The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the 19th and current FIFA World Cup, the premier international association football tournament. It is being held in South Africa, beginning on 11 June and scheduled to conclude on 11 July 2010. The tournament is the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. As such, it matches the 2008 Summer Olympics as the sports event with the most competing nations. The final is forecast to be among the most-watched events ever, possibly behind only the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.[1]
This is the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation, after South Africa defeated Morocco and Egypt in an all-African bidding process. Italy are the defending champions, after winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The draw for the finals took place on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town.
Host selection
Africa was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a short-lived policy, abandoned in 2007,[citation needed] to rotate the event among football confederations. Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup:
Egypt
Libya / 
Tunisia (co-hosting)
Morocco
South Africa
Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements.
After one round of voting, the winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zürich. South Africa was awarded the rights to host the tournament, defeating Morocco and Egypt.[2]
| Voting Results | |
|---|---|
| Country | Votes |
| South Africa | 14 |
| Morocco | 10 |
| Egypt | 0 |
- Tunisia withdrew on 8 May 2004 after joint bidding was not allowed
- Libya bid was rejected: bid did not meet the list of requirements and joint bidding was not allowed
During 2006 and 2007, rumours circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country.[3][4] Some people, including Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt and, reportedly, some FIFA executives, expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa's preparations.[3][5] However, FIFA officials repeatedly expressed their confidence in South Africa as host, stating that a contingency plan existed only to cover natural catastrophes, as had been in place at previous FIFA World Cups.[6]
(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org)
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