{"id":103493,"date":"2018-06-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelstartblg.wpenginepowered.com\/weird-wonderful-soccer-world-cup\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T13:54:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:54:59","slug":"weird-wonderful-soccer-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelstart.co.za\/blog\/weird-wonderful-soccer-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"The weird & wonderful world of soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right in the rush of the games of one of the most anticipated tournaments, the 2018 FIFA Soccer World Cup currently being held in Russia<\/a>, thousands of football fanatics are cheering, screaming and, of course, crying for their chosen teams. These passionate displays extend beyond just the pitch though, filling up pubs, restaurants, living rooms and fan zones across the planet!<\/p>\n

Every four years, 32 national teams come together in one country to compete for who is the king of the pitch. The mammoth task of arranging 64 matches is a seemingly swift and painless exercise for FIFA, but there\u2019s much more than meets the eye when pulling off this grand feat.<\/p>\n

Beers are drunk, hands slam down on bar counters in excitement, and best friends and enemies will come together during matches, and as much as the action happens in the stadiums, there\u2019s plenty going in alongside them too! Join us as we look at the weird and wonderful happening of past soccer world cup tournaments\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Almost 50% of the world watches the Soccer World Cup<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s right! Of the world\u2019s approximate population of 7,6 billion people, a crazy 3,2 billion are glued to their screens during the tournament. With about 46% of the global population watching the games, this makes the Soccer World Cup regarded as the most widely viewed sporting event.<\/p>\n

South Africa 2010 drunk over 3 million beers!<\/h2>\n

When we hosted the Soccer World Cup in South Africa in 2010<\/a>, FIFA reported that across the ten stadiums that hosted matches, over 750,000 litres of beer was sold. That is a huge amount if you consider this was just inside the stadiums and fan zones! Don\u2019t you wish we knew how many drinks were consumed in total?<\/p>\n

And in case you were wondering, fans that attended matches also managed to devour almost 400,000 hot dogs.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Photo credit: FIFA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soccer = Babies<\/h2>\n

With all the merrymaking and enjoyment going on, there are bound to be side effects. Throw in a few beers, happy crowds and feel good hormones and BOOM! You have a lot of happy couples.<\/p>\n

Germany<\/a> reported an increase of more than 10% of its birth rate after hosting the Soccer World Cup in 2006. That may seem pretty small, but consider that until then, the country\u2019s birth rate had remained completely stable and the entire European Union\u2019s birth rate has only increased by 0,7% since 2006.<\/p>\n

When your goal is actually a vehicle<\/h2>\n

Motivating your national team, particularly when they\u2019re not one of the front-runners, is an important aspect of getting your team to the Soccer World Cup and making sure they perform at their utmost best.<\/p>\n

In 1990, the United Arab Emirates took motivation to a whole new level when they promised that every one of their players that scored a goal would be gifted a shiny, new Rolls Royce. The team was inexperienced and nervous but did manage to score two goals before being knocked out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Mysteriously though, it\u2019s not actually clear whether the two players who scored the goals, Ismail Mubarak<\/a> and Thani Jumaa<\/a>, ever received their ultra, luxury vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer<\/p>\n

In an even more bizarre twist of events, Team Zaire (Millenials, Google \u2018Zaire\u2019 at this point) were cheeky enough to try and commandeer, and drive home, a complimentary BMW team bus back in 1974. The team did not, however, get too far, and were stopped in West German territory before their terrible plan could be actioned in totality.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Cape Town\u2019s best sports bars for the 2018 FIFA World Cup<\/em><\/a>
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Qatar will host the most expensive Soccer World Cup ever<\/h2>\n

Hosting the world\u2019s biggest tournament means something completely different to Qatar, who is set to host the games in 2022. The host nation plans on spending hundreds of billions of dollars in building infrastructure and tourism facilities in the lead-up to the Soccer World Cup.<\/p>\n

So why exactly will it cost so much to host the Soccer World Cup in Qatar<\/a>? Well, the country has practically zero sport infrastructure and are starting from scratch. But as the richest nation on earth, you need to show off a little right? Qatar\u2019s version of this includes ensuring fans and players are kept cool in their scorching temperatures by air conditioning all of its outdoor stadiums – just one of the major costs for the country!<\/p>\n