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For Advanced Academic Writing and Research Skills Dr. Kristof Haavik I. FIFA WORLD CUP’S SUCCESSES FIFA World Cup? (World Cup) is the international competition for soccer. FIFA is the acronym for “the F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association,” the international soccer governing organization. It was in 1904 that FIFA was founded with 8 members from different nations. FIFA expanded to 68 members, and by 2005 it reached 207 (See Figure A). This is more than the number of signatories of the United Nations. The World Cup is known as the one of the most popular sport events in the world. It has been held every four years since 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II, and more than 37 billion people have been spectators so far. In the last World Cup hosted by Korea and Japan in 2002, 2,705,197 people watched the game (See Figure B). The format of the World Cup can be divided into the preliminary competition and the final competition. The qualification is held within the six FIFA continental zones: Africa, Asia, North and Central America, South America, Oceania, and Europe. Thirty-two teams advance to the final competition. The final competition is divided into two stages: a group stage followed by a knockout stage. In the group stage, teams are divided into eight groups of four teams and they compete against each other. The top two teams are able to qualify for the knockout stage. In the group stage, the ranking of each team in each group will be determined by points. Three points are given for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. The knockout stage is a single-elimination round. Only in determining the winner in the final tournament is soccer like other American sports. If there is a tie breaker, then time is extended. If the tie is not broken, a penalty shot is adopted (FIFA World Cup: Wikipedia). II. World Cup USA 1994 It is often said that soccer is not popular in the United States. When people in the United States were asked about World Cup 2006, nobody seemed interested, even when the United States played. Though the popularity of soccer in the United States has declined, World Cup USA 1994 was very successful. About 3,587,538 people watched the World Cup USA 1994. The average attendance for 52 games was 68,991. Approximately 96 percent capacity of the stadium was filled during the World Cup in 1994. The number of people attending the games live in 1994 set a record in the history of World Cup attendance, despite FIFA’s expansion of the number of matches from 52 to 64 since 1998 (See Figure B). A surplus of about 50 million dollars was produced, and was contributed to the U.S. Soccer Foundation. It was a great accomplishment, contributing to the popularization of soccer and the improvement of the U.S. National team. The USA’s latest FIFA ranking is 5th, and it is said that its standing will only become stronger due to the wealth and the increasing popularity of the sport. “The success of the U.S. team, which advanced to round 16 for the first time since 1930, helped boost the already high U.S. television ratings. Approximately 11 million Americans were tuned in to the USA vs. Brazil round 16 match on July 4, 1994, an all-time high for soccer in the United States” (ussoccer.com). Though the U.S.A suffered a defeat by Brazil that time, it was at that moment that the American people got passionate about World Cup soccer. Soccer also became popular among young athletes in the 1990s. Presently, 70 percent of all players are during the ages 6-17. The U.S. Youth Soccer Association teams increased to 3.2 million players between the time period 1990-2003. The number of people playing soccer has increased in the last sixteen years (UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO GERMANY SOCCER WORLD CUP 2006). World Cup 1994 had a great influence on the United States, especially the younger generation. American people basically like sports so perhaps it will not take a long time for soccer to become more popular in the United States. III.Commercialism There are several excessive commercialistic problems in World Cup. According to the Korea Times, FIFA demanded a large amount of money for live broadcasting on the wide screen in Seoul, Korea, in 2002. Korea had already paid $60 million to broadcast the World Cup. FIFA insisted that Korea’s payment only included standard TV, satellite, and cable broadcasting, and not wide screen viewing. Some district offices in Seoul decided to pay money to FIFA for the service to the residents, but others refused to pay. Why should not the host country receive the added enjoyment of a wide screen viewing? The host country made a great contribution to hold World Cup; FIFA should have displayed a flexible stance toward Korea. FIFA strictly controls the commercial activities to protect the partner companys’ profit. No other company’s advertisement is allowed in the stadium. According to ESPN soccer net on June 17, the Netherland’s supporters who wore pants displaying the name of Dutch brewery “Bavaria” were forced to remove it before entering the stadium. They then went into the match and watched it in their underwear. Budweiser is the official beer of the World Cup and any other beer advertisements are not permitted. According to Markus Siegler, FIFA's director of communications, “Of course, FIFA has no right to tell an individual fan what to wear at a match, but if thousands of people all turn up wearing the same thing to market a product and to be seen on TV screens, then of course we would stop it.” (ESPN soccer net on June 17) Fortunately, only men were ordered to remove their pants, this indicates excessive commercialism. This story is understandable. FIFA has an obligation to protect the sponsor’s profit. However, why do people have to drink Budweiser in Germany? There must be good local beer. FIFA should have collaborated with a local company. Actually, it is impossible to buy any other beer in the stadium. People have to drink Budweiser instead of German beer. Commercialism is not always bad. According to Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer, “Our guests from all over the world feel good. It's hardly a crime that companies like ours put money into these games and make money from them.” (INTERVIEW WITH ADIDAS’ CEO ON WORLD CUP COMMERCIALISM "Sponsors Are not Faceless, Ticket-Eating Monsters") Sponsor providing a huge amount of money should be reap their investment. Moreover, the profit will contribute to promote not only the World Cup but also the local economy. IV.THE FUTURE OF the WORLD CUP Even though there are several problems, the World Cup is one of the largest and most popular sport competitions in the world. The number of signatories of FIFA is increasing. It is more than that of the United Nations; even North Korea and Palestine have joined FIFA. If there is a ball on the ground, anyone can play soccer easily. This simplicity gives soccer great popularity in the world, and makes it possible to push the sport worldwide. The World Cup competition is held every four year, is a common goal for all nations to attain. In attempting to win the World Cup, each nation competes against others and spends a large amount of money to strengthen its national team. Commercialism should not always be a critical matter. It is indispensable to cover the expenses of strengthening the national team. How can the team get money? Only the sponsors can invest a huge amount of money. It not only contributes to the promotion of soccer culture but also it invigorates the economy, especially for the World Cup host country. A great number of people visit the host country and spend a great amount of money on the sponsors and the local economy. Therefore, it is necessary for the World Cup to be publicized. However, people who want to attend the World Cup should have access, even though it is difficult due to the limited number of tickets available to the public. If FIFA improves these problems, the World Cup will be able to remain the most popular and enthusiastic competition in the world. WORKS CITED “FIFA’S GROWTH SINCE 1904” FIFA Infoplus IP-100_03A_growth 05/09, 2005 “FIFA WORLD CUP? ORIGIN” FIFA Infoplus IP-201_002E 05/08, 2005 “FIFA World Cup” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup> “WORLD CUP USA 1994 ― Overview” ussoccer.com : U.S. Soccer Federation < http://www.ussoccer.com/history/host/fwc94.jsp.html> “UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO GERMANY SOCCER WORLD CUP 2006” US embassy Germany< http://worldcup2006.usembassy.de/ > “EXCESSIVE COMMERCIALISM OF FIFA” The Korea Times, Seoul, May 30 2002 < http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDP/is_2002_June_3/ai_86623630> “Dutch fans watch match in their underwear” ESPN soccernet-World Cup, Berlin, June 17, 2006 < http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=371466&cc=5901> “INTERVIEW WITH ADIDAS’ CEO ON WORLD CUP COMMERCIALISM "Sponsors Are not Faceless, Ticket-Eating Monsters"” SPIEGEL ONLINE, June 24, 2006 < http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,423267,00.html> |
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