Who can ever forget USA 94’, France 98’ and Korea/Japan 2002’? Memories that last a lifetime. How about Germany 2006 and the first world cup in Africa in 2010?
When Ghana almost reached the Semi-Final and Spain ended their perils as perennial underachievers. This is the FIFA world cup and it comes along every 4 years. It brings so much joy to the world and unifies people. Probably the only time when 7 billion people come together as one. Its fun, it’s exciting and very lucrative.
We are just a few days away from this year’s edition in Russia. It’s going to be the 21st edition of football’s most prestigious event. Everyone is excited and anxiously waiting.
Just before the showpiece begins, let’s educate ourselves with some of the most interesting facts about the world cup that may just shock you.
Did you know that?
Over 3.2 billion people tuned in to watch the last world cup in Brazil 2014? – Wow! That is about half the world’s population. Incredible right? What does this even mean? First of all, this provides the biggest platform for companies to advertise and sell their products and services. You have half of the world’s attention. Also viewers get to experience different cultures by just tuning in and watching from the comfort of their homes. The sights and sounds only mean that during the world cup, more than half the world’s population is happy. What other event brings such euphoria?
The oldest goal scorer in the World Cup –
This was Roger Milla, who was 42 in 1994 when he scored a goal for Cameroon against Russia. Think about it! 42 years? This is only 18 years less of Ghana’s retirement age for active workforce. Today, after 30 years, you begin to carry the tag ‘’old log’’ as you are perceived to be nearing your retirement age. Roger Milla did it at 42 and is likely to hold that record for life. Who else will appear at a world cup at the age of 42 let alone score a goal.
Millions to take home –
If only you knew how much money the winners of the world cup took home, then you will begin to wonder why African countries who go for much smaller loans will not invest more time and effort into trying to win the world cup. $ 35 million dollars! Yes! That is how much the winner of the world cup takes home. As compensation, the runner up gets $25million and each participating country gets $8million.
Increased Birth Rates in Host Countries –
At this point you may be wondering how this is even possible right? Well, the host countries benefit more than we think they do. That is depending on how we rank the benefits and what we actually consider as benefits. Apart from the spotlight, revenue and foreign exchange, hosting the world cup brings nations together. People are more relaxed and mostly in a fun state. Alcohol drinking is often on the high and for women especially this triggers the release of hormones which cause them to have high libidos. The end results are increased birth rates 9-10 months after the world cup. South Africa experienced a small increase while Brazil, the last hosts proved this fact. It’s definitely more than a football tournament for some people.
The World Cup trophy went missing –
For 7 days in 1966, the world cup trophy got missing. It was stolen just prior to the tournament. The trophy was later recovered and even though one man was convicted for being involved, other possible culprits are still unknown.
What a shock! Who dares to steal the most important piece of silverware known to the world? Imagine the trophy gets stolen just before Russia 2018. You can bet Messi, Ronaldo and company will become instant detectives and find it almost immediately.
The Russia 2018 world cup is a few days away and the stakes are high? Who wins it? Who dazzles the world and who benefits from the business end of it? All these questions will definitely be answered in the course of the coming weeks. If you have the opportunity of going to Russia, feel free to check out some amazing hotel and flight deals online.
Enjoy the tournament!
