X-Nico

66 unusual facts about 2010 FIFA World Cup


2010 mid-year rugby union tests

South Africa announced its fixtures on 8 October 2009, but delayed announcing the venues since it hosted the FIFA World Cup simultaneously.

2010 Super 14 Final

The Bulls' normal home, Loftus Versfeld, was unavailable because it was used as a venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup being held in South Africa beginning 11 June.

2010–11 KHL season

The KHL administration has explicitly banned the sale and use of vuvuzelas, infamous since the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in ice hockey arenas.

Aie a Mwana

In 2010, with an identical melody but new lyrics and released as "Helele", it became an official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in a version by Velile and Safri Duo.

Allez Ola Olé

The song was to be used by French broadcaster France Télévisions as The Summerhit of 2010 and also for promoting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the title of the song refers to the album Music of the World Cup: Allez! Ola! Ole!, released in 1998 to coincide with the '98 World Cup, held in France.

Andrew Bynum

Before having surgery on his knee, Bynum attended the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and vacationed in Europe.

Andy Ansah

This included choreographing the goal celebrations for the South African national football team in co-operation with Coca Cola at the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosted in South Africa.

Avalon-Chanel Weyzig

In June, 2010, Weyzig represented the Netherlands in Miss World Cup 2010, a contest held in Germany to celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with a representative from each of the 32 participating nations.

Bisham

During the Nationwide Building Society's summer advertising campaign of 2010, when they were official sponsors of the England football team at the World Cup, one of their television advertisements featured the England team playing on one of the pitches at Bisham Abbey.

Blikkiesdorp

NGOs, international human rights organisations, and the Anti-Eviction Campaign have publicly criticised the conditions in Blikkiesdorp and how they say it is used to reinforce the eviction of poor families especially to make way for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Campaign for an English Parliament

In June 2010, the CEP controversially made a complaint to Fife Police about music store, HMV's "Anyone but England" promotion during the World Cup.

CD Tuilla

After winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final, International footballer David Villa - who was born in Tuilla and enjoyed individual success with Sporting de Gijón, Real Zaragoza, Valencia CF, FC Barcelona and Spain - waved a CD Tuilla scarf at the crowd.

Charles Nqakula

Nqakula failed to realise the consequence of his statement, as many people around the world are starting to make travel arrangements for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Chung Dong-ha

In March, 25th Anniversary: Retrospect II was released and Chung participated in cheer supporting album of 2010 FIFA World Cup called The Shouts Of Reds. United Korea.

Complexo Desportivo da Covilhã

The following national team matches were held in the stadium as preparations for the World Cup 2010.

Crocketteers

At the culmination of 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Crocketteers had a total of 160 charter members known as the Travis 250.

Diski Dance

The Diski dance is a dance composed of a series of choreographed football moves, named from different parts of the country, and was created for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as part of its advertising campaign.

The Diski dance was featured in Matt Harding's 2010 "Where the Hell is Matt in South Africa?" video on YouTube, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Durban International Airport

The airport was used by the South African Air Force and the Police Air Wing during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, before being decommissioned.

Durban street circuit

However, following delays in completing alterations to the Durban street circuit due to construction for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the South African round was postponed until 2011.

EinsFestival

For example, at the UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup they used the digital channels to broadcast different football matches taking place at the same time.

Estadio Romano

On 9 September 2009, the stadium hosted the Spanish national team as they defeated Estonia 3-0 to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which they went on to win.

Fortune Lounge Group

Fortune Lounge was one of the first online casino groups to host its players at land-based sporting and lifestyle events around the world, taking in the Monaco Grand Prix, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Las Vegas and the Bahamas.

France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

On 19 February it was revealed that France 2 had selected Congolese singer and dancer Jessy Matador to represent France at Eurovision, with the hope of creating a summer hit and to promote the 2010 FIFA World Cup in France.

