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Football facts reading activity

Read the World Cup story full of facts and fun. Fill in your name in the box opposite to begin our multiple choice football quiz which will ask you questions based on what you have read. Good luck!

Every country wants to win the World Cup. It is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, and brings nations together from all over the world to share a common interest – football!

This world-famous international football tournament takes place every four years in different host countries. This year, it’s being held in South Africa. Venues have been built around the country in preparation for this exciting event and many fans have already booked their tickets to watch the tournament live in the stadiums.

The opening match will take place on 11 June 2010. Teams will play against each other in their groups, and if they are successful, will proceed to the next round. The tournament will last a month and on the 11 July, the final match will take place. At the end of this, the winner will be awarded the famous FIFA World Cup trophy which is made of solid gold.

32 teams successfully qualified for the World Cup. Teams come from nearly all continents of the world – Africa, Asia, Europe, Australasia, North, South and Central America.

Football fans support their teams by wearing t-shirts, hats and scarves in their team colours. The Dutch are particularly famous because all their fans wear bright orange. Many Brazilians paint their faces yellow to show their support. And the English love to sing songs of support during the matches, such as ‘Three Lions on our Shirt’.

The very first world cup took place in 1930 in Uruguay. Lucien Laurent of France was the first person to score a goal in the tournament.  Since 1930, many different countries have won the World Cup. Italy won in 2006, Brazil in 2002 (which will host the 2014 tournament) and England in 1966, but who will win this year?

At Bell, our students are really excited about the event and are all supporting different teams. Activities have been planned to celebrate the tournament and it is a time when everyone appreciates the diversity of nations, cultures and people who all come together to enjoy the magic of the Football World Cup.