2010 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Qualifiers, TV Schedule, Pictures

MAIN Sports Soccer - Football 2010 FIFA World Cup

South Africa, granted an automatic berth in the 2010 World Cup, is getting ready to kick off the 19th edition of the games set for international play from June 11 to July 11, 2010.

It will be the first time that the tournament has been held on the African continent - a location in which international football fans will also ever likely first step foot.

The 2010 World Cup Qualifiers Draw

The preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban, South Africa on November 25, 2007. Here is how the teams stack up in competition for the qualifying games beginning in early 2008, continuing until the final draw leading up to the World Cup:

Africa
Group 1 Cameroon, Cape Verde, Tanzania, Mauritus
Group 2 Guinea, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya
Group 3 Angola, Benin, Uganda, Niger
Group 4 Nigeria, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone
Group 5 Ghana, Libya, Gabon, Lesotho
Group 6 Senegal, Algeria, Liberia, Gambia
Group 7 Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Botswana, Madagascar
Group 8 Morocco, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritania
Group 9 Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Seychelles
Group 10 Mali, Congo, Sudan, Chad
Group 11 Togo, Zambia, Eritrea, Swaziland
Group 12 Egypt, Congo DR, Malawi, Djibouti

Asia
Group 1 Australia, China, Iraq, Qatar
Group 2 Japan, Bahrain, Oman, Thailand
Group 3 South Korea, North Korea, Jordan, Turkmenistan
Group 4 Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Singapore
Group 5 Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Syria

Europe
Group 1 Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania, Malta
Group 2 Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia, Luxembourg
Group 3 Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, San Marino
Group 4 Germany, Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein
Group 5 Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia, Estonia
Group 6 Croatia, England, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Andorra
Group 7 France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria, Faroe Islands
Group 8 Italy, Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia, Montenegro
Group 9 Holland, Scotland, Norway, FYR Macedonia, Iceland

Groups & Standings : Oceania | North, Central America & Carribbean | South America

In South Africa

Meanwhile, the country is working hard to impress the world at large with five new stadiums being planned, or currently under construction, for the month-long event taking place at 10 venues throughout the country.

Venues

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein. Being upgraded.
African Renaissance Stadium, Cape Town. Currently under construction.
King Senzangakhona Stadium, Durban. New stadium replacing King's Park Stadium.
Soccer City, Johannesburg. To be upgraded.
Ellis Park, Johannesburg. To be upgraded.
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit. To be built
Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane. To be upgraded.
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth. To be built
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

On Television

It's too early to tell which of the major worldwide media outlets will cover the 2010 games, but safe to say a fevered battled is now being played out to see who wins coverage rights in each of their respective countries, now being refereed by InFront Sports & Media.

In the U.S., the 2006 World Cup was covered in its entirety by ABC Sports & ESPN while in the U.K. viewers trusted BBC Sports to provide expert coverage. A viewership totaling 25 million households also watched on ESPN Star on the Indian Subcontinent, and rabid Australian footy fans were glued to SBS all month long.

Stay tuned to see who wins the "TV World Cup" in 2010.

World Cup On the Web

Of course, live broadband coverage is also up for grabs, but watch for ESPN360 to throw their international weight around for a shot at major Web simulcasts as they did in 2006.

Elsewhere on the Web, keep up-to-date at top sites offering related news, travel information, and lots of related history, facts & trivia on the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup ...

South Africa 2010 World Cup - Check out what's coming up on the road to the World Cup in Johannesburg with news & updates on new stadiums & facility upgrades, informative FAQ, online forum and feature stories.

FIFA - South Africa - The official site from FIFA with how the 2010 games are shaping up with a host country profile, inspection reports, venue guide, photo gallery.

2010 FIFA World Cup - The complete picture from Wikipedia including the complete venue & map, information on new facilities under construction, related controversies, rumors & gossip, archive of related news stories.

World Cup 2010 travel guide - More information from Wikitravel with advice on traveling to the games, how to get around and what else to see and do in South Africa, plus practical and safety tips, related links.

World Cup History Page - A Polish soccer fan with all the historical goods dating back to 1930 including Did You Know facts, player trivia, legends, statistics, records & rankings.

also see -> World Cup 2006

also see in Travel -> South Africa