Interesting facts about the 2014 Brazil World Cup

Love it or hate it, the soccer World Cup is with us again, for eight weeks, with the first group match between Brazil and Croatia on the 12^th June and the final is on 12^th July. As ever, the hopes and expectations, here in England, are high and every Englishman is dreaming of a re-run of the 1966 world cup final when England beat Germany 4-2 and the world cup actually did, for once, come home.

The Brazil World Cup 2014 will be the 20^th FIFA World Cup to have taken place and it will be the second time that Brazil has been the host nation, the previous time being in 1950, and it’s the first time that the soccer tournament has been hosted in South America since 1978, when it was held in Argentina.

Next to the Olympics, it’s probably the second largest international sports event in the world and 31 country’s national teams will battle it out in a total of sixty four matches played across twelve different cities in Brazil to win the coveted Worlds Cup trophy. The FIFA World cup in Brazil will be watched by millions of people around the globe as they cheer on their home team and England fans will have at least the group matches to get excited about it. So, while every nation's hopes are still high, here are some facts about the square World Cup 2014 you may not have known about.

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Please note. This space was reserved for regular updates of England’s magical sporting moments as the team stormed their way to victory in the 2104 Brazil FIFA World cup!

However, in light of England's courageous and somewhat early strategic withdrawal from the fray; here's a picture of our brave lads returning to good old Blighty instead.

Goodbyee..........Goodbyeeeee......

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Controversy has surrounded many World cup goals and near misses as, in the past, it was the vigilance and keen eyesight of the referee and his officials alone that decided if a goal really was a goal. So, as the entire world watched an incident over and over again, from many different angles and in slow motion, to make their decision, the poor old referee had to make his decision without the aid of any modern technology at all. During the World Cup 2014 in Rio, though, the referee will have the benefit of 14 cameras and a mainframe computer to help him. If a goal is scored, the referee will feel a vibration through a special watch that he will be wearing and it will also display a message of ‘Goal’.

Security is obviously a big concern at any major sporting event so the FIFA world cup 2014 has called upon modern technology to assist. Unmanned Israeli drones will be monitoring the matches and the crowds for the safety and the security of the soccer fans. There will also be ‘PackBot 510’ robots on hand to assist the security services, supplied by a manufacturer called ‘iRobot’ (Honestly, that’s the name) which, according to the manufacturer are designed for “multiple missions for troops and public safety professionals, enhancing situational awareness, reducing risk and increasing mission success“. Where’s Will Smith when you need him?

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The 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be the most expensive FIFA World Cup ever and that is not just down to inflation. Brazil is investing heavily in this prestigious sporting event and are upgrading infrastructure as well as building new stadiums and working hard to decrease crime and protect the visiting soccer fans. The 2014 World Cup in Rio is set to be one of the most spectacular ever and is costing an estimated 14-16 billion dollars. This is nearly more than the last three world cups cost, out together.

At the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, FIFA officials were booed by Brazilian soccer fans who were trying to make speeches at the opening of the tournament. Many Brazilians, angry about the cost of the Rio Weld Cup as well a corruption in the country, demonstrated on the streets before the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and made their voices heard at the opening ceremony so planned speeches at the World Cup by the Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, and the FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, have been scrapped. Note to FIFA officials: no one used to listen to the speeches anyway!

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Another technological innovation, making its first World Cup appearance in Brazil, will be a can of vanishing spray paint. The idea is that the referee will be able to mark the spot from which a free kick is to be taken and also to draw a ‘ten yard line’ which is the closest that the defending team can get to the ball when they are defending against a free kick. The spray paint will last or just one minute before it disappears.

Owing to the hot weather is some parts of Brazil were 2014 World Cup matches will be played, FIFA have agreed that the referee may call a halt to play two to three times per match to allow the players time to re-hydrate. The Secretary General of FIFA has not been specific about the circumstances that this can occur and he has stated that the decision will be taken by the referees on the day.

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The first kick of the ball in the Soccer World Cup 2014 will not be made by a celebrity or well-known football player, but by a paraplegic teenager. The teenager to make the kick is paralysed from the waist down and he will be wearing a revolutionary, mind controlled exoskeleton. He will stand up from his wheelchair and walk over to the pitch and take the very first kick of the tournament to demonstrate the how far this technology has come on. It is said that he will also be able to feel the kick, through the exoskeleton, and that one day, these suites will eliminate the need for wheelchairs altogether.

Some teams make some very special demands when it comes to their hotel accommodation. Some of these demands make some sense, but some are really out there. Here is what some of the teams will be demanding for the 2014 Rio World Cup.

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A special Brazilian World Cup episode of the Simpsons was broadcast on 30^th March 2014 and it sees Homer recruited as a referee for the tournament. In the 30 minute episode entitled ‘You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee’ Homer has to decide what to do when his integrity is tested by Brazilian gangsters trying to influence the results of the World Cup. Obviously just pure fantasy, we all know that there is no corruption in FIFA, don’t we?

The winning team of the FIFA 2014 World Cup will win a total of 35 Million Dollars and the runners up will win 25 million. Every participating club also receives substantial sums for being there and making their payer’s available to play in the tournament. Add to that the money that will be earned form payers kit replicas, merchandising, etc. And each country’s own football governing body does pretty well out of the whole thing.

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Well, the news is obviously good for England fans, so let's restart the poll and start thinking about the 2108 Russia FIFA World cup. Come on, it;s only four years away!

And, if we don’t win, then here’s the consolation prize to cry over, again!

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