• BREAKING NEWS AirAsia plane with 162 passengers on board reported missing

10 fun facts about the 2014 FIFA World Cup

An aerial view of the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (PA/Portal da Copa)
With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil quickly approaching, here are some fun facts about the games sure to get you in the spirit.

1. This will be the first ever World Cup to use goal-line technology. There has been so much controversy surrounding World Cup goals in past years that the referee will now have the benefit of 14 camera and a mainframe computer to help him make calls.

If a goal is scored, a special watch the ref will be wearing will display the word 'goal.'

2. This World Cup will witness only one new nation at the finals, with Bosnia-Herzegovina ready to play in their first major tournament.

3. The 2014 World Cup will see matches take place in 12 different cities, more than any other finals on record. There will be games in Manaus, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador, Cuiaba, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, and Porto Alegre.

4. The smallest stadium, by capacity, is Arena de Baixada, which holds around 38,000 guests. The Maracana will seat up to about 75,000.

5. FIFA announced that the total Gross Capacity for the 2014 World Cup is estimated at 3,720,225 fans. Tickets were sold through a random selection draw for the first two phases, and the last minute sales phase was first come, first served.

6. Brazil has won the World Cup a record of five times, the last of which came in 2002. Eight previous World Cup winners are set to take part in Brazil 2014 - Italy, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, England, France, and Spain.

7. This year's FIFA World Cup mascot is Fuleco the Armadillo, as voted on by the Brazilian public.

8. The caxirola, a maraca-like instrument, has been named the official noisemaker of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, federal officials have banned it from all 12 soccer grounds for safety reasons. That hasn't stopped the caxirola (pronounced ka-shee-role-ah) from making noise outside of the matches.

9. This is the second time that Brazil will host the World Cup -- the first time was in 1950 in which they lost to Uruguay. Therefore, Brazil has never won a World Cup on their home turf.

10. The official slogan of the 2014 FIFA World Cup is "Juntos num so ritmo," or "All in one rhythm."

Related Topics:
sports World Cup FIFA fifa world cup distraction u.s. & world entertainment
Load Comments