World Cup FAQs

South Africa 2010

Who? What? When? How?

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When does the World Cup begin?
When does the World Cup end?
When does the knock-out phase begin?

The Football (Soccer) World Cup is played in South Africa from 11 June 2010 until 11 July 2010.

It is played in 2 distinct phases:

1. A set of 8 mini-leagues with 4 teams each. This section runs from the opening match on 11 June 2010 until 25 June 2010.
2. The top 2 in each league make it through to the knock-out phase beginning 26 June 2010.

What is the noise that's sounds like a swarm of bees at the World Cup?

© Anke Van Wyk | Dreamstime.com

The vuvuzela is a 65 cm (2 ft) plastic blowing horn that produces a loud, distinctive monotone note.  The vuvuzela is most used at football (soccer) matches in South Africa.

There has been calls for it to be banned but Sepp Blatter (head of FIFA) said on Twitter (@SeppBlatter ) that he had no plans to ban it.

Where can I buy a vuvuzela?

Go to eBay or Google and type in vuvuzela!!!.

In the UK they are available in Sainsbury's Supermarkets

Vuvuzela health warning: they can seriously annoy your neighbours!

When is a yellow card issued?
When is a red card issued?

A yellow card is issued by the referee to a player who has breached the rules in a so called "professional foul".

A red card (which sends a player off) is issued for a very serious breach of the rules or "serious professional foul". 

A red card is also issued automatically if a second yellow card is issued in the same match.

Why do players wear orange football boots?

Adidas is the official sponsor of the World Cup but Nike is using every opportunity to get a bigger market share of the football market.  The particular Orange colour was picked to not only stand out on the field but it also show up very clearly on TV.  The colour that stood out the most during tests at Nike.  Adidas may be the World Cup official sponsor but Nike gets all the talk about their football boots.