Summer of Soccer in US
It seems like the United States has become the destination of choice for International Clubs and this summer is no exception. The U.S. will host well over 40 games in 18 cities this summer from the likes of Chelsea, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Spain and Brazil, just to name a few. So in addition to […]
EPL vs. NBA: Why soccer should fear the NBA
As the 2013 NBA Finals comes down to a game 7 and the summer touring begins here’s a great piece about the globalization of sports. When the English Premier League announced plans to play a regular-season, competitve match on foreign soil — dubbed the “39th game” – there was almost unified outcry from the many […]
Confederations Cup: Tahiti
Location: In the South Pacific Ocean about half way between South America and Australia Capital: Papeete Population: 274,512 Official Language: French Ethnic Groups: Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4% FIFA Ranking #138. Players to Watch: Steevy Chung Hue, Marima Vahiura
Confederations Cup: Nigeria
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon Capital: Abuja Population: 127,368,088 Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages Ethnic Groups: Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba […]
Confederations Cup: Italy
Population: 61,261,254 Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia Capital: Rome Languages: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d’Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) Ethnic Groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the […]
Confederations Cup: Mexico
Location: North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the U.S. and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the U.S. Capital: Mexico City Population: 114,975,406 Language: Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8% (indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages) Ethnic Groups: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, […]
Confederations Cup: Spain
Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France Capital: Madrid Population: 47,042,984 Languages: Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, and Basque 2% Ethnic Groups: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types FIFA Ranking #1. Players to Watch: Juan Mata, David Silva
Confederations Cup: Uruguay
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil Capital: Montevideo Population: 3,316,328 Languages: Spanish (official), Portunol, Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) Ethnic Groups: white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) FIFA Ranking #19. Players to Watch: Luis Suarez, Edison Cavani
Confederations Cup: Brazil
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Capital: Brasilia Population: 199,321,413 Language: Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language), less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages Ethnic Groups: white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% […]
Confederations Cup: Japan
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan/East Sea, east of the Korean Peninsula. Capital: Tokyo Population: 127,368,088 Language: Japanese Ethnic Groups: Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.6% FIFA Ranking #32. Player to watch: Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda