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FIFA 2006 Germany

The final draw for the 2006 Football World Cup event in Germany will be held in December in Leipzig, at 20:30 local time. It will be aired live on FIFA's web site, www.FIFAworldcup.com. This competition will draw millions of fans worldwide, as well as a significant number of participants and teams. Five African, four Asian, fourteen European, four South American teams, as well as the US, Australia, Mexico, Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago teams have qualified for this challenge. The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups. The event will be covered in several languages and broadcast in every country in the world. You will be kept informed of statistics, live action, and commentaries will be offered. However, nothing can replace the experience of being on location.

The two semi-finals are scheduled to take place in Dortmund and Munich. Munich will also host the opening match, and the finals will be held in the German capital of Berlin. The FIFA organization committee decided on the location back in December 2003. The matches will take place over a month next summer, from June 9 to July 9. The games will be distributed in groups of eight with eight different sites in Germany. Five matches will take place at each site, and six in Stuttgart, Munich, Dortmund and Berlin. No team will play at the same location more than once, and matches in the same stadium will be more than two days apart in every case. Each of the eight game locations will hold at least two matches with a top qualifier.

Politicians, football clubs, environmental organizations and other associations have rallied in support of the event, which is amazing considering that it is a full six months away as of the present. The 2006 FIFA World Cup is an excellent chance for Germany to present itself as a contemporary, pleasant and exciting country with great innovative ideas before the entire world, to quote newly elected chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany is joyfully anticipating its part as host to the world's biggest and most important football competition, not only for the prestige, but also for the economic benefit. Merkel is dazzled with hopes of the colour and vibrancy that football fanatics from all over the world will bring to Germany, and the government started taking measures for this occasion years ago. Brand new arenas and football grounds have been built, and the transport facilities have been developed to the best possible extent, assuring excellent connections all over the territory of the country. Germany has done all in its power to ensure that visitors will feel welcome and will be left with a highly positive memory of the event.

Germany's numerous football clubs are holding their breath for the World Cup. However, they are being as active as possible in the process. They are aware of the immense importance and success it could bring them, and are holding matches and competitions with prizes to show their support for the event. These prizes cover a wide range of options, with one of the top ones being a club match against an excellent team coached by Juergen Klinsmann. Smaller prizes include a training session with Michael Skibbe, coach of the Football Association of Germany, a Mini-World Cup for youngsters and meetings with famous football players and idols. This does not even begin to cover the remarkable contribution and determination of the clubs. 3000 clubs had registered for participation in the event toward April of this year, a record number in history.

A variety of cultural programs will accompany the World Cup in 2006. One of these is "Football Globe Germany", an organization which plans to travel to major international destinations with the aim to inspire support and enthusiasm for the upcoming World Cup. Its predecessor, Football Globe - 2006 FIFA World Cup, has visited most of the official World Cup sites worldwide over the last two years. Football Globe Germany began at D-Haus in Tokyo.

Environmental protection organizations have drafted a project with regard to the upcoming World Cup. It is the first of its kind, aiming to reduce the level of pollution that typically accompanies events of this calibre. Several major institutions are taking part in it as well, such as the FIFA 2006 organization committee and the German ministry of environment.

The FIFA World Cup logo expresses the upbeat attitude that organizers wanted to convey. It consists of four rings, three of which have transformed into smiling faces in bright colour.