It was said that France Télévisions would like to see beyond Eurovision, hoping to create a hit song for Matador to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In the morning of 17 February on the talk show Le Grand Direct on the private radio channel Europe 1, it was claimed by journalist Gaëlle Placek that France "will be represented by Jessy Matador", before she explains that "France Télévisions is not willing to win the contest but aims to promote a song in relation to the Football World Cup and to have a smash hit for next Summer".

Francistown Airport

The airport received plans for reconstruction and expansion in 2008 to be completed in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as Francistown could receive an influx of foreign tourists due to the World Cup in neighbouring South Africa.

Gavin Rain

In 2009 Rain was chosen by the 2010 Fine Art Group (licensed under FIFA) to complete 12 portraits for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, taking place in South Africa, alongside artists such as Esther Mahlangu and Keith Calder.

Going On

The song is also featured in a 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial by Puma AG, entitled 'The Journey of Football', featuring the Ghanaian national football team.

Greater Victoria

These celebration activities coincided with the Esquimalt Buccaneer Days Fair and the 2010 FIFA World Cup activities in local bars.

Grito Mundial

The song has been compared with Ricky Martin's worldwide hit "La Copa de la Vida", and Yankee it said he would like that the song to be used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as use "La Copa de la Vida" on the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Shakira's song "Waka Waka", was chosen instead.

Helen Makhuba

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, she indicated, would place a peculiar stress on the Department.

It's Chico Time

In 2010, Slimani re-recorded the single in support of the English Football Team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

ITV Player

Some sports programming is available to watch again via the service, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and highlights being examples.

Jennifer Rovero

She attended the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer in South Africa with Hilton where Jennifer stepped outside the stadium to smoke a marijuana cigarette.

KINC

KINC began broadcasting in High Definition in June 2010, just in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Kjetil Siem

His tenure coincided with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and he was among other things responsible for the opening match at Soccer City stadium.

KSMS-TV

In June 2010, KSMS began broadcasting in 16:9 HDTV ratio in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, however, its newscasts remains in 4:3 ratio.

KWKW

In 2010, KWKW interrupted its normal Spanish-language feed to carry most of ESPN Radio's English-language coverage.

Leeuwenhosen

Bavaria again distributed orange memorabilia in the Netherlands before the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, as is customary of breweries in the Netherlands.

Lionel Tardy

On 30 June 2010, he is also illustrated in the hearing of Raymond Domenech by Parliament in return of the World Cup in South Africa.

Look Away Now

The fourth series started on 10 June 2010; consisting of three episodes with the focus strongly orientated towards the World Cup.

Lukasrand Tower

For a time (September 2009 to prior to August 2012), the tower also sported a 24 metre, eight storey high, fibreglass soccer ball, for the 2010 World Cup.

Manabzamin

The Daily Manab Zamin is also the only Bangladeshi newspaper to host a dedicated website for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa with detailed updates, player profiles, team stats, and all the latest gossip.

Maputo International Airport

Originally, this modernization project had in mind to benefit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in neighbouring South Africa, but it could not be finished in time.

Mara Escalante

In 2010 she performed comedy during the Televisa coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Marion Jollès Grosjean

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, she hosts the program alone in studio, with Christian Jeanpierre and Arsène Wenger both on the spot via a screen.

Mike de Vries

De Vries was most recently the CEO of the International Football Village for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Mike de Vries advised South African government institutions and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) on knowledge transfer in using major sports events and communications platforms towards the 2010 FIFA since 2007, and is currently negotiating with Brazil on preparing for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

MyCiTi

MyCiTi began operations in May 2010, shortly before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, providing a shuttle service from the Civic Centre (where a new bus terminus was constructed) to Cape Town International Airport.

N2 Gateway

Its detractors claim that the N2 Gateway is a beautification project for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Nazareth Baptist Church

They threatened to pursue legal action to stop supporters from playing the vuvuzela at the South African World Cup.

Re-Sepp-Ten

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa, the song was re-recorded by the Japanese pop band Vanilla Beans known for their avid support of the Danish national team.

Rory Fallon

After originally representing England at youth level, he has been capped by New Zealand at international level and scored the goal that took them to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

On 14 November 2009, Fallon scored the only goal in the second leg of New Zealand's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain, to send New Zealand to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, their first appearance at the finals in 28 years.

