas

during the World Cup events many competitors have criticised and complained about the noise caused by the vuvuzela horns, including France's Patrice Evra who blamed the horns for the team's poor performance. he also claimed that the sound of the vuvuzelas away from the stadiums hampered the ability of the players to get their rest. other critics include Lionel Messi who complained that the sound of the vuvuzelas hampered communication among players on the pitch and broadcasting companies, who complained that commentators' voices were being drowned out by the sound. Cristiano Ronaldo went on record to state that the sound of the vuvuzelas disturbed the teams' concentration.

• ticketing and attendance

as some first round games suffered from large blocks of unoccupied stands, including one match with nearly 11.000 empty seats, FIFA reported that this was due to sold but unused group ticket purchases and that current attendance levels were in fact second only to the 1994 event during the early round period.

that's all the report from me, guys. somehow the one that i love most from world cup 2010  is the 'waka waka' song. hahha.