For countless people around the world, the big day is almost here! On Friday, June 11, the FIFA
World Cup—the premier international soccer (or football as it’s commonly called outside of the USA) tournament— will kick off in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Held every four years, the World Cup is truly a global phenomenon, attracting the largest worldwide broadcast audience of any sporting event (estimated at 5.9 billion total viewers for the 2006 tournament), and causing fanatical fans to set aside normal life until the event’s conclusion. And the 2010 World Cup is historic—it’s the first time in the tournament’s 80-year history that it’ll be hosted by an African nation. The official match ball of the World Cup is called “Jabulani,” meaning “rejoice” or “be happy” in Zulu. The design is said to represent two of the most important facets of South Africa—diversity and harmony.
The games will run from June 11 until July 11, with 32 teams (representing the six FIFA confederations of Africa; Asia; Europe; North and Central America, and Caribbean; Oceania; and South America) competing for the iconic World Cup trophy. It’s been a long road to the world’s biggest stage; the qualification process began three years ago, with over 200 teams vying to be among the tournament qualifiers in South Africa. As Sunrider is truly a globe-spanning company, doing business in over 40 countries, it’s likely that thousands of Sunriders will be following the action and rooting for their country’s team. And as we get set to applaud the amazing goals to be scored by superstars such as Ronaldo, Rooney, and Messi, Sunrider would also like to give a special cheer for the “Sunrider Team” of ABOs and IBOs from around the world who strive to “score” their own goals of enhanced vitality, financial freedom, and sharing the Sunrider opportunity.
As they say in South Africa, Jabulani! Here’s to spectacular goals and Sunrider success!
Photo attributions:
Stadium crowd
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/isakaronsson/
Soccer ball
http://www.flickr.com/photos/warrenski/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
