The most prestigious event of the most watched, followed and played sport is upon us. Yes, the FIFA World Cup 2018 is here and marks the calendar on 14th June for its starting. 32 teams compete for the ultimate World Cup glory in this competition which starts off in the group stages before proceeding into the Round of 16 knockout matches. As the idiom implies, goals will be expected like it’s raining cats and dogs in the football fields!
Moscow, Russia
Moscow, Russia has prepared hard to be a model host for this edition of the FIFA World Cup and expects up to 1 million fans from around the globe for the 64-match competition being held from 14th June to 15th July. Translators and translation agencies are in high demand for out of station fans. Football fans in Russia are more than ready to cheer for the Russian football team which automatically qualified on account of being the host team.
Asian Audience
In Asia, billions follow the World Cup religiously. Media operators this year around are expecting record audiences. In China, a cumulative of approximately 900 million people watched the 2006 edition and can easily be regarded as the top growth market for the sport. India is a huge emerging market too despite cricket being more popular in the subcontinent. Five teams from the biggest continent made it to the 2018 edition including Japan, Iran, South Korea and Saudi Arabia and Australia.
European Fans
Europe has the most interest easily in World Cup considering the popularity and competitiveness of the game there. 14 teams made it to the final competition with Russia qualifying because of its host status and the rest of them by winning qualifying rounds. Notable teams from Europe include England, France, Germany, Spain among others. Iceland reached the finals for the first time in history, also making it the smallest country to do so. Four-time champions Italy and Netherlands, runners-up in 2010 and 3rd in 2014, both failed to reach the final stages. The sheer quality of the European club football sets the level of football above others noticeably.
Football is a Global Phenomenon
In the North, Central America and Caribbean section, Panama will play in the final stage of the competition for the first time. Besides Panama, Mexico and Costa Rica also got themselves a nod for the 2018 finals. Honduras made far into the playoffs round but lost to Australia for a spot in Russia. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Uruguay made it to final stage from South America while Peru also made it through after winning their playoff match against New Zealand. Brazil has a special history with the World Cup as it has won the prestigious cup 5 times, the most of any team. Argentina also has lifted the cup twice, and more than 90 % of the Argentines associate themselves with one or any other club from the country.
This year’s edition will also see five African nations in Russia competing for the glory including Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, and Egypt. All eyes will be on Egypt’s Liverpool sensation Mo Salah, who also played a unique role in the country’s qualification. Tunisia is also expected to pull off a good performance as their fans are expecting good from the highest ranked African team in the world cup 2018.