Sara Carbonero

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup it was alleged that Carbonero, reporting during the match between Spain and Switzerland, had distracted Casillas, causing the unexpected Swiss victory.

Scott Parker

On 11 May 2010, Parker was revealed to be among manager Fabio Capello's 30-man preliminary squad list for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

On 12 November 2011, Parker was named man of the match in a friendly against UEFA Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 winners Spain in the 1–0 win.

Shutter Shades

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup many fans were seen wearing shutter shades with the design of their respective flag pictured on the glasses.

Squeaky Wheel Media

The digital agency also develops in-house projects such as a micro-site, "Love For The Cup", which was built during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, analyzed Twitter feeds and would determine a winner of a match-up based on how much they were tweeted about.

Stamford Hill, Durban

The Kings Park Sporting Precinct is home to the Moses Mabhida Stadium which opened in 2009 and is a venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as a range of other sporting venues and facilities.

Stephan Ekbergh

Prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Ekbergh made a public call to South African travel, tourism and hospitality providers to avoid hiking prices to take advantage of the influx of tourists.

Tom Huddlestone

In May 2010, Fabio Capello announced that Huddlestone would be in his preliminary World Cup squad of 30 players.

Tony Carr

Since then in his tenure as director, as of 2010, Carr is credited with producing talent which has earned an estimated £80 million in transfer fees for the club, while the 23 man England squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup contained no less than seven players trained by Carr - Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and John Terry.

Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau

They were married on 17 July 2010 in Tuscany, Italy, six days after Sneijder played the final of the FIFA World Cup.

Zahia Dehar

The investigation began in 2010, just before the French team participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which resulted in significant immediate celebrity for Dehar.


2010 Leinster Senior Football Championship

Irate Louth fans pursued the referee around the pitch at the final whistle, bottles were hurled from the stand and the mayhem was compared to soccer player Thierry Henry's handball that cheated the Irish soccer team of their place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup the previous November.

Brett Emerton

Emerton scored two goals against Qatar in Australia's fourth match of World Cup Qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in Doha.

Djamel Mesbah

In May 2010, Mesbah was called up for the first time to the Algeria national football team by Rabah Saâdane for a two-week training camp in Crans-Montana, Switzerland in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto

He was part of the broadcaster's jornalstics team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012 coverages.

Football in South Korea

They then qualified for the knockout stages of the 2010 World Cup Group B with 4 points, winning 2–0 against Greece, losing 4–1 to Argentina and drawing 2–2 with Nigeria.

Jamie Ward

After a promising start to his career at Sheffield United, Ward was called into the senior team in March 2009 ahead of two World Cup Qualifiers against Poland and Slovenia.

Jo-Ann Strauss

In 2010, Jo-Ann presented the opening ceremony for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa for the German television network ZDF along with Thomas Gottschalk in a live broadcast from Johannesburg on 10 June.

Jon Champion

Champion was selected as a commentator for ITV at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and most notably of all his matches, he commentated on the Netherlands v Japan match in the group stages.

Kostas Manolas

Because of his very good appearances with AEK, former Greek national manager Otto Rehhagel called him up for the 30 man provisional World Cup squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but failed to make the final 23 man squad.

Project 2010

Project 2010 was a blueprint U.S. Soccer executives created in 1998 to ensure that the United States men's national team could become a legitimate threat to win the FIFA World Cup by the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Takis Fyssas

Fyssas after his retirement enter into the staff of the Greek national Team helping Otto Rehhagel for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the new coach Fernando Santos after Rehhagel retired in 2010.

Víctor Hugo Carrillo

Víctor Hugo is a referee in Peruvian Primera División, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and several South American qualifiers, international friendly matches and in the Copa Perú, when he reffed a match between Los Caimanes against Universitario (Trujillo) in Chiclayo.

You Are The Ref

In June 2010, in advance of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, You Are The Ref was released as an iPhone / iPod Touch game developed by game developer Four Door Lemon.